What do you like/dislike about your teacher?

[Bob]

de ja vu...






teachers on students...
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,10647.0.html

[BoliverAllmon]

I don't mind my teacher, but I dislike with a massive passion the head of the piano department at school. We went at it and it is just nuts.

[Teddybear]

Like: phenomenal pianist, kind, classy, motherly, confident when teaching.

Dislike: slightly patronizes me on some hidden level, shows up late yet disapproves if I come late sometimes. I'm ok with these things. I don't think she'd be a better person if she didn't do them.

T

[Derek]

My teacher rocks. He's a phenomenal player, has an encyclopedic knowledge of piano repertoire, expression and technique. When he teaches, he is firm but never makes me feel small, stupid, or nervous. That's the wonderful thing, I never feel nervous at a lesson with my teacher. Except perhaps for a few seconds right when I am showing him a hard piece that I wasn't SUPPOSED to work on   He usually acquiesces and works on pretty much anything with me, though.

[Siberian Husky]

Likes: i like the way my teacher always sets a comfortable mood and open up lessons with how our week went..and what we're up to..like friends..she always has an answer to my question and if she doesnt, she'll on the spot look for an answer in her books or on the internet..shes not afraid to admit her faults, i like that shes humble and not a stuck up drill master piano teacher..

Dislikes: she underestimates me too much..which elads to me playing pieces on my own at home...i understand her not wantng any gaps in my technique or learning...but i should have more say than her on my capabilities and my goals..

[cadenz]

i dislike when my teacher sings what i was playing in a patronizing tone of voice if she didn't like how it sounded  and i sort of wish she'd say more encouraging things.. but not to worry, i don't get demotivated so easily 

[ako]

I just love my teacher. The best thing about her is that I always learn something from the lesson and I always sound much better afterwards. I also like all the stories she tells me about her teachers, her professional engagements, master classes, judging, etc. It makes me feel that I have a glimpse inside the "professional" world.

[chozart]

Likes: i like the way my teacher always sets a comfortable mood and open up lessons with how our week went..and what we're up to..like friends..she always has an answer to my question and if she doesnt, she'll on the spot look for an answer in her books or on the internet..shes not afraid to admit her faults, i like that shes humble and not a stuck up drill master piano teacher..

Dislikes: she underestimates me too much..which elads to me playing pieces on my own at home...i understand her not wantng any gaps in my technique or learning...but i should have more say than her on my capabilities and my goals..

(likes:) yeah, my teacher and I are comfortable with each other like that too
in fact, she sees me as her second granddaughter oO lol

dislikes: she sometimes just doesn't listen, lol. I tell her like a million times this is what the (wo)man said (like when talking about an upcoming event, or repertoir required for something), and she just gets all uppidy like I'm wrong or something.

"other": not something I really like nor dislike.. it makes me laugh though. She gets carried away A LOT, lol.
Like if I'm playing something and it's approaching a dramatic moment, she'll randomly get up start singing really loud and pace back and forth, and/or do these arm and hand motions to like.. "help me aim toward something," haha.
Sometimes she gets carried away differently too.. like I'll have lessons two-three times a week, and when I can't go, it's over the phone, lolol (kinda nice though because for these I don't pay! hahaha).. but when it's recital time she gets all nervous and all crazy demanding. This actually does look very funny when I see her do it to her other students, and I actually laughed out loud (well not like insanely) when she slapped one of my friends' hands, and this one girl started talking to me in Russian asking what's so funny. Lol, I replied but telling her how funny the teacher is and added "btw, I don't speak Russian." XD
Also, in public, she's very loud. It actually makes me want to laugh so hard, but I just cover my mouth with my fist so it looks like I'm just concentrating or something (but if you look at my face I'm so red, lol). Like at this master class we went to 2 weeks ago.. omg.. she kept like randomly talking about what all the students' faults were, lol. The dude giving the mc would say like all the same things, so that was cool, but she was soo loud about it, like everyone kept looking over, especially when she'd make these weird disapproval sounds and randomly do the movements to better fingering or hand positioning. In a way, it was sort of embarrassing.. but mostly, I just find her so funny.

Overall, I really like her though. She doesn't have a lot of things I dislike. She's just weird

[thalbergmad]

Like-always relaxed.
Dislike-the ability to play at sight what i have just spent all week trying to play.

[pianonut]

pauses. ponders. wonders.  hums "i've grown accustomed to his face."  really like his piano playing, and thinks how can a person get to be that good - that fast.  imponderable.  seems to have a lot of connections.  plays a lot.  good example - and realistic about goals for his students.  very relaxed, yet very driven.

opens door for lesson very quickly - could be killed if the door opened the other way. 

lunges at the piano when he is going to give an example of how to play something.  well, not quite. 

[m1469]

The thing I enjoy most about my teachers is any pure and uncontrived expression of love for the beauty and art of music making and piano playing.  As though they are seeing it all for the very first time, although years have been put into searching, learning and growing within it.  Magical childlikeness.  Intoxicating, infinite depth.

I also like it when they give me candies, chocolates, and stickers  

I respect my teachers whom can allow me to be myself as a person and actually look inside at who I am and they treat me like the person I am. 

I like when my teachers inspire me and push me to want to know more... about everything, yet help me maintain a focused avenue for expression through music.

I like those moments when my teachers can just be themselves, pure and simple.

I like when my teachers listen and contemplate.

I LOVE when my teachers innocently and carefully *blow my mind*, all the while helping me know and feel that I am in good hands.

