Among my pupils I teach many mature (in age) adults on a 1-2-1 basis and also 3 2hr sessions a week for Adult Education - piano, keyboard and organ

The 1-2-1 pupils are very good at practising inbetween lessons but some of my Adult Education group students are driving me crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!

One 70 year old lady in particular will come to me every Monday, flash her over made-up eyes at me, and say what I hear EVERY Monday

"You MUST forgive me.........I've been SOOOO busy this week I haven't done any practise" and considering she's in the advanced class, her performance factor is ZILCH.
Then I hear her complaining in the coffee break to a fellow classmate that she doesn't think she is getting anywhere, and she finds it really difficult.

When I set a "project" for the class I expect them all to do their bit (2 weeks ago it was for each student to learn a different part to a popular song so that we could all play along together as a "keyboard orhcestra") she hasn't learnt her part (TOO flamin' busy) and thus lets all the others down.

You should have seen her face when I said that we would just have to play along without HER!!

I know some of them come along for the social side of the session, but call me old fashioned (I'm a good deal younger than most of my adult students), I still expect them to do some practise so that we can move on. That's what I'm paid to do.

Adult Learners on the forum - what would YOUR teacher say if you constantly did not practise and were not able to input into the lesson??

It's VERY frustrating!!

Last week I went to my oboe lesson not having taken the oboe out of its case for nine days because I had been away from home for professional reasons. This is the first time this has happened to me since I started having lessons almost four years ago and I felt terribly embarrassed by it; even though I had told my teacher in the previous lesson (before I went away) that I wouldn't be able to practise and he didn't make a problem out of it.

To return to you own case, I can't understand why someone would come week after week having done no practice what so ever. Unless they think that because they are one of a group you won't notice. This is certainly what happens with my university students (attendance is not compulsory in France) who somehow think that I won't notice who is there and who isn't and that there is no point in doing the preparation I have asked for because there is bound to be someone else there who has done it and who will answer any questions I ask.

My teacher would expect me to ring and cancel the lesson until I have.
If I've been on holiday I have to put up a really convincing case that I'll have done enough practice if my lesson is less than a week after my return before she'll agree to a lesson that week.

I don't ever go having done no practice whatsoever, but the amount I get done does vary considerably; if its been a pants fortnight, I'll tell him so, and he'll usually say "never mind, let's see how it goes" - I'll then play, and he'll find ways to make what I'm doing better. However, I've never been one to go from lesson to lesson with no work done - I don't want to waste his time, or my money. I find it difficult to understand that your pupils could do this to you, and waste their cash as well -how frustrating. In that situation, I think you're right to put your foot down.

Only times I went without real practice (i.e. every day but Friday between lessons) I had severe food poisoning the first time that lasted four days and the second was a three day migraine. Going unprepared otherwise is disrespectful I feel.

I agree that it is a waste of Teacher's time but also MY money if I don't practise. I did have one lesson without practising (and indeed did not touch the piano) but it had been agreed in advance that my immediate post holiday lesson would be an assessment of a year's progress. I may not have played that lesson but gained a lot in general and for me in particular. For me, it was money well spent.

I wonder if the handing over of hard cash on a weekly basis makes a difference? Do the Adult Education group pay in advance?

I wonder if the adult group is the best place for her, It is probably worth having a quiet word that she must practise, particularly group activities so as not to let the rest of the group down. Alternatively, she should pay you for a private lesson so you can progress at her speed, she will probably get more out of it doing it that way.

A friend of mine has been teaching for 60+ years, and she has an adult student who has come to her for 30 years and never practises, he has reached about grade 4/5 standard. Her arguement is, he must be getting some benefit from it even if it is just to get him away from the house, 30 years is a long time to not quit because you're worried about telling the teacher!

I wonder if it does? That's the way I operate, and rarely get this issue. (All 1-2-1). On the other hand, my students are always working towards something where they have to perform infront of someone - an examiner, adjudicator/peers/audience in a festival, peers/relatives/audience for student concerts. Maybe that make a difference too? So for each student, there are at least two "performances" a year (concerts) - no-one has ever not wanted to take part - and more for others doing exams/festivals as well. So we have the pride issue.

