questioning the teacher

[Saturn]

What should I do if I have doubts about some bit of advice or instruction that my teacher gives me, but I feel it would be rude to question my teacher's judgment?

[A.C.]

Always ask when you have doubts. Asking does not mean that you are rude; If she gives you an advice, ask her for the reason. If you do not satisfy with her reasons, tell her what you think and give your own suggestions. A good teacher never deny what he/she did wrong, and always try to find ways to inspire their students, including using discussions, which is one of the most effective ways. I often have quite an argue on musical topics, which we find that interesting and break the dead mood of just having a normal piano lesson.

In the end, my advice is: ASK.

[monk]

Before saying something about that to your teacher, you should pose yourself the following questions very seriously:

- Are you really, really sure that you have UNDERSTOOD what your teacher suggested?

- Have you really, really TRIED what your teacher suggested, and did it fail in spite of 100% correctly doing what he said?

- If you think you know a better method than your teacher says: Have you TRIED that other method and did it work better?

Only if you can say 100% YES to these questions, you are qualified to criticize your teacher. Otherwise you have to be more humble and try to better understand things and be more accurate in your practice.

Best Wishes,
Monk

[ted]

I don't think any teacher with brains wants his pupils to be unthinking musical acolytes. Questioning is a necessary part of learning. It isn't about wasting time arguing and debating, I don't think this is quite what Saturn was referring to.

Nobody could have had more respect for somebody musically than I had for my teacher when I was young; I practically hung on his every word. However, I questioned everything, not in the sense of wanting to argue, but in the sense of desiring to understand. The end result was that I become a thinking, musically creative human being, not an adoring, thoughtless clone.

Surely anything less than both respect and constant questioning will not do if this end is to be accomplished.
I see no contradiction, they are part of the one process.

[donjuan]

When I first came to my current teacher, he told me I needed to let go of everything I believe in and listen to him, because it would all make sense one day, I would be so glad I didn't argue..

I do ask questions, though... If they are good questions- involving practice strategies or little technical things im not sure of, FINE.  he will happily respond.  But, if he ties to teach me something new (especially if he is trying to break a bad habit of mine), and I keep arguing, subconsiously refusing to change, he will become very frustrated and the lesson turns into a session of cold shoulders and dirty looks..

I know everything my teacher does for me is benificial.  If I need to be yelled at, he'll do it.  If I need to be less cocky, he'll bluntly tell me.  It's seriously like having my own Simon Cowell..

I love my teacher very much.  The worst teacher is the kind that doesn't care about you or the music...just sits back and tells you how great you are- "ok, that sounds great, keep it up, Ill see you next week, that will be 24$".

In conclusion, Listen to the teacher..do everything they say, ask questions when you are confused, and if things dont go well- you aren't improving, for example,, maybe it's time for another teacher.
donjuan

[Saturn]

Thanks for your replies.

When she gives me advice on issues of musical interpretation, I always do what she says, but I do have my doubts sometimes.

I also don't always feel like I can trust her to help me, because she hasn't been able (or willing) to help me with my major problem: stiffness in the right hand that causes it to feel uncomfortable and fatigued after a little while of practice.  My left hand doesn't suffer from this at all.  She says the reason for the fatigue that I don't practice enough, and that the stiffness starts with the mind and I simply need to will my hand/arm to relax.

This advice hasn't helped me very much so far.

[faulty_damper]

Hey, sounds like my teacher.  She tells me how I should play certain pieces.  I usually disagree because I know how it SHOULD BE PLAYED!  So I disagree with her and play it the way I THINK IT SHOULD BE PLAYED!  I'm right, of course.  Personally, I don't think piano teachers should show you exactly how to interpret pieces.  That is up to the performer.  But my interpretation style is this: experiment like hell and then narrow it down from there.  That should lead me to the 'proper' interpretation.

But her response, that you don't practice enough, sounds suspicious.  Indeed, practicing something long enough will make you aware of many things and in that practice, you should have realized what you were doing - stiffening your hand.  A stiff hand usually means this: you are playing faster than your technical abilities can allow you to play.  It's a universal reaction to stimuli that exceeds your comprehensional capabilities - we tense up.  Ever get nervous?  You tense up.  If you relax, you stop tensing.  Another reason is this: poor technique.  You are forcing your fingers to do the work, not your whole arm.  Piano playing, even though the fingers do the touching, is not solely a finger activity, it is an entire body activity.

My teacher once told me to relax.  It didn't work that way.  I couldn't relax just by thinking about it.  Heck, in some instances it made me more tense.  I forget how I got over my tenseness but it was probably through more practice, and varied practice of the same thing so I could see what I could do to stop the tensing.

[donjuan]

I completely agree with Faulty- You will never relax by having someone tell you to relax.  The key to relaxation is good technique and the key to good technique is relaxation.  Play music that is comfortable for your hands, dont play with fingers, but rather let the energy flow from thepush of your feet upon the ground, up your torso, through your arms, and ejaculating out your hands!!! er, hem...

Arrau had a great idea of plunging his hands into the piano keyboard, as if it were liquid.

donjuan