Who was your best teacher and why?

[1piano4joe]

I would like two part responses.

1. What was your best teacher like and why?

I am constantly reflecting on how to be a better teacher and maybe I could incorporate these things into my teaching.

2. Who was the worst teacher you ever had and why?

I want to be sure I'm not doing any of these things that a student feels very strongly about.

[pianoplayjl]

I only had 1 teacher. He was kind and patient and understanding and knew how to teach. Every time I made a mistake he took notes and discussed with me the next lesson. He knew how to teach anyone anything, but I consider him one of the best teachers around because he knew I would never fail in an exam and knew I would do well in most exams. I'm saddened at the prospect of finding a teacher with more and higher qualifications once I reach a higher grade.
I don't believe in bad students but I believe in bad teachers. I once watched a movie where a Kungfu coach said to a beginner student 'there is no such thing as a bad student, but there is such thing as a bad teacher'. I took those words to heart. There is truth in those words because teachers can improve a quality of a student, it jsut depends on a teacher's teaching ability. The quality of a teacher may also depend on the quality of a student, and vice versa.

JL

[ajspiano]

Best teacher - Graham Wood, head of jazz at the West Australian Academy of Performing Arts -

Reason - he was more of a mentor than a direct instructor which is what works best for me. I left his lessons with a sense of direction over the long term in a way that meant I could explore on my own as well as doing what he suggested. He recommended things to listen to, just for listenings sake. He didnt take things too slow, I had to keep up. He didnt give me a sense of "What I say is law" it was more like just getting to actually play with a great musician, you could just absorb mountains of information. - He also had 2 pianos, which is pretty excellent for a whole variety of reasons.

That style of teaching was perhaps reflective of the lesson content though, in that there was no technique discussed, or use of notation. It was all about the sound (in terms of rhythm mostly), playing together, improvisation, theory applied to the instrument etc. etc.

[jgallag]

Best: Dr. Jennifer Hayghe, and I'm very fond of the Golandsky Institute's Mary Moran as well

Why?: Dr. Hayghe is an incredibly sensitive musician and has a great ability to describe how to achieve the musical effects she's looking for. She can hear the slightest mishaps in my pedaling, momentarily blurred harmonies, unevenness in fingering, inconsistency in pulse, inflexibility of time, simply every blemish you could find in the sound. That, and she also has a very good technical understanding of the piano. My advice to you, thinking of Dr. Hayghe, is that you should consider your ear the most important thing you have to develop. Aside from that, she has a great understanding of the influences on the repertoire she teaches and of the emotional and structural qualities of the music. She goes into a lesson knowing exactly what a quality performance needs to sound like, and always seeks for the best way to bring out that quality sound in her students.

Mary Moran has eyes like a hawk for technique. She can see exactly where movement is wasted, and knows how to teach the proper and efficient movements necessary for superior performance. She has an intimate understanding of the hand and arm and how the entire playing mechanism operates. Her primary goals as a teacher are that her students should never get injured playing the piano, and that they should be able to attain the technique required to play the repertoire they wish to play. Mary also has the wonderful bonus of using the Taubman lexicon, which provides her students with many keywords so that they can understand exactly what she's asking without requiring so much verbal explanation. Dr. Hayghe is also excellent in terms of technique, but the disadvantage is that I can only study with her at school, and so it's hard for me to absorb all of her teaching as well with the pressures of my other studies weighing on my. I studied with Mary on a break, so all I had to think about was piano.

My worst piano teacher was probably Bob Fredricks. He would push me to work on repertoire that was far beyond my capabilities, and didn't offer much in terms of how to face the technical and musical challenges posed. The most I can remember about him is that he was old and wore support hose, and my mother was always worried we would go to a lesson only to find out he had died...

