Hiya

This has to happen to everyone at some point, I'm guessing, but how do I stop being so harsh on *everything* I play? Coz my teacher is hyper critical here, and I'm learning lots, but I'm fed up of practicing coz I think "oh there's gonna be so many things wrong what's the point". But then if I slack on practicing, my teacher gets harsher which....

It was ok with clarinet coz I know I'm not all I could be and want to get better. It's starting to do my head in with piano, coz even stuff I like playing, I'm thinking "yeah but I could play it better" and then get frustrated which takes all the fun out of it, and I haven't got a teacher to tell me how to make it better anyway.

I'm just stuck basically!Any ideas? I'm having to bribe myself with points to get me to do clarinet at the moment!

Sounds like the guy I had at uni. He was super critical, but it got me playing much better, so it was brilliant.

Just stick with it elmo. You'll do brilliantly.

There always seems to be ups and downs with music. I know only two weeks ago I was so chuffed with everything then I had a lesson yesterday, played everything wrong and now I'm really frustrated. If you stick with it Elmo, you'll pull through the negativity and come out on the other side with your tunes and musicianship that much better as a result.

Must be the week for it...... my playing was not so good at my lesson today either .

Aww elmo that sucks It's not an uncommon feeling I'm sure. It's probably your mental feelings more than how you actually play. The pure fact that you can tell what you are doing wrong suggests an amount of musical talent. Maybe you should talk to your teacher and mention how you feel about it, ask his/her advice. They probably feel that you need to be pushed but still, it's not really fair on you.
As regards the physical side of it, if you feel that you are always picked on at everything, then don't even bother trying to get everything right. Go for little bits at a time. Then if your teacher says that you are doing a certain bit wrong, you can say "yes, because I've been working hard on X". Another thing to consider if that if you are being given so many negative comments maybe you should ask for slightly easier music?
Best of luck anyway.

Coz my teacher is hyper critical here, and I'm learning lots, but I'm fed up of practicing coz I think "oh there's gonna be so many things wrong what's the point". But then if I slack on practicing, my teacher gets harsher which....

Aaaaw, elmo, THAT is AWFUL! How can he/she be hyper critical when you ARE learning! It's HIM that has an attitude problem and you find it hard not to react naturally to it. Hmmm..., do you think it might help if you tell him how you feel abt his criticism, that it's really getting you down, etc?

I've improved masses with him, just I've lost some of the enthusiasm now coz it feels like I'm banging my head agaisnt a brick wall! I'll tell him I can't practice it if I don't understand what he means and he just tells me I will if I practice it. I refused to play a passage the other day saying I didn't know what he meant and I think he might've got the message that I'm not telepathic lol.

I am learning lots, but he says I don't play with any emotion, but then won't give me any pointers as to how to do it, so I have no idea how to improve!

Don't play with emotion? Sounds familiar. Even Sarah Chang used to be clinical when she was very young!

I can't give you the link, elmo, as I'm hopeless technology-wise but I recall reading a thread on expression and interpretation in music which was started by July (a person, by the way, not a month!).

Perhaps someone else can give you that link?

Tess

This one?

YES!

Thanks, imagery's a good plan. I've been thinking and I can't think of much to describe first mvt Poulenc sonata for clarinet and Weber concerto 1. Mozart 2nd movement I have a nice picture of a lake, but I'll have to wait til tomorrow to test it! Any ideas for the other 2?

I guess the best I can say is stick with it. I had this really bad year three years ago, and almost quit piano, but now I'm so glad I didn't.

you dont want teachers who dont critics, do you? my violin teacher does not critics compared to my piano teacher

Having a critical teacher is good for improvement, but you need fun too.
I keep one score that I love just for me. A teacher has never heard me play it and I use my own interpretation of it knowing no-one else will ever hear it. It's for my own enjoyment alone and I end every pratice session with it so I always end feeling good. This helps me a lot.

oh no, I want a teacher who will criticise me, just as long as he's constructive about it.

There is an alternative interpretation of the situation here.

When I teach advanced students, I can only help them when they have their own ideas. I help them develop these ideas. I will not turn them into clones of myself.

If a student comes with little to offer, that leaves me with little to say. This can make a student feel successful when the opposite is true.

A lively, original performance sparks my imagination and produces idea after idea, enhancement after enhancement. This can make a student feel criticised when the opposite is actually true.

Could this be happening to you elmo?

Steve

erm.. I don't think so. He keeps telling me my playing lacks interest and I'm not playing it, just playing the notes. He does say "oh that was better" but says it at points where I just played it worse than I did before, am getting fed up and hopes that saying something positive will make me more positive when it just makes me feel worse!

I really don't mind being told I'm doing things wrong, but everytime I practice I think.. well dunno what I think but either way it's a struggle to make me get it out the case because I don't want to hear how bad my tone sounds, or how I can't play with feeling, whereas at school I could play for hours!

What a great idea!

You should make periodic recordings of it so you can "look" (or listen??) back and hear how much you're improving

Absolutely! I have done this for a couple of years and it is indeed wonderful to be able to have your very own interpretation with no-one to criticise you but yourself.

Difficult to do mid-term, I know - but others have written about the amazing effect NOT practising for a week or so can have - sometimes coming back to a thing, with perhaps less expectation of yourself, can allow you to relax enough to play better - or more to your satisfaction? And it is also true that a teacher may well demand more of someone whom they know can give more...

Aww elmo! I know its hard and I had a rotten year last year but everythings so much better now and I'm a much better player because of what happened then. Don't give up keep trying and try and speak to your teacher about it. I know with my problem the matter only got worst until I told her what was wrong and after that she was fantastic abou the whole thing! And you always think your worst than you actually are! Hope things get better soon.

I came away from my piano lesson last week a bit down... I've always had really bad habits when I play, and we've just started preparing arpeggios for my Grade 8 in March. I tend to slide my fingers towards me and then turn my thumb under, so I got that under control for the next week's lesson. But now my second finger keeps "collapsing". My teacher pointed it out to me, and then said "play it again".
I played it again, my finger did the same.
"You did it again! Play it again!"
Finger collapses again.
"Look, you don't even know you're doing it! Play it slower!"
I play it again, get to the bottom and think, Wow, I did it! My teacher says - "Your second finger collapsed three times out of four on the way down then!"
And so the cycle goes on....
I mean, I know it makes me aware, and I know it's a habit, and it'll get better, and my teacher is trying to help (I mean, sometimes I'm as hyper sensitive as my teacher is hyper critical!) but sometimes I'll come out of lessons feeling so useless...