Sorry - off topic here. Could you say to you over-made up lady in front of the class - "What a pity you don't have the time to practice, it would make such a difference to your fellow students' enjoyment."?

As a pupil, I have been to lessons on all my instruments in which I've had to 'fess up that practice has not been what it should be due to other things going on. And all my teachers have been tremendously understanding of this. Especially as for most instruments it wasn't a habit.

However, for one instrument - the piano - there were getting to be more and more intervening circumstances (for which read excuses not to practise). And I was aware this was happening, and realised that it was actually that the little motivation I had once had to play the piano had gone. So I apologised to the teacher, assured him that it wasn't his teaching but my attitude that was lacking, and quit.

I must admit, I have thought about putting a poster on my wall reading something like this

No Practise Excuses.

1. Too much homework
2. Birthday party
3. Swimming club
4. On Holiday
etc

So people could come in and say I'll have a number 2 and 3 this week please, it would save so much time at the beginning of the lesson not having to listen to all the excuses!

My teacher is very understanding knowing that I've had serious health problems and have been terribly busy besides that of late, so if I haven't done much, she's not too bad over it. Anyway, I'm just learniny by myself, so it's not so bad.

Having said that, I do feel that it's not worth learning if I can't practise, so I'd be very tempted to have a word with this lady and tell her that, if she can't find time to practise, then music just isn't for her. She has to make priorities and it's not as if she's likely to have a busy career at her age, is it??

Like everyone else here, I know that if I haven´t practiced it´s a waste of time and money. If I haven´t had time to do a lot of practice I tell the teacher, but I don´t go into a long list of excuses - that would just waste even more time.

Would peer pressure work with this lady? For instance suggest that she gets together with one of the other pupils during the week to practice. If she knows that someone is waiting for her to turn up and play then maybe she will be less likely to find something else to do with the time.

^ yes, me too - I am always honest about it, and teachers are generally understanding.

My Dad died in August and he was a pianist... a concert pianist in his time. He never got around to teaching us piano as a child and wouldn't let anyone else teach us as he would have disagreed with them .
Well... I've been learning the piano as an adult... and got 130 in my Grade 5 in June (my dad knew my result before he died!!!)
I had a lot of work to do over the summer for my piano lessons and didn't feel much like playing the piano for a while, then I picked up some of my dad's music and begun playing again.
When my piano lessons begun again in September, I explained to my teacher that I hadn't done any scales (my dad didn't care much for scales... he found it quaint that I used to like them and when I saw him over the summer, he'd say"Maybe I need to start practising scales, I'm sure it's good for the soul, it's just boring").
My teacher was great about it, and we found some music for me to play from my Dad's music and said I could really do what I wanted all this term
GREAT.

Well... the next week we begun the lesson and she said "Let's begin with the black key melodic minors". Well, I had just begun to play majors, harmonic minors and felt a little more positive about scales... and I said "I haven't done those, you said it was ok" and my teacher said "Well, I'll treat you like any child that hasn't practiced. We'll do them in the lesson". I was really cross and haven't practiced a scale since... and to give her her due, she hasn't asked to play a scale since then.
I don't think adult learners should be treated like children. I pay for my own lessons. Maybe because I teach music (not piano!!!), I understand that scales have to be learned and I know I will learn them. The teacher is not wasting some parents money on the lesson. If I don't practice... well that's my funeral.
I have practiced a lot recently JUST NOT MY SCALES. I know what I'm doing and surely as an adult I should have more say in how I learn.
I have to admit, I don't have any adult pupils, but I hope I would say to a non-practicing adult that if she/he doesn't practice, very little progress will be made. Then, it's up to them really.
It's more difficult in this group situation... how about suggesting she swaps to an easier class? Carry on not letting her spoil it for the others... but if she does decide to leave the class, that's ok... It's her choice. She's an adult...

The bottom lip would really start to tremble then!!

The thing is that the students in any one class form a bond and the mere suggestion that any one should change class would have nuclear reactions.

Forgive me for blowing a fanfare of trumpets for my self, but most of the pupils from other keyboard tutor's class have de-camped to one of MY three sessions.....for certain reasons (or rather, reason) so to suggest that they move back would be met with horror.