As far as tips about other bad teachers, I had one teacher who was a college student who went home for break without telling us and stopped showing up to lessons. I also had a guy who taught in a back alley in Albany, NY. It was a pretty scary area to people who had grown up in a small town, and lessons were held when it was quite dark out. So, show up to lessons, and don't hold them in dark alleys.

All in all, I've had seven different teachers. It's taught me a lot about what I want to be as a teacher.

[thinkgreenlovepiano]

Warning... long post ahead..

1. What was your best teacher like and why?
My current teacher. First of all, I have to credit her with teaching my everything I missed out on for my first 5 years of piano lessons: style, articulation, dynamics, pedal, voicing, phrasing. And then, my teacher also pushes me to do better, not aggressively, but my setting high expectations and encouraging me.  I'm far from a prodigy but she is still so patient and enthusiastic when teaching me. We have spent lesson time discussing art, history, watching dance videos, and making doodles, linking it of course, to the music I am learning. She makes lessons very interesting, and really got me to come out of my shell-- even when I was insanely shy, she didn't give up on me. 

2. Who was the worst teacher you ever had and why?
I hate to say bad things about my teachers. But I have to say, my first teacher. I have nothing against her, she was a very friendly person, but... Maybe it was me partially; I was very shy and maybe she didn’t want to push me. I'm sure she didn't treat all her students like me. That's natural for any teacher, right? But I didn’t learn anything about the composers, style, the time period; we never talked about what my pieces could be about. For years I thought inventions were just literally, inventions, and that canons had to do with cannons. Until I looked it up online, of course We never talked about even dynamics or pedaling; she just basically let me do whatever I wanted. I listened to recordings and tried to copy the dynamics and all. (Although my ear wasn't that great, so some things I did made no sense whatsoever) Looking through my old music, the pages only had check marks on them. No markings on the actual notes, no dynamics, nothing. This went on for about 5 years- until I was in grade 6 piano. So still, my teacher must have been doing something right, because I did reasonably well on all my exams.

Now this may be a bit off topic, but I feel quite strongly about it, and I want to share it with all teachers, not just piano teachers.  I was painfully shy back then. For the first few months of lessons I didn’t talk if I could get away with it. I nodded, shook my head, and shrugged when I was asked a question. My hands shook while I played and you could probably imagine that I was a nightmare for my teacher.  But the thing was, I practised hard, I liked music, I had goals and plans beyond just passing my exams, and I did honestly WANT to talk. I had a lot to say, I just didn’t know how to say it. It was like something was stuck in my throat even when I tried to talk. I guess my point to all this to all teachers is, please realize that students may have another side to them. I know it can be hard for even the most understanding teachers who did not experience this themselves to relate—even I get baffled by very shy students (no, I don’t teach piano, but I am a student, and I do tutor French and English and I attend education workshops at the tutor centre I tutor for). Students aren’t necessarily “quiet” because they are disinterested, have nothing to say, or are too lazy to speak. I hated myself for being so shy, I just couldn’t help it. I’m not sure if it applies to all shy students, but from my experience, it doesn’t help to force the student out of their shell. Just be gentle, and encourage them, and eventually, once a relationship of trust between the teacher and student is established, the student will slowly come out of their shell. You might be surprised.

 

[Bob]

I think I'd put one I had in the middle tops, a pre-college level teacher, and I'd put him above my college profs.  The teachers I had in college seemed just to shuffle me along, just another student, or even "lesser" for one of those profs was the impression I got he had of me.  

And there was another college level music teacher I had, not piano, who was decent enough and I would rank at the top of my list.

Why?  They worked with, were inspiring, and were able to tell/demo things that wowed me.

The worst?  A stuck up music prof I only studied with for a bit.  It was like he "deemed" that I could study with him.  Was horrified by my technique.  Didn't understand my questions and really took them the wrong way.  Tossed out the pieces I was working on at the time and gave me new pieces but those weren't a good match for me.  Very condescending and authoritative.

And bad one...  Long, long ago (in a galaxy far, far away)... A teacher who was running a music store *while* teaching lessons.  That didn't last long.  

