Should I give up Piano?

[pianolearner]

It’s normally a couple of weeks between my piano lessons and working shiftwork means my practice sometimes suffers. My lessons are normally 1 hr long but today my teacher decided to cut it down to half an hour. The reason being that I didn’t completely learn a simple piece I was given and she felt there was nothing more she could contribute for the day. She then began to question whether piano was the right instrument for me (I think she was implying that I should be better than I am). I started seriously learning to play just before I turned 36 and have been learning for about 18 months now. I passed my grade 1 exam with Merit (130/150) after 11 months.

I now feel completely deflated by what she said a feel that she may dump me as a student. Even though it only happened today it is affecting my ability to practice. I can’t help thinking in the back of my mind that whatever I play isn’t good enough and never will be.

I explained to my first teacher and to this teacher that I wanted to ENJOY learning piano and take it at my own pace. I am now wondering if my pace is too slow and if I should just give up.

Does anyone have anything (hopefully encouraging) to say.

P.S: I like my current teacher, she has helped me a great deal, but now I think she considers me a hopeless case!

[nsvppp]

Oh, I feel with you, but my reaction is: why give up on piano playing? You can look for a different teacher.

The problem is that you really like(d) your teacher. But this is a new situation. Can you be open to your teacher on this subject, and say that you were very unhappy with her reaction last time? And discuss what to do next?

[xvimbi]

I assume you are playing for your own enjoyment. So, it's really nobody's place to tell you how fast you should proceed or what difficulty levels you should master. Go at your own pace. A teacher who is generally (and genuinely) interested in helping students advance will have no problem with this, whatsoever. After all, you are a paying customer.

There are however teachers who only accept students who will excel in one way or the other. It helps them build up a certain reputation. Some teachers also don't find it worthwhile to teach students who obviously won't get to a very advanced stage, not matter how much enjoyment they may derive from their own playing.

I would recommend to talk to your teacher about those aspects. If your teacher is fine with your pace and your irregular practice schedule (we all have lives), great. Perhaps, she had a bad day. If not, I would suggest looking for a different teacher, rather than trying to commit to something that you can't keep up.

Finally, there is really no excuse for cutting a lesson short (other than emergencies). If one can't make any constructive comments regarding the current piece (nothing unusual about this), one can always discuss technique or theory, do eartraining, etc.

Cheers!

[allthumbs]

Greetings

Don't give up!!!

I started taking lessons back in 1997 after a 20-year layoff from playing and about 30 years after taking any lessons.

I too was in the same situation as you, as I work shiftwork as well. I had an understanding teacher who was willing to teach me biweekly and on different days of the week due to my rotating shifts. The time between lessons allowed me to cover most of what I had to work on and still make steady progress. I did my Grade 8 RCM exam in 2000 and Grade 9 RCM exam in 2002.

I'm working on the Grade 10 repertoire now, but am not taking lessons at present (except for Harmony 3) due to the fact that the increased intensity and time needed to practice at this level is too much right now for my present work schedule. Not to mention that with two daughters taking lessons as well, the monetary commitment is rather high.

I do practice as much as I can and as soon as I retire, I'll be back at it full time (in about a year and a half).

In the mean time, I need to complete Harmony 3 and History 3 for my Grade 9 certificate.

I agree with all the comments that xvimbi just posted.

Good luck!

[teresa_b]

NO!!!  Don't give up.

I agree with the previous posters about talking to your teacher, or if that doesn't work out, seek a new teacher who will work with you.

I studied piano with a very nice teacher in college, and years later I took it up again with the same teacher.  I still get coaching from her but not regular lessons.  Anyway, she never insisted I learn anything, at any rate, except pieces I chose. 

Unless you are working toward a career in piano, why not do what you enjoy? 
Good luck!
Teresa

[ted]

I reinforce what the others have said. Give up the teacher if necessary but on no account give up your music.

[sharon_f]

I agree with the other posters. Talk to her. Be honest and tell her exactly how you feel. But under no circumstances should you give up something you love.

[timothy42b]

I don't know whether you should give up or not.  There are many factors that go into that, and the data is insufficient so far.

I will suggest a better way to approach the incident that has upset you.

You just got a kick in the butt.

Which you needed.  And know you needed.  And sometimes it is the teacher's job to provide it.

So thank him/her for it, practice a little harder for next lesson, and watch the praise roll in  instead. 

[prometheus]

Don't you enjoy playing?

Maybe she wants more commitment. Maybe she thinks she can't teach you as well as she would want or as someone else.

There isn't some imaginary wall you can never pass, at least not at this level. You will progress and spending more time will progress you faster.

