What is the best way to learn piano playing being just a moderate player

[mplim]

Hello everybody,

I wonder if my teacher is not going over the top in his expectations of me.

In the past I had a piano teacher who adjusted her level to my skills. For instance I have played several fairly difficult pieces, but not very well in terms of the velocity in which it "should be played". I just wasnīt at the high level to do so, but it gave me experience and a bit of knowledge about several pieces and composers.

My current teacher is very forgiving if I play the scales, as long as it is played properly. But coming to play a real piece, I have to be able to play it, like a concert pianist does. The right fingering, the right dynamics, the right velocity, the right pedaling etc. So for instance to play Mozart K 545 it took me 3 months to master the piece properly and a lot of blood, sweat and tears. But in the end I managed.

I wonder what is the best way? The way my teacher did in the past or what my teacher now is doing. Or should it be a combination of the 2?

Thank for any reply!

[birba]

Well, I think YOU can only answer this!  If playing the K. 545 gave you greater satisfaction then playing the pieces you played before, go for it.  If it wasn't worth it, go to a teacher who doesn't expect concert material from you and play the pieces the way you did before.  But if you stood those months out, there may be something more there then you realize...

[mplim]

birba

Thanks for the reply. Now that I am able to play K545 properly, I feel very satisfied, because with all the right things being done, the piece becomes more alive and meaningful and expressive. Now I have to play a piece of Chopin in the right way too, I feel also more satisfied with the end result. You are right that I never realized that I am able to do this! Perhaps I must plod on to discover any hidden potential in me to achieve inner satisfaction from other pieces that up until now have left me a bit disappointed, because one way or another I could not express my feelings in it and the value or meaning of the pieces I played didnīt emerge.

Thanks again!

[scottmcc]

to me, I think there are certain merits to both approaches.  nobody wants to be that guy that can't even play one simple piece without mistakes, but if you dwell on every piece until it's truly "perfect" then you won't be able to play much repertoire because you spend so much time fine-tuning the details.

sometimes the best thing to do with a piece that is mostly learned, but not perfected, is to leave it be for a bit.  work on other things, allow your technique to grow, and then approach the first piece with fresh fingers.  you'll be impressed at how much "easier" it is the second time around.  as an analogy, there was a physician who was in his 70s, and had practiced medicine for almost 40 yrs, but decided to go back to medical school, because he felt like he finally knew enough to be able to get something out of medical school.  this story isn't apocryphal by the way, he really was in my class. 

anyway, there's no one right answer to your question.  there's nothing wrong with toying with a piece for a few weeks or months, but you also should focus on playing at least a few things well, and get them so ingrained in your being that you can play them perfectly without a second thought.

[mplim]

scottmcc

Thanks for your reply.

You are so right about leaving a piece for what it is for a while. I play other pieces when I donīt practice or after practicing, just to relax. Fortunately my former teacher has already given me a range of repertoire. Sometimes Iīm so sick and tired of the 1 piece that my teacher wants to perfect, that there are days I donīt look at that piece at all. When I have my lesson with the teacher again, I just tell him honestly that I didnīt spend much time on my "homework". He accepts this and spends the lesson with other things, there is always something that comes to his mind. He is a concert pianist himself. Sometimes we just listen to CDīs, for me to get acquainted with different sorts of music. He also tells me a lot about the history of classical music, going back to the year 1100. Listening to music is also very important to broaden ones horizon. All together I think the whole combination is okay.