I don't think I've had any teacher who has really been in sync with me or how I think though.  Some things, like technique, seem like they should be fairly straightforward but it's a mystical or unspeakable topic for some teachers.

[sucom]

Without a doubt my best teacher was Joseph Weingarten, a Hungarian Concert pianist and teacher at music college, who himself studied with Ernst Dohnanyi.  Apart from being a totally inspiring and brilliant musician and transforming my playing (I owe a great deal to this man), he taught me that when I thought I was giving my best, I had far more to give.  This is something I have always remembered him for.  And the fact that I was scared to death standing outside his room before a lesson each week, but his teaching was worth it!

I spent only one lesson with the worst teacher I ever had when I was 11, who taught at the new school I was attending.  I remember going home and saying to my parents, omg, I'm a better player than she is and I was only grade 4 at that time!  She played a piece for me that she wanted me to play and I was horrified at her hands lifting a foot above the keyboard throughout the piece! Unbelievably awful playing.   My parents very quickly found me another teacher, lol.

[Bob]

I suppose another negative, and it was with one the better teachers I had... Not really addressing problems, but just handing out new exercises each week. 

[pianoplayjl]

I suppose another negative, and it was with one the better teachers I had... Not really addressing problems, but just handing out new exercises each week. 

Many teachers are like that, focusing on improving technique rather than fixing technique....

JL

[ted]

I only had two teachers, both of whom were very exceptional and delightfully original in their approach. My teacher in early childhood was a local primary school teacher with no musical qualifications but an unbounded passion for piano music and an uncanny ability to get most of her little pupils playing difficult pieces very quickly. I still have no idea how she did that. At one stage, because her pupils put those of qualified teachers in the shade at school concerts, such envy was generated that moves were initiated to prevent her teaching music. Fortunately the idiocy that passed for established music tuition here in those days was legally powerless to stop her. I tracked her down when I was nearly thirty and we remained friends until her death ten years later.

My teacher, off and on, from around fourteen to twenty-one, was the New Zealand composer, pianist, jazz pianist, Llewelyn Jones. He introduced me to improvisation as a primary means of musical creation. He told me right from the start I would be no good as a concert pianist but suggested I might have something worthwhile to say in the creative aspect if I persisted. What I learned from him is too much to summarise here but I also remained musical friends with him until his death, when I was about thirty.

Both these people were superb because each was just right for me at the right time. Neither attempted to mould me but rather perceived that I had music in me and just tried to help me get it out. Had they taken an  orthodox approach I doubt I would be enjoying my music today. I owe them both a great deal.

[chopin1993]

I had two bad teachers, one who was okay and 2 good ones. My first was awful. She discouraged me in every way and didn't give me anything you could call a good basic technique. I played pop and blues and she just gave me songs I could work on, but no feedback. When I decided to start playing classical music, I went to another teacher of who I thought could teach me a good basic classical technique. What a big mistake was that. He gave me any piece I wanted to study on. It was actually so bad, that when I finished the first mvt. of Beethoven's Moonlight sonata (my first classical piece), he asked me which piece I wanted to study next. I made a joke and said smiling: "I'd like to play Chopin's Fantaisie Impromptu." His answer was: "Okay! Do you have the sheet music?" On which I bursted out laughing because I thought he wanted to make a joke too. But he was quite serious. Everything I did was okay and he didn't give any feedback. He wasn't interested either. When I was in the "supporting program" of an Italian concertpianist he didn't care to come and watch nor he asked how it went the day after. I was very insulted. In mean time I got another teacher, a concertpianist from "Haarlem" who I met after his concert. He asked me to play something for him and so I did. He said he was impressed and wanted to give me lessons. He looked like he was from another planet and acted that way too. He was very nice, but when he didn't feel well, he didn't like anything his students played. One time he got so mad at me because I played something in a wrong way one time, he started yelling at me. My parents and I decided to get another teacher, because I just didn't feel fine when I had to go to my lessons.