Are you wondering if you have enough time to spare to make playing piano worthwhile? Your teacher probably is. But I can't comment on this because this is a personal opinion.

[alzado]

My teacher is really more of a coach, and more a source of support, and one who adjudges how well I am doing.

She does not choose my music for me.  I do that. 

She is very relaxed, and I think she sees me as a sort of advanced amateur who is having fun playing, and she wants to help me play classical material decently and accurately.

I do so admire and profit by her great knowledge of the piano.

I am happy and she is happy.

Sounds like you are with a "program" teacher who is marching you along a track.  I get that from your "grade 1 exam" reference.

Maybe you could leave this teacher and give yourself a couple of months before taking a new teacher.  In that time, see what you can do on your own.  Find and select your own pieces.

Good luck to you--

[celticqt]

Well, from what you said, I would NOT quit piano.....I would "quit" my teacher.  Sometimes change is hard; it took me almost a year to find a new teacher when we moved two years ago.  Now I'm so thankful that I did.  If you just want to have fun, find a teacher who will help you progress in that direction.  But perhaps, as timothy said, you simply needed a "kick in the butt" (and you should know in your heart if this is the case or not).  Good luck!

[casparma]

you start to learn piano at the age of 36??

dont you have to work??

[this_guy]

Hello, I have two things to say:

1. About your time limits:

If piano is really important to you then don't give up. But if it isn't enjoyable anymore, it might be best just to quit, and spend the time on something else. Don't turn piano into one more thing you gotta do each day. It should be a time to relax. If piano is important enough for you to continue, then maybe you should find a way to get more practice in or see if you can adjust your work schedule some (not exactly sure what 'shiftwork' means), but it sounds like you'll really need to get just a little more devoted if you want to progress.

and
2. About your teacher:

I agree with the other posters about considering a different teacher. If you have not already told your teacher about your work schedule and such, then do so. But if you already have, and she advises you to quit, then she probably isn't the best choice of teacher for you. I thought my first teacher was irreplacable, even for a while after lessons with my current teacher, but my new teacher is always helpful in working around my schedule, and even moves lessons and stuff around whenever she can. Also one nice thing about being an adult learner is you can drive to wherever the best teacher around is. Don't be afraid to be upfront with your teacher, you'll thank yourself in the end, whatever the outcome.

Good luck.

[leahcim]

I wouldn't give up the piano - you passed grade 1 so you evidently are learning to play.

OTOH, there might be something to give up, or at least change, that's causing your lack of progress.

That could be the teacher, as some have said, it could be the way you're practising or it could be your goal between lessons is too high - not for your ability, for your available time.

e.g If you didn't complete a simple piece you were given, could you have done 1/2 the piece, a 1/4 or even less, just a few bars?

If so, then a grade 2 piece, typically around 24 bars, might take several lessons, but you'd be making noticable progress on the parts of the piece you could play. I get the impression that you're practising a whole "simple" piece in one go and then, if you haven't learnt it, thinking you've made no progress?

If you have another spare 30 minutes with the teacher not knowing what to do, ask them to watch you practise the piece, and see whether they think your practise is effective - if they think it is then say "It must be the teaching then" Nah, don't say that Hopefully they will give some pointers.

There's a heap of posts about practising methods in the forum where some of what I've said above [and lots more] is discussed in greater detail, read through some of those and try them.

As for the current situation - try and forget what the teacher said - practise a few bars or even one bar that you can't play - the hardest one in the piece, until you can play it [using the advice in the posts on the forum] - when you learn to play that, then you'll know that you can learn to play something you couldn't before and that it was the hardest bit - the rest of that piece is going to be easier - except for one thing - the temptation to not practise the rest in the same methodical way because you can play part of it.

If that makes you start to enjoy it again, then relate the enjoyment to the successful results of practise, even if the practise itself isn't always fun per se.

[pianolearner]

You have all given excellent suggestions and what I am trying to determine (after what my teacher said) is whether I just needed a “kick up the butt” or if indeed I am an inadequate pianist.

My teacher is very advanced (my previous teacher told me she is the best in the area). Admittedly, this teacher did explain that she wasn’t interested in teaching adults who aren’t serious about the piano and I had to play for her before she accepted me as a student. I was happy with this because I am serious about the piano but I explained that I do shiftwork and sometimes may not have enough time to practice. We were both happy with the arrangement and things were going along nicely until my last lesson.