I think I'll have to put my foot down.

It's been very interesting so far, to read all your contributions to my topic. Many thanks.

When I returnded to piano as an adult after a long gap I went to LEA group lessons for about 3 years before I went back to 1:1. The group lessons were great for getting to know a wide variety of repertoire , learning about unfamiliar composers and their styles and also for having to get used to playing in front of people on a weekly basis. I was in the advanced class which was for people grade 5-ish plus and of course there was a huge variety of age, ability and temperament. We were fortunate in having excellent, qualified, experienced teachers.

From this variety I learned a lot. For example, with the very able students the teacher might spend a long time on perfecting just a few notes or a single phrase, which gave an insight into how attention to small details underpins really superior performances. Watching the work with less advanced students I picked up a lot of information on how to go about practicing in general (I still hear a good humoured voice saying you practiced that mistake really well this week!) and how to go about conquering various technical difficulties.

Perhaps you could think of this lady as a heaven sent teaching opportunity for the other class members?
She (fluttering eyelshes) Sooo sorry, didn't have a moment to practice my Bach (or whatever).
You, Oh dear, well, we'll start from the beginning and use this time to think about how we go about learning a Sinfonia (or whatever). She gets her ten or fifteen minutes working on the first bit of the process and then you indicate how you'll go on learning that piece next time. That way you hopefully would feel less frustrated because you're being assertive about what will happen, you're doing your job teaching her and the other students can learn from the situation. she gets to stay in the group and can't complain she's not getting her money's worth!

It strikes me that this lady is using your session as a social club disguised as a music lesson rather than as the music lesson it should be. I would guess that her lack of preparation is both disrupting the sessions and holding her fellow students back a little. A quiet word that unless she starts to take it seriously you would rather she stopped might not be out of place.

I'm busy too: I'll send you a PM.

I do my best to practice in between lessons for all the reasons given above - a waste of the teacher's time, a waste of my money, I want to make progress etc - and anyway I enjoy it.
However, sometimes circumstances prevent my being fully prepared for my lesson, and then, I'm sorry to say, I have been known to resort to the sort of diversionary tactics I used at school many moons ago - viz " could we go over the F# minor scale and arpeggios - I'm having a problem with it" followed by "please could you explain once more about Sonata form". Then I take out the piece which is best prepared and plonk it in front of me and just hope she doesn't ask for the unpractised piece!
Having said that, she is such a lovely person and I don't think she'd get cross and anyway she's taught piano for years and years and I'm sure sees straight through me!

Both of my teachers are very understanding if I haven't been able to practise either because of ill health or my job but otherwise I reckon I would get a rollicking (and would thoroughly deserve it too). As has been said earlier, I would feel it to be very disrespectful if I turned up for a lesson without having done some sort of practise. I know a lot of us have very demanding lives and we are soooooo busy as well, but we find time to practise, even if it's only for 10 minutes a day.

I feel this lady is being disrespectful both to you and the group - if she's got time to get dressed up and put her war paint on, then she's got time to practise!

My teacher is very understanding if I've had a few days without practice, usually because I've been away. Otherwise I try really hard to fit practice in, otherwise it's waste of my time, my teacher's time and my money! but as I really enjoy practising it's not a chore. Having said all that I only have a lesson once a month so if I go a couple of days without touching the oboe it's not such a great problem as it would be if I had a lesson each week.

Why does this lady come if she can't be bothered to fit in the practice time? I tend to agree with Blackbird that it's very disrespectful to the group and to you. I hope that you can sort it out.

I'm having fortnightly lessons on two instruments now and with a job and a small child, it can be a challenge to practise as much as I'd like to. I do try and do a bit every night - and if work isn't too busy - sometimes I get loads done. Other times, if work gets really busy (I'm freelance , so my working patterns are unpredicatable) my practice sessions are more sporadic.

