Plain bad luck

[alvaro_galvez]

Well, this is my first post and I´d like to introduce myself with it.
My name is Alvaro and I live in Bolivia (South America). I have played piano for close to 8 years, the first 6 not taking it seriously (bad teachers dissappoint) but never the less I played. Now I learned to play some very hard pieces (dont remember names) but with no actual techincal training (i didnt even read!) but I played with a whole lotta a feeling so the teachers thought they were doing great.
So I changed teachers after my second year since I moved here to Bolivia. I spent close to a year withought playing until I found a teacher who turned out to be the worst yet (no techinque what so ever, I didnt practice at all). I spent close to two years there until I finally quit and spent half a year withought playing. After that I found a teacher who turned out to be quite good but moved at a very slow rate. I spent 1 year and a half with her until she left the country for laboral reasons. I quickly switched teachers (the one Im with actually and the most talented of them all) and have been with her for close to a year. I have moved at a whopping rate and in such a short time I am actually getting close to the level I should be at (hard work, nearly 4 hours of practice a day).
What advice could you give me to improve, truly, any will be greatly appreciated.

[Shagdac]

Alvaro,

Welcome to the forum...Wow, sounds like you've been busy moving around. Also, have had quite a few teachers, huh?

In my own opinion, I think two of the most beneficial items needed for improvement really in any area....are number one a dedicated teacher, who can communicate well with you, and explain and instruct not only by giving you knowledge as far as how something should be played...but being able to communicate with you how YOU can practice to acheive the results desired.

Second, I think the student has to be dedicated enough to put forth the effort to practice and learn what is being taught. Knowing what your goals are and what you hope to accomplish with your piano studies ahead of time and discussing and having a teacher that mutually feels like they can help is essential. I feel a GOOD teacher will be able to distinguish what areas you need the most work on, what techniques are lacking, and will be the one to develop the schedule on how to instruct you best to acheive your goals. It's hard to comment on what you need to do to improve, without knowing what you already can or cannot do.

As a student it will be up to you to take in all that the instructor is offering, really apply yourself, and make a committment. Ask questions and don't be afraid to make mistakes. Some things will come more easily than others. I wouldn't concentrate on "what's the most difficult piece you can play" , but more on "how WELL do I play the piece".

You state several times you have had teachers that weren't that great. Make sure you take the time to research different teachers before making a choice. You want to make sure the teacher is going to provide you with what you expect and you also want to make sure that you are the right student for that teacher. Communication between the student and teacher is conducive to an effective learning process.

Best luck to you,
S

[alvaro_galvez]

Hmm, thanks Shagdac, really I appreciate the advice.
Well, luckily I think I finally found THE teacher. As I mentioned above she is the most talented and impressive of all the ones I ve had so far, and I actually feel I learn a LOT after each class, so I think Im on the right track.
Although I have a question. I´ve noticed that the majority of the pieces brought up in the forum are of common knowledge although I am kinda lost in that subject. Are they from a specific order in a method of teaching??

[Motrax]

There's no single list that all of us refer two. There are two or three major lists which order many pieces by their level of difficulty, but I'd say the majority of students don't pay much attention to any lists at all. Knowledge of piano repertiory simply comes from having a lot of experience with it. Going to concerts, buying CDs, playing the pieces yourself - it all adds up. I don't possess a great deal of knowledge when it comes to repertoire, but there are some pieces which many people know simply because they are played very frequently. Here's a small sampling off the top of my head...

Beethoven - All of his sonatas, but most notable the Moonlight, Apposianata, Hammerklavier, and Pathetique.

Chopin - Etudes, Nocturnes, and Scherzos. Most notable the Scherzo in B minor, Revolutionary Etude, Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2... hell, almost all of these are very well known, it's silly to point out single ones.

Rachmaninoff - Prelude Op 3 No 2, Prelude Op 23 No 5, Concertos 2 and 3

Liszt - La Campanella, Hungarian Rhapsodies, Transcriptions

Bach - Well-Tempered Clavier, books 1 and 2 (preludes and fugues), English Suite, French Suite, Partitas

Well, it's really silly to list all of this. There's much too much music which could be considered particularly popular, but you get the idea. Exposure to classical music will eventually impart some knowledge upon you.  

[alvaro_galvez]

hmmm, so thats it!
Youre right, I dont actually listen to classical music that much so Im kinda at a loss in the title subject.  

thanx motrax

[bernhard]

Motrax is right. You get to know repertory by listening to other people playing it, by listening to CDs, by sight reading, and by hearing about some piece and becoming curious about what it sounds like. In time you accumulate quite a bit of knowledge on different pieces.

You can be very systematic about it, by listing all composers in alphabetical order (say) and listening to everything they ever wrote. My own approach is more emotional. If I hear something I like, I tend to want to hear other stuff form the same composer. Then I start reading about the composer which usually points out to his influences. So I listen to the composers who influenced him and so on and so forth. There also a number of books that purport to list all the works ever composed for piano (Try “Music for the Piano” by Friskin & Freundlich – Dover and “The pianist’s repertory” by Maurice Hinson. There are others, but these two are the best known).

We live in a most blessed era, in that most of the repertory has actually been recorded. In my teenage years, only a fraction (the best known) of the repertory had been recorded, mostly virtuoso pieces, and mostly very expensive LPs. If you wanted to explore repertory your only option was sight-reading.

Best wishes,
Bernhard.