Learning a new piece, or a new exercise, or anything new, starts off with a rush of enthusiasm. If you are the pupil you can feel yourself making progress, and it inevitably feels good. Your teacher, your family, everyone can hear the progress. This steep early part of the learning curve is great, but it doesn't last.

There comes a time in the learning of any piece where the notes are "under the fingers" and you are working on the dynamics and expression, to get "up to speed" for a performance or exam. This later part of the learning curve is very flat, indeed undulating as, inevitably, the pupil makes the odd step back for every few steps forward. It can be very disheartening to a student to be doing the same thing week in week out and the feeling that little or no progress is being made can creep in.

As a pupil (adult learner if you will, but still a pupil) I try make sure that whatever I am working for on the flat part of the curve I reward myself afterwards by always being on the steep part for something, be it a new piece, a new or rusty exercise or just a few minutes of sight-reading practice: Something where I can feel I made progress (whether I really did or not!!).

As teachers, what do you do to maintain the interest and enthusiasm at these times?


--------------------

This is funny Robodoc....
I actually did not realise it but I DO go through what you mentioned and I do EXACTLY what you say to keep 'boredom at bay!'.
I pick up a different book/piece and do something else...for example, I am now trying to 'refine' my 3 grade 2 pieces (my teacher suggested I go for grade 2 in november, by then I should be WELL prepared as I know all my scales etc up to grade 3 so far) so...I do feel like I always sound the same with these pieces lately and get disheartened quickly, that's when I pick up my piano time book 2 and 3 and carry on on those one, or I pick up the up-grade from Pam Wegwood and have some fun learning something new, or I learn a new scale/arpeggio/broken chord pattern or like you said just practice on sight reading.
I think for most people this would be the answer! I do this on violin too...I am taking grade 1 in july and am well prepared for it so I only practice my stuff for the exam 2 or 3 times a week (I practice 7 days a week most times) and pick up some 'stuff' at random that I like the look or sound of and learn that

Funnily enough, I'm completly the other way round. I hate the early stages when I'm first learning and everything is so hard. I much prefer it when I can more or less play the thing and it's just a case of polishing.

As a teacher, I always try to have something easier on the go with a pupil as well as the technically dfficult things, so that they aren't struggling with everything. I try to end lessons on a positive note, playing something that is fun for them - some like to play an old favourite, others like duets/trios or a piece from a different genre (one pupil swapped from learning jazz to classical recently as a result!!).

With difficult pieces I try to think of new ways for them to practice and isolate bits of the piece, rather than working on the whole thing. I think it's essential to feel that you are making progress, even if it is slow.

On a personal level, I like to work hard at a piece for a few weeks, then put it away for a while before dusting it off and having another go. There's nothing worse than getting bored and fed up with a piece. I totally agree with the 'fits and starts of progress interspersed with long plateaus' experience.

I try to do that both as teacher and as a student - my piano teacher also seems to like me to have at least a couple of things at different levels on the go for the same reasons.

I also listen to recordings, do non-related practice (say, technical or tone work), and also often remind myself of whatever I am aiming towards (say, an exam, a performance, or just being able to play a piece that I love) so that my effort is not in a vacuum!

It's one of the reasons I feel a bit flat after the euphoria of exam results - the last rush usually means that only exam-piece-polishing happens, and nothing else is at a "halfway there" stage... Just as well I don't do exams every term - so the rest of the time, I'll do the same, have several pieces on the boil, all at different stages in their preparation.

Yes, I find it hard getting things up and running in the first place.
Note learning can be a slowish business.

...on the piano I find both parts slow