Last week I genuinely hadn't practised much because there had been so much going on. I 'fessed up and my teacher was fine about it and instead of sweating over the difficult study I hadn't had much time to work on, we did some technique work in the lesson which was very useful. We laughing over the fact that I'd spend ten minutes staring at my tongue in the mirror one day, trying to work out why it was always curled up! (one of the aspects we're working on is getting me to keep my tongue flatter when playing). Another time I'm got out my instrument and spent ten minutes looking at the position of my right hand fingers in the mirror while I played any old nonsense. I didn't play a note of music - didn't have time. She may well have been trying to make me feeling better, but she was saying: "Ah, but that's what it's all about! You're thinking about it!" The way I see it is that I'm paying for the lessons. She can't make me practise - if I wanted to waste my money and not practise every week, then that would be my lookout, not hers.

BUT...this lady would test my patience too because she is pulling the group back. I'd have a quiet word with her, explain that 1-2-1 is a different story, but if you're learning in a group you do need to practise so everyone can move along at a reasonable speed. In the first instance though, I'd try to get to the bottom of WHY she's not practising. It could be something as simple as she doesn't know the best way and thinks the only way to practise is sit down and play thing through again and again, which she would find boring. Talking to her about what she could do in just 10-15 mins a day (quite a lot, if she's practising effectively) and gently, without patronising her, talk to her about how she might find a short time slot in the day to practise.

I've had lessons in the past where I haven't practiced out of pure laziness, and my tutor (very rightly) gave me a good telling off. I practice whenever I can now, but he knows that since I've had my ear problem, my practice sessions have virtually halved. (i.e. I used to practice at least two hours a day, now it's virtually an hour if that). I cancel lessons now if I don't feel I can justify wasting my tutors time.

Anyway, this lady of yours seems very similar to one of mine. She is in her early sixties, and since she retired last year, has become a glorified unpaid babysitter for her grandchildren. Every week she insists I go back...every week there is no practice done. Or the lesson is cancelled completely for three -four weeks on the trot sometimes. On top of this, her son and his wife have just parted and he has come home again! She now has his meals, ironing etc etc to do. However, we have come to crunch time, because she is wasting both our times and I have other people waiting who could quite easily fill her space for regular lessons. She has asked me to go down to fortnightly lessons from now til Christmas to see how things go. I have said that Christmas is definitley the cut-off point if things don't improve.

It's a pity as she is one of my original students from when I started teaching three years ago, but she understands my need for her to commit more.

I can never understand those who say they would "love" to learn the piano (or any other instrument), but don't go anywhere near it from one end of the week to the next.....

Actually I think part of the problem is that loads of people would "love to play" an instrument, but far fewer are willing to actually LEARN how...

Yes, I guess that's a point. But this particular lady was doing very well in the year leading up to her retirement. It seems she is sacrificing everything she wants to do (including going to dance classes) so that she can look after everybody else's children. This of course, is none of my business, apart from when it has the knock-on effect of wasting my time.

that's sad for her, as well as being frustrating for you.

Yes it is...and there's so much I want to say when she says "Yes, but......" every week, but I daren't, of course... At the end of the day, they are her family and are obviously her priority, which is right and proper.......but....

But it's a shame they're basically trampling on her good nature?

If she had time to do stuff before she retired, and yet hasn't now, it does strike me that someone is taking advantage and taking over her life. Which is sad...

I think I agree with Robodoc that this lady primarily wants a social outing.

The bottom lip would really start to tremble then!!

The thing is that the students in any one class form a bond and the mere suggestion that any one should change class would have nuclear reactions.

Then maybe a gentle veiled threat "Of course I really wouldn't want to do this to you as I know you 'd hate it so let's hope it doesn't come to this" ...
? might do the trick ?

I think the fact that she's messing it up for the rest of the group is bad. :-(

When people decide to learn an instrument, they should understand what's involved besides lessons - you need to make time to practice, you need to buy sheet music, etc.
But, in the real world, stuff happens and sometimes it can be difficult to practice. If it happens now and then, it's understandable. But every week? I'd say that was a problem.

