Poor Pupil!, A strange kind of practise.... Options

[Cyrilla]

Educating???

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[amanda41]

It's true though - before I started teaching it didn't occur to me that I would have to make sure pupils had something to practise on. I'd just (naively) assumed that would go without saying! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

[salrec]

A while ago I taught one of my flute pupils at her house as this was more convenient on this occasion.

I attempted to use her piano for some aural, but it was totally out of tune eg one F higher than the adjacent G. . .

When I commented on this to her mother, the reply I got was, "oh, we've said we'll pay to get it tuned if she passes her Grade One."

Hmmm.

[amanda41]

A while ago I taught one of my flute pupils at her house as this was more convenient on this occasion.

I attempted to use her piano for some aural, but it was totally out of tune eg one F higher than the adjacent G. . .

When I commented on this to her mother, the reply I got was, "oh, we've said we'll pay to get it tuned if she passes her Grade One."

Hmmm.

The logic in that is simply baffling (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif) That's like saying we'll buy her a second wheel for her bike once she's learned to ride it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

xxx

[sbhoa]

A while ago I taught one of my flute pupils at her house as this was more convenient on this occasion.

I attempted to use her piano for some aural, but it was totally out of tune eg one F higher than the adjacent G. . .

When I commented on this to her mother, the reply I got was, "oh, we've said we'll pay to get it tuned if she passes her Grade One."

Hmmm.

The logic in that is simply baffling (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif) That's like saying we'll buy her a second wheel for her bike once she's learned to ride it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

xxx

I can imagine the look on her face if you'd pointed out that piano tuning is not a once in a lifetime event but a twice a year one.... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

[Rosemary7391]

I've been teaching myself piano, on a 4 octave keyboard with no touch tone. I do this because, as a clarinet player, I know it will be useful to me, but we do not have the money to pay for either a piano or piano lessons. I imagine a lot of parents will be worse off, but I think they should at least be allowed to try. Otherwise it's almost like saying music lessons are only for those who can afford it. However, the parents who can afford it but won't should live in the real world!

[sneekymum]

...it's almost like saying music lessons are only for those who can afford it.

I'm glad to see keyboard being more widely accepted as a skill in its own right. Many people would never have the opportunity to use an instrument were it not for the keyboard (not just because of the price but because it's the sort of instrument that musically disinterested parents are prepared to buy).

[music_mad]

When I first started playing Piano I practiced at home on the keyboard my brother used for his keyboard exams. It was a pretty good keyboard - touch sensitive and had a 5 octave range. However, when I got to preparing for my grade 4 Piano, my parents bought an electric Piano which I love. I don't think the keyboard put me at a disadvantage (I got merit in the exams I took when I was practiscing onit), but I can see that non-touch sensitive keyboards wouldn't be good for Piano practice!

[sneekymum]

... but I can see that non-touch sensitive keyboards wouldn't be good for Piano practice!

eek! - then I'm just as guilty as I'd forgotten about these. It's getting more standard though, as a feature (I think?). I do think they should all come with sustain pedals too.

[tiramhurain]

Now the head of music checks firmly that there's a suitable instrument at home, and believe it or not, one parent actually said that they wanted to see how the child progressed before getting an instrument!!!! Parents would not have dreamt of saying that if child had been going to learn the clarinet or violin.

I'm not so sure about that. I've met several families who have expected their child to learn on a flute that belonged to one of the parents when they were younger, in one case with so many leaky pads the teacher couldn't get more than two notes out of it, with the attitude 'If it was good enough for me, it's good enough for her'.

Others buy the cheapest instrument possible, which easily goes out of adjustment. They won't countenance parting with the £300-400 necessary for a decent student instrument until the child has proved her worth.