I went to a lady in "Apeldoorn" and that's where I still have my lessons now. It's a very not-charming-lady, she's far from subtle and she doesn't give any compliments. But in a way I think she's a good teacher. She is friendly and taught me very much. She studied with one of the best teachers in The Netherlands ("Naum Grubert"). I have a second teacher who I think is the best teacher I have had so far. He teaches at the conservatory in "Arnhem" and teaches me everything I need to know and play for my auditions. He's very calm and honest, he studied with the best teacher in The Netherlands (Jan Wijn) and he gives compliments when I do something good. On the other side he's critical too, which I think is good. In my opinion he has all the "ingredients" of a good teacher!

Phew, sorry for the length of this post. Haha.

[pppfff]

My best teacher was "Alfonso" because he made me account for (explain why) every single decision/choice I took in every piece.

My worst teacher was "(I rather not say...)" because she did not know anything about how the composer put the piece together. I hate playing notes without a reason!

[kclee6337]

I've had many a good and many bad. the bad ones just didn't really teach me anything they just put music in front of me. the worst one i had wasn't necessarily bad it was just disturbing. i was about 12 and my parents had been referred to this one teacher who gives lessons out of her house. she was most evidently a hoarder and completely unorganized. after about mid way through the lesson her husband walks in, in nothing but underwear. for a 12 boy i was rather nervous but to think what a small girl would've thought! talk about scared for life.

I've had three exceptional teachers. one absolutely loved the ruler and took joy in hitting my hands and by back when my posture became poor although it seemed cruel i wouldn't have it any other way because now I constantly have great posture not only at the piano but anywhere I go. another one like someone has already said would take notes while I'm playing, and not interrupt me and then discuss the matters and focus more deeply on the issues i was having be it fingering or articulation etc. my current teacher is a major history buff and instead of playing things the way our modern ears tell us sounds good. she makes me play things that are true of the time period the piece was written. idk if that makes sense or not. it makes playing baroque and classical exceptionally challenging because she is so anal about it. but in the end makes me a much better performer. also as someone else has said she makes me explain the reasons I'm doing something. such as interpretations or the way I'm voicing something. i have to explain why and show I'm not just copying a recording I've been listening to.  and when it comes to faster passages like intricate scales. she doesn't just let me go with the editors fingerings or hers. she makes me figure it out on my own (with her there guiding me of course)

[zezhyrule]

I've only had two teachers so... the one I'm with currently would be the best I suppose. I can't say much without disrespecting my previous teacher, and I really don't wanna do that. Mainly because the reason I'm not currently her student is because she passed away. But yeah. My new one is awesome, and without my current teacher I probably would've quit playing the piano long ago... Also I would've never acquired a love for classical music that is still growing. I can hardly believe that I didn't know anything about classical music like a year ago. 

[rachmaninoff_forever]

Warning:  LONG post

 I'll like do a few skits.  This is my favorite teacher, but I don't know if he's my best because every teacher I had so far was fantastic

Me:  I know you moved back, and you're teaching me again.  So I'll pay you

Teacher:  What the *** is this sh*t?!  

*rips up check*

Me:  What was that for?!  

Teacher:  I've been teaching you for free for the past few years, and you wanna pay me now?!  
___________________________________________________________________________

*Over the phone*

Me:  Dude, what why can't I play this right?!  Aaaagh what the heck is going on, this is so stupid!

Teacher:  You can come over right now if you want

*At his house*

Teacher:  Here, try this.

Me:  Woah how did you know that?!  All my problems are solved!

Whenever I would have a technical issue, he would give me an exercise and it would be fixed in no time!
______________________________________________________________

*Screwing around*

Me:  Have you heard of this piece?  Or this piece?  Or this piece?!

Teacher:  Yeah I've heard of it!