My problem is (was?) that I try to master difficult bars before learning/practising the rest of the piece. When I have had a busy schedule I only commit myself to learning half a piece irrespective of the difficulty level because I’d rather play half a piece well than a whole piece badly. I think this is why my teacher was disappointed. She explained that there is no reason the pieces should be giving me trouble at this stage because she says,  “[She] has given me the nuts and bolts”. This week (since Monday) I have learned the whole piece I have been given and now I just need to polish it. I will see what she thinks next week.

[teresa_b]

Hi pianolearner,

I have not much more to add, but your comment about learning half the piece (which you've already fixed this time!) was interesting.  I always had the opposite problem of NOT wanting to work hard enough on the trouble spots.

I would suggest "wallowing" around in the whole piece for a day or two (or a week--how about having a lesson every 2 weeks if your practice time is limited?) without worrying too much about the hard spots.  THEN begin doing passage work on those separately. 

I don't have a lot of time, either, and I just don't play a piece for my piano coach until I have at least got the notes and what I feel is a decent interpretation.  This may be several months!

All the best, Teresa

[jbmajor]

It's better to play a little even here and there than not at all. 

[princessdecadence]

Pianolearner,

Sometimes it's the harsh ones that are the best teachers.  The whole 'cruel to be kind' treatment she's giving you perhaps. (Although, I have to think twice about her asking if piano is the right instrument for you).  To see the case in a better light, maybe she wants to give you a little bit of push, make you a little angry so that you'll work much harder to sort of 'get back at her' and show her that you can. 

I remember back when I was ickle and still taking lessons with my late piano teacher (he's the best teacher I've ever met - so far) he use to say that my fingers are hopeless and not apt to play the piano.  Which was true, I always play the piano with my fingers flat on the keys.  One day he grabbed 2 needles and taped it on the piano so that my hands would stay rounded and not lazily plop on the keys.  I remember thinking how much I wanted to quit piano lessons because he did that but now I wished I could turn back time and let him know how much I appreciated the egg-treatment and needle-treatment. 

Let your teacher know how you feel at least and give her a chance.  Who knows maybe she really cares.  I'm sure any teacher would be sympathetic if you let her know that you're working as hard as you can and trying.  Ask her for more details with the corrections too.  Maybe she had a hard day and didn't completely mean what she said because as a teacher it does get frustrating when a student that you care about don't live up to her expectation.  I would be more worried with the "wow you're always really good" type.  They don't care, they just want the money, you'll end up having a year of lesson and your technique is all over the place and you play like you don't take lessons at all. 

So don't get discouraged - if it doesn't kill you, it will make you stronger. 

Hope I made sense.

xx

[pianolearner]

princessdecadence,

Yes, you made a great deal of sense. I am sensitive to criticism simply because I don’t like to fail. I have surprised myself with the amount I have accomplished this week and looking back it seems my teacher was justified in what she said.  In just over a week I have learnt and almost mastered a 24 bar piece and the first 8 bars of a second piece that she gave me for homework. I hope to master them both before my lesson next week. She only wanted me to do one of the two, but I want to impress her. If she isn’t impressed then perhaps she is expecting way more than I can deliver.

The pieces are:

Attwood, Easy progressive lessons No 1.

1) Sonatina no.2 in C- Allegro (24 bars almost mastered)

2) Sonatina no.1 in G- Rondo, Allegro (8 bars)


Anyone have any comments on this progress? Should I achieve more in this amount of time?

[gilad]

Hi pianoleaner, great to hear you’ve surprised yourself, keep it up-everybody loves surprises

I previously had lessons 5 years ago for a year and gave up because I was dreadful and was going no where, the problem was that I wasn’t practicing at all and the other problem was my teacher didn’t make the slightest issue of it. After 5 months with my current teacher I’m really surprised at my own progress too.

I think your teacher was a little harsh but that’s her stuff not yours.

You're learning for yourself don’t lose sight of that, whether your teacher is happy with your progress or dismayed, it's your view of yourself that counts for everything.
My current teacher was unimpressed with me on a few occasions in the begining(I was used to the idea of not practicing from my previous teacher), and every week I worked harder on improving which meant more time spent at the piano and concentrating more intensely on what I’m playing rather than just rattling it off hoping that it’ll come together (which I was guilty of). My aim is to keep him happy, and that means I’m doing well.
I don’t care what he thinks, even though I myself am also sensitive to criticism,  but I do know he's more prepared to invest in me and give me his all when I show I’m giving mine, and good tutelage and a teacher that believes in you are invaluable.

I'm sure the more you practice and the better you get the more suprised you'll continue to be.

As for whether you can fulfill your teacher expectations, i think all she should expect is that you do your best and are giving your all. If thats not enough for her, then I dont think she is the teacher to take you forwards, and in that case you'll have to move forwards with someone else.