new to forum-a question about lessons

[flowergyrl97]

Hi-
I am new to this forum. I am 13, level 10 Certificate of Merit, and starting a new set of pieces.

I wanted to know if you chose your pieces or if your teacher assigns pieces.

Does your teacher need to be able to play the pieces to teach you? I am working on the English Suites and my teacher has trouble sight-reading them for me. Should my teacher be able to play too?

Who picks competitions, me or the teacher? I want to try more competitions. I found one, but my teacher was slow to help me find 4 pieces to play and then we never worked on them. I didn't go to the competition. Should I be more pushy with my teacher? I have to ask for harder pieces, but my teacher assigns harder pieces to the other students at my level but they are older me. I like my teacher, but I am wondering if I need to find a new teacher.

[quantum]

You may be a bit young to understand this now, but the point of taking lessons is not to rely on your teacher as the be-all-and-end-all authoritative body of knowledge.  Rather the point of taking lessons is to gain the tools to be able to become self-sufficient at teaching yourself. 

Teachers who only would assign students music they can play themselves, are likely not opening themselves and their students up a continual breadth in repertoire knowledge. 

A teacher doesn't need to be able to play the English Suites in order to teach them effectively.  The ability for teachers to sight read student pieces is rather deceptive especially at the earlier grades.  These easy pieces while seeming like an Everest to the student, are a mere hill to the teacher.  However, as the student approaches concert level repertoire - as is with the English Suites - the task is much more difficult to play by sight, even for an experienced musician.  I hope you don't expect your teacher to sight read Rach 3, if he/she has never played it before.  Nevertheless, sight reading is an entire skill on its own.  Some people are just better at it than others.  It doesn't mean your teacher is any less knowledgeable because sight reading may be their weakness.


In my experience, my best learning came from teachers with whom I was able to make repertoire decisions as a team effort.  Choosing pieces yourself will give you the initiative to seek out new music, and find out what piques your interest.  Allowing your teacher to suggest pieces will expose you to music that you would not have otherwise encountered - perhaps you thought such music may not have to your liking so you never looked down that path.