Are Teachers Able/expected To Demonstrate Well?, My teacher can't play my exam pieces Options

[jod]

I demonstrate all the time, and that is why I limit the grades my pianists do to Grade 5/6 - 7 at a push, my oboists are limited to Grade 8 and I would find time to relearn the repertoire if necessary, and my singers currently to grade 8 although that's the one most likely to change.

Its a style issue. I teach in a very hands-on manner, other people are better as describing. My oboe is always out for my one students lesson (although if she is playing with piano accompaniment I tend to demonstrate things either on my voice or using the piano).

if pupils are happy and making progress with a teacher who does not demonstrate much, then I have no problem with that. Its just that this is not the way I work and my pupils are all progressing well.

[Suepea]

Let's face it, at grade 8 you don't need to be taught any of the technicalities, you are being taught how to practice.

I would have thought it would have been the other way round - I teach my pupils how to practice from the start, but knowledge of technique increases with each grade and grade 8 requires more advanced technique than previous grades.

[jon.adkins]

A very interesting topic, and you've had loads of replies! Just in case you're still reading them, it sounds to me as though you are no longer getting much from the teacher. One should have a very good understanding of what one is teaching, and be able to communicate it well, even if one can't give a note-perfect performance of all the Grade VIII pieces!

If you have a lot on, the upheaval of finding a new teacher might seem unwelcome, but if you find a good one through personal recommendation it will be worth it.

[paulara]

Thank you everyone for your opinions n advice. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Yes , it is indeed frustrating . I am able to learn the exam pieces rather quickly on my own, like 2 to 3 weeks per piece after listening to the CD .I could play the entire piece through from memory with satisfactory fluency & near the intended tempo.( please, I don't mean to say I've got it nailed. There's plenty of polishing needed and i don't know how ) So it's not like I need the teacher to play every single bar or every single piece for me .

BUT, BUT... my progress ends there ! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif) I need a teacher who can teach me the style of the composer n the period, the phrasing and the touch. Surely it will be better that the teacher demonstrates what she means than just give some vague instructions.( A picture speaks a thousand words !) My fingering may not be ideal in certain places, that's why my notes aren't crystal clear. and i need the teacher to be alert to the wrong notes i might have overlooked. So it's extremely frustrating when the teacher says to play in a different way ( bec her music score is different from my AB book ), i ask her to show me what she means but she can't even play the few bars properly. So how am I to be convinced that hers is indeed the right n better way???? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sleep.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

Another pet peeve is when the teacher doesn't " keep up " with your learning stages. Why tell me to change things AFTER i've been playing the same way for MONTHS !! Of course I don't mean things like interpretation where ideas could suddenly grow on you after a while, but the simple obvious things like wrong notes, legato instead of detached, wrong accents etc, things that could have easily been spotted by a discerning teacher & solved within a couple of playing through. I become resentful and my teacher thinks i just don't like to change and is being disobedient. Understandably, my teacher is very busy and I don't expect her to play the entire piece PERFECTLY , but surely... at least better than the student ? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

My teacher is indeed very kind and nice and i don't really want to hurt her feelings but at the same time, I feel very very bored during lessons because i feel i'm not improving much.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[skylark]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

Have you decided what you're going to do to change (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) into (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) ?

[pianodub]

you definitely need a new teacher paulara...

I was in the same position as you. I have the same teacher for nine years and was very fond of her...she is a lovely woman. But she was uninspiring and I don't actually ever remembering hearing her play any of my pieces. I was just told what I would learn next. I had zero confidence and stopped practicing because I just thought I was rubbish.

eventually I was totally put off the instrument. I stopped lessons entirely and didn't really play for around a year. I am now back with a different teacher who is well able to give me the advice and information I need. And now I am quite happy to play for people and feel a new lease of life on the piano.

Don't leave it too much longer! You sound very motivated...it would be a shame if you felt you had wasted too much time because you didn't want to hurt your teacher's feelings! That's how I felt.

[organ_dummy]

Paulara,

You should definitely find another teacher, one that is more experienced in teaching advanced students. I have been through the same situation. For many months, I hesitated to change teacher because I had entered exams. I had also wondered if my frustration was my own fault as there were times when I questioned my previous teacher's ideas. It was only recently that I realized I was indeed the one to blame. My previous teacher was fine with junior and intermediate repertoire but was not experienced at playing or teaching advanced materials. It was wrong for me to expect more than what he was capable of doing. So my choices were either to stay with my previous teacher and be satisfied with playing advanced pieces at a mediocre level, or to move on to a better teacher and learn new approaches. Needless to say, I went for the latter option.

