Adults students / no typical problems.

[ingagroznaya]

I don't seem to have typical problems with adult students. They all progress very fast, do not complain much or asking me to play Fur Elise (easy version). They are all very respectful members of society. There is one problem - they are all ( with very few exceptions ) are whacked on a head. I wonder if it's me, if it's a general trend in adult population or piano lessons. Could you, please, share your experiences?  Every post I see here is so politically correct.

[pianistimo]

whacked on a head?  or whacked on ahead?  the first must be why the guys sweat so much during lessons.  the second - yeah.  it's a trend.  the adults get used to those other namby -pamby teachers and then come to u and they think they're being abused.

[alzado]

You are probably not striking them hard enough.  That's the problem right there.

[berrt]

My teacher does not hit me on the head nor does she kick my ass. Is she pedagogically ignorant?

B.

[gilad]

whacked on a head? the post is very confusing. dont really understand it. try clarify it.

[rlefebvr]

If I had a female teacher I would let her wack my bum!!!

Oh yeah baby....


Actually, I find teachers give adults to much respect. We need as much disipline as children, keeping in mind we have jobs and families and th rest.

[berrt]

If I had a female teacher I would let her wack my bum!!!

your girl friend has a strenous job

[bernhard]

My teacher does not hit me on the head nor does she kick my ass. Is she pedagogically ignorant?

B.

Pedagogically ignorant?

Nah.

Only if she assigns you Hanon.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.

[ingagroznaya]

My post did not touch pedagogy. I just wanted to share an observation.
Who is Hanon and what is "bum"?

[richy321]

There is one problem - they are all ( with very few exceptions ) are whacked on a head.

Not to be pedantic, but l am still unclear as to what was meant by that statement.  The closest thing in our slang lexicon is to say that they are crazy?  If so, could you give some examples of "whacked on a head" behavior?  And why is it a problem for you? How do you deal with it? 

Actually, since your adult students are doing so well compared to other teachers (just read the desperate pleas for advice from other teachers), it may be your good fortune to have such "whacked" students.  It would be interesting to know if there is a correlation.

[ingagroznaya]

It would be interesting. I am considering to take piano lessons to see if I'll exhibit same odd behavior. I also did not mean to say it in a bad way, it's rather amusing.

[stevehopwood]

Priceless, all this.

Clearly, there are students seeking out a like-minded (or whacked on a head) teacher  . They would surely find one in the originator of this thread.

 

[gilad]

i agree steve, in a big way.

[bernhard]

Who is Hanon?

I like you.

[counterpoint]

Who is Hanon and what is "bum"?

It's all the same sh*t...

[bernhard]

It's all the same ***...

I like you too.

[counterpoint]

 

[ingagroznaya]

How do you deal with it? 

Obviously I come here for a check up.
Growing up in Soviet Union, I wonder who owns and manages this site. Bernhard, he can't be doing all of this for free. Sometimes he seems to interview him self - it's kinda cute.

I've met students who told me they ENJOY Hanon. In fact it is the most enjoyable part of practicing. Damaged material as far as I'm concerned. No offence, please.

m1469's post sounds suspicious. There are so many of them. Is she really teaching? I do not have the time to read all of the Bernhard's. Does he?

Today one lucky mom call 5 minutes into her lesson to tell me she is running 15 minutes late. ****** 15 minutes late for her son's first piano lesson. That is the type of whacked on the head I do not want. I told her she is a Hanon girl. Damaged material.

I'm very happy with my current students. They just seems to be different somehow. Good or bad, but very different from the rest of the whacked out world. I just thought it is teachers forum...Someone else may have something human and "non fun" to share. I do not really come here to seek a pedagogy advice after a day of teaching.

[pianistimo]

i used to get really po'd about lateness too. but, then as u go on in life u realize that people are people and they do sometimes have problems (accidents, forgetfulness, whatever).  the way to get them to remember is to have a student coming right after the forgetful one.  the moment the new student comes - 'oh, i have to teach so and so now- we'll make up the lesson if u come 15 minutes early next time.'  do u ever think they will?  they're the ones losing if they come late, right!

i read somewhere (maybe on this forum) that there are a large amount of autistic and socially undeveloped people that take piano as a means to an end.  perhaps we didn't even know that we as children were 'whacked out' - spending inordinate amounts of time at the keyboard when all our friends were learning to 'play well' with other children.  no wonder we lose arguments.  we never learned to argue.  and, remember the teacher who gave u candy after the lesson.  now, we expect soft carpet and candy.  do u think it's a mystery that some people turn wierd after taking piano lessons.  and, what if ...what if u practiced hanon so much that all u could play is repetitive motions at the keyboard.  u'd be really whacked out.  once i met a whacked out pianist that played only his own arrangments of things (which were terrible) and continuously tried to argue that his harmonizations and progressions were perfectly logical.  do u think this is normal behavior for most people.  if u were in another profession, could u get away with so much.  but because this is an 'art' u can literally be whacked out and considered really really brainy.

[ingagroznaya]

once i met a whacked out pianist that played only his own arrangments of things (which were terrible) and continuously tried to argue that his harmonizations and progressions were perfectly logical.  do u think this is normal behavior for most people.  if u were in another profession, could u get away with so much.  but because this is an 'art' u can literally be whacked out and considered really really brainy.

Sure, all possible if one lives on a farm...

[quasimodo]

Yet another LEGENDARY thread. Short but effective...