Thought I’d add a parent’s experience of buying that first instrument here:
If at all possible, I do believe it is definitely worthwhile getting a good quality instrument right from the start, as this makes practice so much more enjoyable (for the parent as well as the child – not to mention the long-suffering neighbours!). Being able to make a “nice sound”, even with very little technical ability, is so encouraging for a beginner.
When my 5-year-old first announced that she wanted to learn piano , I just let her sweat, wondering whether this was a passing phase. Six months down the line, she was still begging for piano lessons, so – realising she was serious and that there was no point signing her up with a teacher unless she had something to practise on at home – I started looking at the available options, including renting, which seemed quite expensive. It was a pretty scary investment for a single mum on a shoestring, especially as I have no musical background myself and didn’t know how to go about choosing an instrument. But in the end, a friend of a friend, who is a pianist, kindly agreed to help out by coming along to a second hand piano shop where she proceeded to play every instrument in the place (wow, that was fun!!!). She finally picked one out that was a little over my budget and, though I was initially reluctant to commit, she won me over with this very sensible argument (for which I am still grateful):
The piano is so good that if my daughter gives up after six months or a year, I can easily resell it at the same price and recoup my costs (hence cheaper than renting). If she does continue with her lessons, she will never need a replacement, even if she goes on to university / conservatoire level, making this a one-off investment. I felt I simply couldn’t lose out, so I went for it – a decision I have never regretted. With an instrument at home that makes such a beautiful sound, piano practice was fun from day one. Apart from the usual ups and downs and plateaux, my daughter has gone from strength to strength and, four years later, still loves playing her piano.
I should perhaps add that this particular piano was actually much better value than some of the others in the shop simply because it happens to be a rather ugly-looking 1950s beast, which a lot of people might not want in their living room (it disappears into my domestic clutter anyway, so no aesthetic problems there). Any remaining scepticism was finally washed away when even the piano tuner enthused about the instrument…

[katyjay]

Thanks for sharing that with us, Tiramhurain, and welcome to the Forums.

It's great that you found an instrument which helped motivate your daughter, and that she's progressing well.

[Dulciana]

Thanks for sharing that with us, Tiramhurain, and welcome to the Forums.

It's great that you found an instrument which helped motivate your daughter, and that she's progressing well.

I'll second that! Also it's great to hear of a parent who is prepared buy an instrument rather than a piece of furniture! I've gone out with a few parents to look for pianos, but ended up being overruled as the appearance of the piano was more important to them than it's quality as an instrument.

[maggiemay]

With an instrument at home that makes such a beautiful sound, piano practice was fun from day one.

That's wonderful - I wish the parents of all my pupils could read that !

I was phoned a few weeks ago by a friend of a friend, who had a piano she wanted to get rid of. Was I interested? Well, I had a pupil who was looking for one at the time, so tried to find out a bit more about it.

"It's old. We didn't want to buy a good one. My daughter's got to grade 6 (six!) on it and her teacher's been saying for some time she needs something better."

I little more tactful questioning and it turned out the piano had been tuned once in 15 years. I managed not to choke down the phone and muttered something about how well she had done to get to grade 6 (indeed!)

I appreciate it's not an easy decision as a piano is quite a big outlay. I will start off beginners who don't have one, on the understanding that if they take to it they will need something appropriate at home to play after a term or so. I always ask now when enquiries come in what is available at home to practise on - quite often there is a nasty silence - sometimes even "oh - why do they need to practise?"
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

Welcome to the forums by the way, tiramhurain. I hope your daughter continues to love her piano!

Amanda - sounds as if you have a keen little pupil there - who will work against the odds! Let's hope she doesn't lose that - it's a great quality to have.

[TSax]

With an instrument at home that makes such a beautiful sound, piano practice was fun from day one.

Isn't that one of the nice things about piano though?

OK, so I'm playing about with a keyboard and not a proper piano (I'm assuming a good piano sounds an awful lot better, and a piano that's not been tuned for a while a good bit worse) but one of the eye-openers for me was that it sounded nice right from the start, no having to work at tone and intonation. Interestingly enough I was chatting to someone the other day who's working for a diploma on piano but has just started playing sax so kind of the opposite to me, and she said that as a pianist she'd never appreciated just how difficult it could be learning how to make a nice sound from an instrument.

[sbhoa]

Interestingly enough I was chatting to someone the other day who's working for a diploma on piano but has just started playing sax so kind of the opposite to me, and she said that as a pianist she'd never appreciated just how difficult it could be learning how to make a nice sound from an instrument.

There are days when I am very dissatisfied with the quality of sound I get when playing the piano.
Yes, if looked after the actual notes are in tune but to get the quality of tone that you want is not always easy to manage consistently.