[ad_libitum]

I'm still reading this thread with interest (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I think being able to communicate ideas effectively is important, so you don't have to rely on demonstrating every little point you make. For very young students though, who may not know anyone else who plays their instrument, or don't hear much music at home, demonstration can be invaluable.

If you play something, and they say "I want to play that!" that's great because they are excited about it. It also means you can be sneaky.... "Well, I would teach you it today only you really need to be quite good at arpeggios/D major scale before you start".... It's a much better way to get someone practising than simply for the reason that "it's on the exam syllabus" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[chocolatedog]

Thank you everyone for your opinions n advice. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Yes , it is indeed frustrating . I am able to learn the exam pieces rather quickly on my own, like 2 to 3 weeks per piece after listening to the CD .I could play the entire piece through from memory with satisfactory fluency & near the intended tempo.( please, I don't mean to say I've got it nailed. There's plenty of polishing needed and i don't know how ) So it's not like I need the teacher to play every single bar or every single piece for me .

BUT, BUT... my progress ends there ! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif) I need a teacher who can teach me the style of the composer n the period, the phrasing and the touch. Surely it will be better that the teacher demonstrates what she means than just give some vague instructions.( A picture speaks a thousand words !) My fingering may not be ideal in certain places, that's why my notes aren't crystal clear. and i need the teacher to be alert to the wrong notes i might have overlooked. So it's extremely frustrating when the teacher says to play in a different way ( bec her music score is different from my AB book ), i ask her to show me what she means but she can't even play the few bars properly. So how am I to be convinced that hers is indeed the right n better way???? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sleep.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

Another pet peeve is when the teacher doesn't " keep up " with your learning stages. Why tell me to change things AFTER i've been playing the same way for MONTHS !! Of course I don't mean things like interpretation where ideas could suddenly grow on you after a while, but the simple obvious things like wrong notes, legato instead of detached, wrong accents etc, things that could have easily been spotted by a discerning teacher & solved within a couple of playing through. I become resentful and my teacher thinks i just don't like to change and is being disobedient. Understandably, my teacher is very busy and I don't expect her to play the entire piece PERFECTLY , but surely... at least better than the student ? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)


Edit: sorry - pressed add reply before I'd written anything!!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) Yes, I think it's important to be able to demonstrate something of the different styles of the composers - so for Classical period - eg Mozart/Haydn, to be able to demonstrate balance and touch to achieve the light and sparkling sound required. Yes it can be described but I think demonstration is also invaluable.....it's like when I started teaching (classroom) and everyone advised me to go in on the first day tough and strict but unless you have seen tough and strict how do you know what it is???? The lessons I had observed before that, the teachers had already built up a rapport and respect with their classes so I never really saw "tough and strict" to learn from.......(which is why I left the classroom after 1 term........!!!!!!! and will never go back!!!!!)

My teacher is indeed very kind and nice and i don't really want to hurt her feelings but at the same time, I feel very very bored during lessons because i feel i'm not improving much.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[chocolatedog]

Sorry - pressed the wrong key........ (IMG:style_emoticons/default/unsure.gif) anyway, as I was going to say, I think demonstration is invaluable - yes style and touch can be described but I think it's learned more quickly when it's demonstrated .....my teacher always demonstrated for me, so that I could copy him and understand what he was wanting me to achieve. He quite often made it into aural training - he would play 2 subtly different versions and ask me what the difference was and which I preferred, and would also play the way I had just played it versus the way he wanted me to play it to compare the 2........I don't think the pupil becomes spoonfed and robotic as a result - it's giving them the tools and training to then be able to apply for themselves in other similar pieces they come across later......especially in instinctively knowing the style features of a piece eg the sparkling touch and careful balance needed for Mozart/Haydn etc and Beethoven's more "raw" style etc......

[Frederic Chopin]

All my teachers from Grade 8 onwards demonstrate for me - this can be inspiring as well!

[yamaha]

I think demonstration of at least sections of the music is very important (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) As a teacher myself, I find it the most effective teaching tool available (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) If I want to teach a piece that I cannot play, I learn it first beofre presenting it to the student, this to me, is part of my job. My own teacher is a fabulous pianist with the most awesome sight reading skills I have ever come across!! Aside from the fact that it helps me when he demonstrates, it's also hugely inspiring (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[pianodub]

My own teacher is a fabulous pianist with the most awesome sight reading skills I have ever come across!! Aside from the fact that it helps me when he demonstrates, it's also hugely inspiring (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Me too! And it encourages me to aim to do the same for my students. Although none are currently above grade five or so I intend to continue working on my piano skills so that I can play their grade eight pieces to a reasonable degree at sight for them. Very important!!!