well tempered clavier

[kimba1055]

hi ,i like to ask

is my piano teacher crazy i been with her for tree years ,but one year ago she got me th book bach well-tempered clavier and every lesson i get is from that book my god but, they are so hard it take me like 6 week to go from one piece to the other .
so i want to get your oppinion please?

[imapnotchr]

First off, you need to discuss this with your teacher!  I was recently thinking about my college days.  I had a different piano teacher every year.  Some of them gave me music that was so unbelieveably difficult that I made absolutely NO progress!  But I didn't speak up!  I just assumed they knew what they were doing.  In the end, it was quiet discouraging.  So what good was that?? 

Now, as a teacher, myself, I try to give my students something easy, something right on grade level and something challenging.  And we discuss it all - my reasonings and my student's reactions.

[landru]

Wow. My vote is for crazy. You are probably getting great experience at learning Bach's music, but at 6 weeks to learn a piece, chances are that you are getting very sick of it. Also, how does a year of Bach help you learn Debussy, among others? Does she give a reason for "All Bach, All the Time?"

[jcabraham]

Does she give a reason for "All Bach, All the Time?"

Just being alive is reason enough, in my book.

[leucippus]

I am so glad I don't have a teacher! 

[dnephi]

I am so glad I don't have a teacher! 

That's horrible. If I go without lessons I get delusions of grandeur and my teacher helps ground me and play properly.  Teachers, if they are good, know best.  And the best ones are usually DMAs or Professional Pianists .

Now, I suggest doing it.   Maybe you're approaching the bach incorrectly.  Seriously, talk to your teacher.  Now, Bach is Best.  Schumann said if you study WTC as daily bread you will become a great artist.

[leucippus]

That's horrible. If I go without lessons I get delusions of grandeur and my teacher helps ground me and play properly. 

Well, I don't get delusions of grandeur so I guess I'm safe. 

[dnephi]

Well, I don't get delusions of grandeur so I guess I'm safe. 

I see your mind.  And you have them.

Daniel

[leucippus]

I see your mind.  And you have them.

Well, don't tell your teacher about me. 

Actually right now I'm playing a lot of Debussy.  So I kind of feel like he's my teacher.

[kghayesh]

Well, some people think that Bach is so important for proper piano playing. All these finger positions make u used to play with active fingers. Check the section about Bach in Chang's '
Fundamentals of piano playing' book.

But of course there is so much more music than Bach !!!!  So maybe your teacher is using a wierd method. I can't say this is wrong but it is just so wierd.

Try discussing it with her.

[imapnotchr]

a few more thoughts - Bach is important.  Ideally, I would like all my students to be studying Bach as part of their lesson.  (however, some of my students are not mature enough to study him yet, or to study him regularly.)  There is easier Bach available than the WTK, however.  There are preludes and 2-part Inventions.  Also, some WTK is easier than others.  (take a look at Bernhard's list of easier-harder.  A great resource - Thanks Bernhard!)  Also, I think you should have a balance of composers.  Some classical, and some romantic in addition to Bach.

[lostinidlewonder]

I think it is crazy to do just one work, but there are exceptions, and the WTC is one of them. It is the one of the important works in the world to develop your keyboard technique, the Old Testament in my mind.

But it looks like you are getting musically strangluated without ever playing anything else for your teacher but prelude after fugue after prelude after fugue zzzzzzzzz. There is a ton of technique and music interpretation to learn from WTC. THe very basic note qualities/touches, tenuto, staccato, legato accent all are extensively used in Bach's music. The reasoning for inclusion of dynamic (which Bach often didn't write at all) and phrasing (the breath of your music). Bach helps us a huge deal to interpret music, why naturally the sound rises and falls, why we should naturally phrase the music in a certain way etc. Also how tempo marking changes character in sound much more than actual speed of the notes.

WTC is a gold mine for learning if you know what to look for. If we get tied up only with notes and playing them smoothly it is a dead zone for sure.

[belpian]

Does your teacher live in Arizona, by any chance? I'm looking for a good teacher that knows Bach's work really well. I apologize for derailing the topic

[kimba1055]

Does your teacher live in Arizona, by any chance? I'm looking for a good teacher that knows Bach's work really well. I apologize for derailing the topic

in new york i think she is very vey good playing bach.

[phdezra]

in new york i think she is very vey good playing bach.

Where in New York? Any chance in Manhattan?