I know this is a thread that comes up over and over again, but after browsing I still have not found a solution to this problem.

I have a student who had a very slow start at the beginning but has now picked up the pace. She is working towards grade 3. Her sight reading is quite bad, but we are perserving with it, and we are working on perfect your sight reading grade 1, soon to be working hard at grade 2 (we had to go back to basics!). There will a long time before we even begin to look at grade 3, just to bring up her sight reading.

At the moment we are looking at pieces from all different periods and styles. Well this is my aim. Since January we have only managed to look at 4 pieces. These 4 pieces are all of grade 2 standard, as they were meant as a sort of "break" and they had things that we hadn't looked at, like legato left hand against staccato right hand and all those things. Even though her sight reading is quite bad, she can still look at these pieces by herself, work out the notes, and her rhythm is generally correct. I mean, our lessons have become like a practice session, because she doesn't do enough practice at home.

However, she isn't learning pieces quick enough and I tell her all the time "dont you want to be able to play lots of pieces to your friends and not just one or two?" because her mum tells me all the time that she plays a lot in front of family and friends and even at school.

Her reply is "I do, and I do like playing the piano but I dont like practicing".

Every week I egg her on, I say things like "because these bars are repeated later, it's like half the work!" or I'll play it to her again, so she gets excited about playing it again. These pieces are pieces she has chosen herself.

I dont know what to do! I cant keep her on grade 2 pieces forever, but I cant just move her on to grade 3 pieces (not exams pieces, just general pieces). I look at harder pieces, and think to myself if it takes her 2 months to play a grade 2 piece from beginning to end, how long will it take her for a grade 3 one?!!

You say she has picked up the pace, but actually it sounds as though she is as slow as ever. Why doesn't she like practising? Is there a problem with the home environment in some way, or is she just bored / fed up? Does she need more specific instructions from you about how and what to practice? Does she actually know what she is supposed to be doing? Is she bothered by the very slow pace? Maybe she is just a really slow learner and will be content to plod along like this, boring and frustrating though it is for you...

I don't understand when people say: 'I like playing but I don't like practicing', well, why don't they 'just play' then? even if you 'just play' isn't that practice? surely better than doing nothing at all?
It makes me think whether they really like playing or they like 'listening' to someone who is good playing the piano.
Please enlighten me on this one!

I use that one a lot

What Jojo said is very true. It's funny how people make such a big distinction between "playing" and "practising" Maybe just changing the wording won't have the effect of making it feel like a chore/homework?

I find I'm slightly puzzled as to why you're working towards grade 3. There may be very good reasons why you've settled on this as your target - but at the moment I can't see what they are. It seems your pupil is not yet tackling pieces of this grade, her sight-reading isn't that level either - I wonder if a different target might be more achievable ?

What about a London College Leisure Play exam? I find them useful to bridge the gap between grades.

In terms of how to practice, this girl does know how to practice. On a good week, she will have done a fair bit of work.

I think I may try the ban on "practice" and call it playing at home! See if psychology I can brainwash her into playing!

I agree with you Maggiemay, I do think a nice relaxing time working on grade 2 standard pieces would be better for her. However, I feel as though I am under pressure from her parents to continously push her on. I have spoken to mum saying that we are going to have a long break before we think about doing grade 3, but I can tell from comments after lessons, that me and mum define "long" very differently! I am perserving to bring her sight reading up to standard, and it has improved so greatly in the last 5-6 months. We are now going to go through the grade 2 improve/perfect your sight reading books.

However, in terms of grade 2 standard, I do believe she is at that standard. Firstly she passed grade 2 and secondly she got first place in a festival spanning pre-grade 1-3 playing a grade 2 piece (arabesque burgmuller). I do believe that with a good 3-4 weeks of regular practice, she could crack a grade 2 piece virtually on her own, perfect notes/rhythm and dynamics. This girl has a nice touch, very expressive. It's just that she doesn't practice enough at home, leaving the practice to the lessons and I do believe this is why her sight reading isn't up to standard.

I say that we are working towards grade 3, because once you do a grade or are up to the standard of that grade, everything you do is working towards the next grade, whether or not you decide to take that grade. I know we're still a long way from grade 3, but I dont know how we are ever going to get there!

I dont know really what other targets I could set her. We already do two festivals a year, meaning we are always working towards something.

What age is your student? Sometimes practise gets more interesting after a certain age, I know that happened to me!
I was in my teens when I started practising and enjoying it

Keet
x

So do I! I have several doing the Leisure Play equivalent of Grade 8 before the take the Big One! Glad to hear of someone else like me!

It's something about that word called 'PRACTISE'. Almost a swear word! Wish I knew the psychology behind it!!! My son is a really good bmxer and would go to the skate park every hour God sends if I let him. He's good because he's always on there 'practising' his skills. However, he doesn't see it as 'practise' as it's much more fun than sending him in the music room for 2 hours at a time. I've tried by asking the pupils if they've done much 'playing' during the week rather than asking them if they've done much 'practise.' Most of the pupils are arriving for their lessons at this time of the year full of stress through either, Year 6 or 9 Sats, GCSE's, AS + A2 Exams etc. I've suggested they use the piano to relieve themselves of the stress they're under