I'll own up to not always practicing between lessons.
I've almost always practiced /something/, but it might not be everything I was meant to be doing. It might not even be the right instrument. I've had a nightmare year (of house moves, family bereavements, several serious illnesses and major surgeries in the family, etc.) and when your uncle dies in the same week that you're moving house and have rehearsals/services to sing at and an essay to write, something has to give and it tends to be music practice.
And if I get a bad cold and/or an asthma flare up, flute practice isn't going to happen, no matter how quiet life is that week.
My teacher is very understanding about it, but I'm always up-front about what I have and havn't practiced, so we'll work on stuff accordingly and if it's been a particularly practice-light week, we'll do more aural, sight-reading, etc. and work on stuff I'm just getting started on. Last lesson I'd practiced my scales really hard, but hadn't done much to pieces and said as much.
I do flute, recorder and piano all with the same teacher, so which instrument(s) get(s) worked on in lesson time depends on what I've been practicing and what exam(s) I've got coming up.

I think there a big difference between my turning up to a lesson and saying "I havn't done much flute this week, but I've learned the recorder scales and done some piano" and your pupil not doing anything at all, week after week, even when group activities depend on her doing it.

If she wants to waste her time and money, that's one thing. But stuffing things up for other people? No fair!
I think you should either tell her that it isn't fair to everyone else and that she should either practice or give up, or you should keep leaving her out of group pieces so that the others don't have their work spoiled - maybe that will get her to practice a bit.
If it was an occasional week of missed practice, being lenient about it would be fine. But it sounds like she either hasn't really taken on board what sort of committment is involved or she's not serious about it or she just can't be bothered (or all of the above).

And as it's a group lesson, the "years of lessons and no practice" approach which does work (albeit slowly) for some people isn't an option, because of the impact on the rest of the group.

T.

I think Teigr's hit the nail on the head here.

There's that quote from Itzak Perlman when he overheard a fan say "I'd give my life to be able to play like that!"

Perlman replied "I did".

Hah - well said, Itzak!

I have to travel professionally and I don't always find a piano where I'm at.
But if I'm in town I have a lesson...there's always sightreading, duets, improvisation....

My advice: she can participate in things that don't require practice, and there needs to be
a variety of things that do and don't require practice. When she sees how much more
fun it is to be in the chorus than not, she'll practise.

actually as a teacher (at uni, of maths) I never expect anyone to do anything before hand.
Even when I was teaching staff development workshops (eg new lecturers how to lecture,
new lecturers how to write a grant proposal etc) I never expected anyone to prepare anything.
It was quickly apparent that no-one ever has any time. So, I set up some activity which can be
done after reading one paragraph of something.....you have to have smart students, though,
who can make up a hot debate/do a calculation/whatever with only the barest outline given.

Hi I'm Tricia and new to the forum and have been an adult learner of the piano for 3 years and taken up theory over the last 6 months or so. First of all I can only assume that if I didn't practise in between my lessons that my teacher would not be impressed as my son also has lessons with her and it is made quite clear that you practise through the week and not just on the lesson. However, my love for the piano ensures that I practise even if I haven't had the time, I will sit and play the piano into the early hours of the morning if that is the only time that I have, as I find it so relaxing.

How wonderful that there is a local adult group in your area for people to use this facility and give them the chance to play with other people perfoming, what a shame in the case with this lady that it is wasted. I think maybe that the lady in question isn't there for the music at all but in fact for social reasons to get her out of the house and meet others. I went to a group theory class last term and there was an old bloke there I think about 84 years old and he disrupted the lesson so much. He even tried to take over the class, how the young tutor kept his patience I just do not know. On one occasion,we had been set quiet work to work out ourselves, and for this you needed silence so you could concentrate and this guy kept talking, I said to him are you not doing this work then? and he said oh I did it years ago! Me thinks he didn't have a clue where to start and it made him feel big that he could sit there and say all these things. I don't know whether something was said to him at the end of the class or not but he didn't turn up the next week or after that. The class was so improved without his disruptin, that may sound very sad but he was spoiling it for those of us that took it serious and wanted to learn, and if it is social they want then maybe do a class where you don't actually have to learn anything, that way they can meet others, chat all the way through and not let the rest of the class down.

Trish

My teacher made it perfectly clear before I began lessons with him that I MUST practice. He has a waiting list and I am quite certain that he would tell me not to bother coming back if I regularly didn't practice. It can be tough, but I think people always find time for things that they really want to do.