I like when those things mentioned above, inevitably make up for anything I may not have liked and how they can make the "dislikes" not worth mentioning and/or obsolete.



m1469 

[dinosaurtales]

Like-always relaxed.
Dislike-the ability to play at sight what i have just spent all week trying to play.

DITTO!  I just had a series of lessons at a music festival, where the faculty did the same thing.  I really wish they'd pretend to have just a little trouble with a passage.  Even if I knew it was fake I'd feel better.

[Waldszenen]

Like - she always is able to pinpoint with 100% accuracy every little tiny deficieny I have and ways to improve it.

Dislike - as above; she can get really irritating when I'm in a bad mood.

[thalberg]

I'm 28 now and for the first time in my life, I have no teacher and I'm so glad. 

[Jacey1973]

I love everything about my teacher. 

[Tash]

i like the fact that my teacher is honest with me all the time.
however she's incredibly vague half the time- like we can have a conversation about something and the next week she's totally forgotten and starts talking about the same thing, or asks me the same questions over and over again. no offence to her but it drives me nuts.
i also feel like she doesn't fully understand where i'm at in terms of my seriousness and interest in music- like i was pretty slack in doing my work for my theory exam last year, but i knew what i was doing and was completely fine with it. so i rushed through the exam (had to get to uni) and told her that, and she's like, hesitantly, 'but you passed...right?' and i'm like ah yeah of course i did! and ended up getting 90 or something so she's like oh wow. so that frustrates me.
which reminds me, to those who helped me in my what is with 2ndary dominants etc- end of session test for all that got 35/40, top was was 35.5 so be impressed!! haha just basking in my glory
another thing that annoyed me- we were discussing debussy and she's like so what period would you say he was in, and i'm like well a lot of people say impressionist but i prefer saying he's more symbolist because he was influenced by the symolist poets and all blah blah blah. and then she completely ignores what i've just said and makes me go yapping on about impressionism.
so at the moment my teacher is kind of driving me nuts. but that could just be due to that fact that i'm going to have to leave her at the end of the year when i start music ed at uni, and getting annoyed with her just makes the pain less. but i also think it's time for a new teacher.

[whynot]

As with jenni, my teacher is a true gentleman.  He's fantastically good, but also very kind, which is becoming more important to me as I get older.  There's some quote like, "When I was younger, I was impressed by clever people.  Now I'm impressed by kind people," or something.  Anyway, some students think he's scary, but if you're prepared and working hard, he'll go to the ends of the earth to help you.  And he'll make sure you have the bench you want!   And he doesn't make me nervous, even though he's a hundred times better than I.  I guess because I feel his good will when I'm playing, that he wants it to go well.

[Jacey1973]

As with jenni, my teacher is a true gentleman.  He's fantastically good, but also very kind, which is becoming more important to me as I get older.  There's some quote like, "When I was younger, I was impressed by clever people.  Now I'm impressed by kind people," or something.  Anyway, some students think he's scary, but if you're prepared and working hard, he'll go to the ends of the earth to help you.  And he'll make sure you have the bench you want!   And he doesn't make me nervous, even though he's a hundred times better than I.  I guess because I feel his good will when I'm playing, that he wants it to go well.

Perhaps we have the same teacher?  lol

[ted]

This is going back forty years. In those days I practically worshipped him and hung on every word. He was such a forceful musical personality that I couldn't see his faults for many years. His main one was that he couldn't be bothered teaching any physical technique. Another was that he was too competitive - always wanting to "beat" somebody in one way or another. He felt obliged to demonstrate his abilities, which were many, all the time.

On balance, however, he gave me so much. I doubt I would have played at all in later years had it not been for him.

[whynot]

Jenni, I re-read your first post.  Perhaps it is the same teacher!

[Jacey1973]

Jenni, I re-read your first post.  Perhaps it is the same teacher!

Hehe well you never know. You from UK? If not i guess we don't have the same teacher...lol 

[alzado]

I like my teacher for many reasons.  She is very laid back and pleasant, and she does not put me down even if my pieces do not go very well that day. 

She is also so helpful in explaining many things I don't understand -- like 3 against 4 and some peculiar symbols on the page--  Like quarter notes with three dots after them ( ! ! ).

One thing that irritates me a little bit is that she is always just "mistake hawking."  She listens to me play the way a copy editor reviews a manuscript.  Just like her whole existence is to fine some flaw.  Then she stops me -- sometimes right in the middle of a phrase. 

All in all, I am satisfied with my piano teacher.

[Bob]

Mistake hawking?  Yes, I like that term.  I think teachers need to focus on the big picture, not the little errors all the time.  Focusing on the small stuff is good when you're polishing the piece, but that's not always the point when you're learning.

[minimozart007]

I like my teacher because he has a wierd accent ( he's Venesuelan...) and he's a walking, talking, encyclopedia of music.  The only thing that peeves me is this:  DOES HE REALLY NEED TO TAP HIS PENCIL WHILE IM PLAYING???

[rafant]

She sightreads very well and likes to play a lot during the lesson. On the other hand, being a musicologist, I think she should know the piano repertory better.

[rafant]

Ah, and she doesn't mind about fingering, so I don't find enough help and must fix fingering problems by myself.

[luc]

Like - She can sightread extremely good (which is very helpful especially for four hands) and she always explains things with examples and metaphors. 

- I can choose myself what I want to play.

Dislike - Her lessons are very unorganized. 

[jeremyjchilds]

Like her ability to constantly be ecxited about lessons

Dislike her moodieness

[raffyplayspiano]

like - demanding, optimistic, effective

dislike- tangental at times, a little not all there.