Teachers-- Any obligation to provide good piano?

[alzado]

At first I was going to put this message on the "teaching" board, but I am not a teacher and suspect maybe this is a better location for it.

I go for my weekly lesson to a good teacher who is in some ways more of a performer than a teacher.  She is very talented, and much of her professional time is spent playing for pay.  She is currently doing the piano accompanyment for practices of a college musical production.   I have the greatest respect for her.

Her studio is rather humble, with terrible acoustics, and the pianos are marginal at best.  She did have a little Pearl River upright which sounded "fair" at best.

Now the music store has exchanged that one for a Yamaha with sticking keys.

I know she is unhappy with the situation -- well, it is not ideal, for sure.

She is talking about having lessons in her home, since she has a nice 6' Baldwin grand.  Teaching on a professional class piano is one strong motive to her for considering this change.  At the same time, it might be difficult for her to have students trooping into her home continually, so this piano issue must be a real concern for her.

I know I practice on my own 5'8" grand, and feel a real let-down when playing on these marginal instruments.  The rooms are full of echo, also.

In my teacher's case, she does not control this situation.  Even so, do teachers out there have concerns when they must give lessons on borderline pianos in dingy little studios?   I suspect some of you don't like it.

Of course, if most students are small children playing method book #1, it may not make much difference.

The sticking keys on her current piano are about the C6 octave, and I doubt many beginners are even getting up there.

Comments welcome--

[Bob]

I think it should be at least a decent piano, related to the level of the student.  A beginner could play on a "lesser" piano, but you need something better if you're going to focus on articulation and dynamics. 

I don't think it has to be perfect, but good enough to allow growing room for the student.  That does sound like a problem if the piano is below the student, holding them back.

[m19834]

This is a good question, alzado.  Obviously a teacher is never exactly "obligated" to do anything they don't want to or feel they can't do, a teacher offers what they offer and that's what makes finding the right match so important.  That said, I would love to have the best instruments in the world within my studio and I would love to be capable of providing the use of those instruments to the students of mine whom would truly appreciate them and need them.

Right now I have two digitals (a Roland FP-5 and a Kawai CN4) and an acoustic Yamaha C7.  I had been having everybody on my Yamaha until just recently, when I decided to make a shift.  As far as I am concerned, for my own practicing, the Yamaha C7 is the best instrument that I have.  As far as many of students are concerned (at this point in time), they have fallen into love with my Kawai digital and have literally been having a difficult time tearing themselves away from it at the end of their lessons (Mwua ha ha haaaa  ).  The best instrument for each person is dependent on the individual person.

Along these lines, since as long as I can remember, I have been a person who will put my hands on just about every instrument I ever encounter.  I have always been curious about what each one sounds like and what each one feels like.  I think that over time and through exploration, I have developed a certain appreciation for certain qualities, and when it came time for me to find an instrument to practice regularly on, this Yamaha C7 seemed like a good fit (and still does for daily use, though I would like to have a variety of very high quality instruments to fit my various musical desires  ).  I also teach my most advanced students on this piano because it is a better fit for most of their purposes than any other instrument I have.

If I were to take on any feeling of "obligation" regarding all of this, it would be that I would wish to help my students in developing a sense of appreciation for the instrument called "piano" and how they can make different kinds of music with it.  I would wish to help them in developing a sense of musical freedom in playing it.  I have my students on different instruments depending on what will help them to feel more musically free and that is a bit different for everybody (and will also depend on what the demands actually are within the music that they are playing).  Ideally, the instrument is a tool for musical expression/exploration and hopefully a source of inspiration and musical (and even personal) development.

In the end though, as far as development and growth are concerned within lessons, the instrument alone is not much without taking into heavy consideration the environment and the teacher (and this particular aspect -- the teacher -- includes the quality of knowledge and skill being passed along within the studio).  Ideally, all three (teacher, environment, tools) are "top notch" in the sense that they all be perfectly suited to the precise needs of the individual student.

[alzado]

Thanks for a very thoughtful reply.

[m19834]

You're welcome .