Me:  Can I play it?  

Teacher:  what?!  You think you can play this?!  Hahahah don't make me laugh!

*the day after*

Teacher:  I bought some music for you...
_______________________________________________________

*Playing some music*

Me:  So, how does it sound?

Teacher:  Good good good...  BUT you could play this passage better

*plays it again*

Teacher:  Good good  BUT I think you can do better

*Plays it again*

Teacher:  Good good...  BUT you could play it more clearly

*plays it again*

Teacher:  Good good...  BUT did I hear a stray note somewhere?

Me:  Are you kidding me?!  I played it perfect!

Teacher:  Did I studder?!

*Plays it again*

Me:  How good was it?

Teacher:  Meh, about 97-98%

I've NEVER satisfied him with my playing EVER!
___________________________________________

*in the middle of a lesson*

Teacher: okay, so imagine you're walking down the street, and there's an earthquake.  A car is thrown at your direction and you only have-

*screaming and fighting*

Teacher:  I'll be back, the kids are fighting.  Just go and practice this the way I told you.

*45 minutes later*

Teacher:  okay I'm back!  Jeez kids these days...  So ANYWAYS, you only have-

*looks at watch*

Teacher:  oh shoot, I have to go to the store and pick my wife up from the airport.  I'll be back

*two hours later*

Teacher:  okay I'm back!  So ANYWAYS, you only have-

Me:   . It's freaking 9:00!!!  I have school tomorrow and I didn't even start my homework!  I'm leaving kid...

Lol
_____________________________________________________
*playing something*

Teacher interrupts me:  want a chocolate

Me: sure

Teacher:  okay but only take [      ] this much.

*takes [                ] this much*

*teacher throws something at me*
_________________________________________________________

*playing something*

Me:  hey did you hear about that new species of fish they found?

Teacher:  shut up and keep playing

*continues playing*

Me:  they said that it's some prehistoric shark that they thought was instinct

Teacher:  cool story bro...  But seriously though, keep playing...

*continues playing*

Me:  I don't remember the name, but they said that-

Teacher:  if you say another *** word, I'm gonna kick you out of my *** house!!!!!!!!!  
_________________________________________________________

Teacher:  okay so when you play this passage, imagine you're talking to a girl and she says, 'its fine...' or, 'I'm fine...' or, 'well have fun then...!'. What does that really mean?

Me:  you're screwed?

Teacher:  EXACTLY!  Now play it again!  

*about to begin playing but phone rings*

Teacher:  hello?
mumble mumble mumble
Teacher:  oh hey what's up how's it going?
Mumble mumble mumble
Teacher:  nothing important, I'm just in the middle of a piano lesson.  So anyways, what you were saying?

*walks in other room*

 
______________________________________________________
*playing some Bach but then teacher interrupts with his playing*

Teacher:  doesn't that sound cool?

Me:  rachmaninoff piano concerto 1 bar 66 movement 3?  I've heard of it before.  I can't believe rachmaninoff composed this when he was only 19!  Too bad this work is underplayed.

Teacher: yeah this is underplayed

Me:  but have you heard of this?!  

Teacher:  WOAH that's pretty cool!  But it would sound better if you played it like this in stead of that.

Me:  meh, I'm not too fond of that.  So when's you're next soccer game?

Teacher:  next Saturday.  My knee is kinda messed up so I won't be playing as much as I would like to.    

*three hours later*

Me:  wow we just wasted this lesson talking about nothing...

Teacher:  no worries, just come any time tomorrow!
___________________________________________________
Teacher:  did you know that Dimitri Sgorous played the Rach 3 at age 12?!

Me:  no...  

Teacher:  or that my ex girlfriend recorded Petrouchka and Gaspard de la Nuit at age 13?

Me:  no...

Teacher: or that when I was in college, a friend of mine sightread the first movement of the Rach 1 after listening to it once SIX MONTHS before hand?