I remember when i was learning to play Bassoon (many moons ago...) I turned up to my lesson without it having seen light of day since the previous lesson. I was rumbled VERY quickly, didnt deny my lack of practice, and was told in clear terms to pack the instrument away and clear off until the next week.
I was so horrified that I never did this again!

Now however, as an adult returning to lessons for my diploma, i practice till my arms are falling off! There is no way I am handing over my hard earned cash without something to show!

Maybe the difference is that if you are goal orientated and funding your own lessons, then you are only letting yourself down if no practice is done. This lady is most unfair on her fellow classmates. very selfish. Clearly a social outing for her.

I run an adult singing class as part of the Community Adult Education (CAE) programme. Some of the sing for pleasure and some do exams. The course is time limited by the academic year and involves group and individual work. I have always made it clear at the outset that they will need to do some practise at home, even if it's just learning the words, and have had to ask people to leave the course or not be involved in some parts of it because they havn't been able to practise (rather than because they have chosen not to). I've always done this privately and explained my reasons, made it clear that it's not personal and that if they can sort out their practise time they are very welcome to be included once again. Although I've had a couple of difficult responses most people have understood. I've also kept my manager informed and I think it's important to know that you have their backing.

With regard to being a student who doesn't practise, I have always made it clear to my piano teacher (of the last five years) that there will be times when it simply won't be possible for me to practise between lessons. It's absurd for any teacher to expect interesting adults to have the time necessary to practise every week. During one particularly hectic period of my life the only practise I had for two months was during my weekly lessons. If she'd have given me a hard time about it I'd have told her to stuffed and found another teacher. Nobody needs anybody that much!

If a student doesn't practice then why are they playing at all?
I can understand it if it is a younger person who has been steered into playing an instrument by their parents and has no real enthusiasm but I find it hard to imagine not wanting to play the instrument that I love.
Of course there is practice and there is 'practice', I can see a situation where a less motivated player of any age could be more content to pootle along playing things they are comfortable with and is reluctant to tackle the more challenging work that will help them improve.


On the whole though if you don't practice it is showing a lack of respect for your teacher, yourself (or whoever is funding your study) and the instrument.

very true.... and another part I think, is that many people don't realise how much constant work there is in getting to a good playing level.
"I'd love to play -- I didn't realise I had to practise and work at it... oh dear"

:nod:


Yes - I think as long as the teacher and student are on the same page, that's the main thing. Even for children sometimes this works - I know the younger brother of my flute student this afternoon is currently basically having half an hour's supervised practice a week... not ideal, but - the parents are willing and able to play, the teacher has enormous reserves of patience, and the child in question has just started secondary school along with having limited access to the piano because the house is being torn to pieces and put together with post-flood restorations (so it isn't entirely his fault)... all parties concerned have decided that 30 minutes a week is better than nothing, and when things get back to normal he'll be in better shape and in better habits than he would if lessons had simply stopped.


It depends if it's can't or won't - it's not hard to imagine that many adult students may go through periods where they simply don't have time to practise, and where the weekly lesson is a chance to touch base with the music that they love but don't have a time for enough of. But that is an acute situation, I also find it od when people chronically just won't practise.

I do think that in a group lesson, you HAVE to have almost more dedication because it's not just yourself that you're letting down.


Yup...

At school if we don't do our homework then we (should) get a detention. Pretty simple. The teachers can be quite forgiving but if it is a habit then the can and should come down hard. The other week I clean forgot about a piece of homework - that was the first piece for that teacher in 2 years, and he let me off with handing it in next lesson. With clarinet, I am always doing some playing, in orchestras etc., so its not too bad if I don't get much practise in. I tell my teacher what I've managed to do and we work from there. I guess I'm lucky that she could easily run a library from her stock of music, so there is always sight-reading to be done!

As you are teaching a class, I would do the schoolteacher thing and hand down some form of punishment to her. Its not fair on everyone else - I know too well what its like to be sat there while the teacher is trying to go over what we should have done for homework...



