My teacher doesn't sit next to me!

[flyinfingers]

I really like my teacher, 84 year old guy who is highly educated and has dedicated his whole life to music, BUT he doesn't sit next to me when I play.  I jsut started taking lessons again after 40 some years and when I was a kid both of my teachers I had sat next to me in a dedicated chair of their own.  Is this important?  To me it is.  Is it becuse this is the way the other two did it or am I being too critical?  Yes, he sits nearby on his couch, although he's very involved, but I would like him next to me.   

[quantum]

It may be personal teaching style.  Sitting physically closer to the student may allow for a more social feeling to the lesson.  Sitting farther away from the piano allows the teacher to better evaluate the sound the student is making. 

Most of my teachers would adjust their sitting distance according to what was being worked on in the lesson.  They may sit in a chair next to me or on the same bench if working out technical details, demonstrating, or doing something that needs close interaction.  As pieces progress, my teachers tended to back up in order to hear the sound better.  Sometimes it was me on stage and my teacher at the back of the recital hall. 

Also keep in mind teaching a kid is different to teaching an adult.  Often kids respond much better when you work at their level. 

[cjp_piano]

Why do you like him to sit close? Maybe you should express this to him?

[kippler]

I do exactly as described in the OP, using a small folding chair beside the piano bench. I can see fingerings, and hand/wrist position, quite readily. Maybe this kind of surveillance is easily possible from where the teacher is sitting, or isn't high priority at the moment. Or maybe, at his age (or possibly with back problems), he finds it necessary to use a more supportive and larger chair which would be too awkward up close.

[cjp_piano]

I don't even stay in one place when I teach. I'm moving around all the time. I sit next to them, I kneel beside them, I walk around to the other side, I go behind them, etc. Sometimes I also sit as far as possible when they practice performing for a recital or something.

[pianoplayjl]

My teacher doesn't always sit close to me. Sometimes he sits far behind to listen better and point out the errors and mistakes in my playing. well, sometimes I prefer him to sit back because sometimes he's a source of distraction.

[soitainly]

 Remember that everyone has a different feeling on personal space, some people don't mind close contact, others like a lot of breathing room. I personally feel very uncomfortable when someone is hovering over me.

[pianoplayjl]

Same here.

[lukebar]

I once had a student who told me she liked how I sat next to her rather than behind her, like her last teacher did. She had wondered if he was really listening all the time back there.

Occasionally, I will move in closer to my students, especially when I get the sense they are not focusing 100%. Right or wrong, I feel like my concentration on the task at hand will activate their concentration.

When I feel like I have said about all I can say on a piece and am ready to turn over complete ownership of a piece to the student, I'll have them play it for me while I just sit back from a distance and listen. Sometimes, I want them to forget I am there and not worry about what I'm going to say when they are done, but rather just let me hear it as if they were playing it at home. Sometimes, students have actually confessed to trying to change their playing in the lesson, to align with what they think I want to hear. I feel terrible when that happens.

[flyinfingers]

Okay.  I have tried to coax him next to me for the last two lessons.  Today he told me he likes to stand and move about.  It doesn't matter, whatever he is comfortable with is okay with me.  I just wish he would wear a different shirt!  HA