Me:  no........
____________________________________________________

*Over the phone*

Me:  what the heck are you freaking kidding me?!  This new teacher completely tore me apart!  He told me to give up my hopes and dreams!!!

Teacher:  is that it?  Are you kidding me?!  You're upset because of this baby sh*t?!  When I met my college professor for the first time, I never played for him before, and the first thing he said to me was, 'you're not going to become a pianist.  Change majors'.  That was the first sentence!  Imagine what it was like going through a whole year of him!


Truly inspiring words...  It really lightened my day.  Seriously.

[iansinclair]

Dr. Enid Woodward, FAGO, FRCO.  Not only the best keyboard (organ) teacher I ever had, the best teacher, period.

Why?  She herself was one of the finest organists I have ever heard perform (she had studied with Nadia Boulanger), and was knowledgeable and more than competent over an incredibly wide range of music.  Second, she cared deeply about each individual student she had -- not just about how well they played (she was a bear on technique and period correct interpretation and ornamentation) but also who they were; enough so that she could help choose really suitable repertoire.  And work with the student in other areas as well.  Third, she never put down a student; whille a stickler, she was always positive in her comments.  Fourth, she never "showed off" -- at our college, it was expected that all performing music teachers would give a faculty recital from time to time; she always demurred, preferring to let her students play.  We finally did persuade her to give a recital, though... and it was absolutely stunningly brilliant; the word leaked out that she was going to, and people came to hear it from all over North America and Europe.

Last, she simply was "finest kind" in all ways.

[love_that_tune]

Looooooooove this thread.  My best teacher ever ever was Raymond Dellovo.  I went from playing "The Spinning Song" to Pathetique overnight.  He also taught me how to teach. He had taught at New England Conservatory, performed as a concert pianist, etc.  Which brings me to my worst - well limited - teacher.  She had me go through John thompson books one at a time.  I really only learned the notes, and nothing else.  My mother told me years later that this teacher had said I was the most gifted student she ever had.  You wouldn't have known that from me.

One other teacher I had for the summer in a college in Chicago was a Julliard Professor.  I had grown up playing by ear until that point, and fingering was a nightmare.  He insisted on exact fingering while I struggled through Bach Inventions.  One lesson, discouraged, I asked, "Do you think I'll ever play the piano?"  His reply, "I don't know.".

[amelialw]

I've gone through so many different teachers...counting yamaha as well (from 2& a half till 9).

Since I started private lessons I've taken regular lessons from 6 and have taken lessons from 3 visiting professors whilst at musc school.

My best is my mentor starting from the age of 16; my teacher before that did nothing but to always complain that I never practiced when she never taught me how to practice for 10 years!!!   My mentor figured out sooner or later that something wasn't right, at that point it was so bad that it had became a habit to turn a deaf ear to someone who said I didn't practice; she constantly had to deal with a very emotional& stubborn me ...so I gave her a hard time in other words but when she figured it out I suddenly started loving my music so much that could stay for many more hours at the piano everyday; I grew from being her worst student to the one who worked myself up to being the one who still has much to learn but is still going and whom she never dropped even when she was so sick at one point that she had to sit down during lessons. For what it's worth she encouraged plenty of healthy competition between her students and I by challenging us especially if we happened to play the same pieces (getting us to pull he strong points from each other and taught us together now and then) and in the end I ended up being the one from her whole batch of students who never stopped. She is very dear to me....now being hours apart doesn't stop me from calling to share what I struggle with or to share my sucess stories with her The best part is that I went home each day knowing exactly what I had to work on and she would constantly inspire me or rather find ways to inspire me to motivate myelf til it became an in-built thing for me.

Another one is her friend& a friend of another teacher whom I studied with for a month whilst he was visiting singapore. He is very much like my mentor, very understanding and demands much from the student but never says 'you'll never make it...or you have small hands so you'll never be able to play this'