Brilliant

For the last few years I've been very conscientious about practising - I probably do about 5-7 hours a week of proper focussed practice and hopefully another couple of hours of playing (I'd love to do more, but this is just about the most I seem to be able to fit into my week). When I first started with this kind of effort I made a lot of progress quickly, it's since slowed down, but I do still notice the progress.

However, about 4 years ago now I had a really horrible year at work. I was working on a project away from home, leaving the house at 6.15am Monday morning and arriving home at 7pm Friday night - this went on for about 11 months, it was never supposed to last that long but timescales kept getting extended and it dragged on and on. I really couldn't do any practice during the week, there was nowhere to do it and the weekly commute was bad enough with suitcase and laptop without a tenor sax as well. I maybe did an hour or so's practice at the weekend and that was it. I was having weekly lessons (1 to 1) at a local music school and towards the end of the academic year my teacher suggested I have a think about whether I wanted to continue lessons, she was happy enough to carry on playing through tunes with me each week and enjoyed the lessons (we got on quite well) but I wasn't going to make any progress if I didn't practise. I was really upset at the thought of giving up lessons - they were the bright spots in my week I could hold on to during yet another night in with room service, or "make-or-break" meeting where nothing ever got made or broken. I carried on with lessons, the project ended and I got a more reasonable working schedule, started to put the hours in practising and began to progress. This particular teacher moved from the music school a little while later so hasn't seen just how much I've moved on. I'm sure if she did she'd be thrilled, and even though at the time she might have thought I was wasting both of our time, that treading water phase was necessary and ultimately beneficial to me in ways she had no idea about.

I think there are many adults who are willing to LEARN and who want to practise but simply don't have the time, or often the energy to do so. I have an adult voice student with 4 kids (8, 4 and twins of 18 months) a part time job and a husband who works abroad. She'd love to be able to put in more practise but there's no point saying, 'Can't you just do 20 minutes every couple of days,' as she doesn't have a spare 20 minutes. Her practise time and her lesson time are the same and although progress is very, very slow, it is there. A chap I also teach holds down an extremely demanding job for which he leaves home at 7.00am and is rarely back before 8.00pm. I think if you're going to take on adult learners you have to expect these sorts of problems unless they are an adult with no other demands on their time. I think it often takes amazing dedication from them to keep taking lessons at all.

Oh, how right you are. I'm up at 6.40 and get home earlier than my wife, so I usually prepare dinner, chase kids to get homework done etc. Weekends are often full of DIY projects, shopping trips, being a taxi driver for the kids, gardening....

Nevertheless, I try hard to practise as much as possible, even after a few glasses of amber nectar late in the evening. The problem is, as soon as I start practising, the time seems to go sooo fast! Then it's past midnight, and I'm wondering "What have I done?"

Steve

[quote name='stevensfo' date='Oct 29 2007, 02:36 PM' post='618889']
[quote]I try hard to practise as much as possible, even after a few glasses of amber nectar late in the evening. The problem is, as soon as I start practising, the time seems to go sooo fast! Then it's past midnight, and I'm wondering "What have I done?"

[/quote]



Me too! many an evening, I let the dog out in the garden, and intend to have a quick go on the piano while I wait to lock the door! needless to say, the dog is usually fast asleep on his bed long before i have finished playing!

I no longer tell my adult students off if they don't practise - I just keep stressing how important it is to do regular, frequent practice if they want to progress, and they either take the advice or they don't. I do raise an eyebrow if they keep doing too little but in the end it's their money and their time.

With the kids it's a different matter, because it's their parents' money, and they have more time especially when they're at primary school or in the early years of secondary school. I even had one pupil who flatly refused to reduce the amount of practice she did, right through to the end of GCSEs - and she still got 10 A's and A*s! She's not even hugely bright - just ambitious and very well-organised. No use mentioning her to the others though - even if they don't know her they just raise their eyes to heaven and tell me she must have been some kind of nerd, which she most emphatically ISN'T!!! However, the mother has a degree, so she might well have set the right sort of parameters from the start re study/time off.

But going back to the adults - they have so many other pressures on them like work, family etc it would be churlish of me to give them a seriously hard time for the virtually inevitable times when they don't practise enough.