I think I hate piano but i'm not sure

[rikea24]

I first started learning to play the piano at 10/11 but quit before it was a year, mainly because i found it boring and i dreaded going to the lessons. I took it up again with the same teacher when I was 14 and in a few months of starting i completed an ABRSM Grade 2 exam and passed with merit. I then went on to do a Grade 4 exam which i did last year (I'm 16 now) and well all of my friends know how much i dread piano lessons. 

2 weeks prior to the exam my teacher gave me the specimen aural tests CD as we had never done aural (at grade 4 level) in class, so i couldn't sight sing or practically do anything because I didn't know how to do it as I was never taught. My sight reading is even worse. I barely scraped a pass on sight reading at grade 2 because my teacher left it til the last minute, she also did this for grade 4.Suffice to say, I passed the exam with 118 (2 away from merit) and i did excellently in my scales and pieces but (quite obviously) i failed both aural and sight reading.

Since the beginning of this year I have been preparing for Grade 5 and I bought 2 sight reading books, for grade 1 and 2 (because my sight reading is that bad) because i thought i should take the initiative to learn it since my teacher isn't willing to teach it. I'm still dreading the lessons and I hate the thought of piano, but i'm not quitting because i would love to play it very well.

Umm sorry for my big rant (and this isn't even all of my problems with piano) but i just wanted to know if anyone has any advice or is in a similar position?

[outin]

I don't think I ever hated the piano but I did not particularly like it either when having lessons as a child. Now I am absolutely fascinated with the instrument and really enjoy practicing despite having all kinds of physical and mental problems in learning it. I do not think I would have quite the piano lesson for 30 years if I had been exposed to the kind of piano music I am studying now.

My advice:
If you haven't already, listen to a lot of piano music and try to find pieces that you really like and want to play with passion. Then select some that are manageable and start learning those. Maybe even forget about the exams for a while if it's possible (are they compulsary where you study?). Talk to your teacher, tell her that you are losing the enjoyment in piano playing and are worried that you might end up quitting. Ask her to let you learn some pieces you really enjoy now without preparing for exams.

[keypeg]

Obviously this teacher is not doing a proper job.  Is there a chance to get a decent teacher?

[quantum]

Have you discussed with your teacher what your goals are and what you would like to learn?

[keypeg]

Have you discussed with your teacher what your goals are and what you would like to learn?

The student's teacher did not prepare him for the tests.  I don't think that a student should have to discuss this with a teacher as though it were a special or unusual wish.  If you register a student for an exam, you prepare the student for that exam.  In fact, skills should be given because they are needed, and that gets developed for the long haul - not something you pull out in a rush a few weeks before an exam.  Skills aren't acquired that way.

[ajspiano]

I hate the thought of piano, but i'm not quitting because i would love to play it very well.

If you are choosing not to quit because you want to be able to play then the piano itself isn't the problem..  perhaps instead your current approach to piano is.

[keypeg]

If you are choosing not to quit because you want to be able to play then the piano itself isn't the problem..  perhaps instead your current approach to piano is.

Did you read the description of rikea24's lessons?  Might the teacher not be the problem in this case?  The OP has done exams that involved skills that his teacher did not prepare him for.  The teacher left it to the last minute, which is not a way to acquire skills.  At this juncture the student is taking it upon himself to find resources and ways of approaching sight reading, compensating for his teacher's lacks.  If his current approach is a problem, then it may be to lack of guidance.

I am referring to these parts:

2 weeks prior to the exam my teacher gave me the specimen aural tests CD as we had never done aural (at grade 4 level) in class, so i couldn't sight sing or practically do anything because I didn't know how to do it as I was never taught. My sight reading is even worse. I barely scraped a pass on sight reading at grade 2 because my teacher left it til the last minute, she also did this for grade 4.Suffice to say, I passed the exam with 118 (2 away from merit) and i did excellently in my scales and pieces but (quite obviously) i failed both aural and sight reading.

What we see is that for the parts that the student was taught, rikea24 did well, because he/she could practice under guidance.  Both sight reading and aural are skills that are developed through regular practice over a long period of time.  Both of these skills develop better when there is guidance involved.

Again there is this:

Since the beginning of this year I have been preparing for Grade 5 and I bought 2 sight reading books, for grade 1 and 2 (because my sight reading is that bad) because i thought i should take the initiative to learn it since my teacher isn't willing to teach it.

The student is taking the initiative.  Where is the teacher in this?

Why has nobody picked up on this?

[outin]

Why has nobody picked up on this?

I did...the only reasonable thing to do is to ask the teacher why this happened, did she think it's easy for the student, or maybe the teacher feels it's not important part of the exam. The other option is to change teachers, but I think this is a young person who might not have the luxury just to decide to change teacher when not happy.

rikea24 did fine with the pieces in the exam, so the teacher is probably doing somethin right. I am not familiar with these exams at all, so I don't really know the implications of failing one part.

I assume that rikea24 is not pursuing a career in piano (being 16 and grade 5), just wants to learn to play, so exams shouldn't really be the main focus of study IMO, if they make the experience so bad. Not to say that developing aural skills isn't important anyway and sight reading is of course an important skill.

What worries me more is to be dreading piano lessons...why is that? Because of the teacher or something coming from the student's own mind?

[ajspiano]

I probably should've elaborated a little..

The poor "approach to piano" in this case is being dictated by the teacher. I didn't mean to suggest the student had the problem personally. There is clearly a need for better teacher/student communication, or just better teacher generally.

OP is experiencing one of the main reasons I dislike exam based learning.

[pianoman53]

Change teacher as soon as you possibly can. You're teacher, according to your post is a complete waste of your time.

[keypeg]

I probably should've elaborated a little..

The poor "approach to piano" in this case is being dictated by the teacher. I didn't mean to suggest the student had the problem personally. There is clearly a need for better teacher/student communication, or just better teacher generally.

Gotcha.  And agreed.  Thanks for elaborating. 

OP is experiencing one of the main reasons I dislike exam based learning.

I'm with you on that too.  If there are exams, then that might be a good way of checking what's being learned, as long as you take the examiner's input with a big grain of salt since the examiner doesn't have anything close to the whole picture.  Teach toward an exam?  No thanks!  But if a student is going to be tested for ear training or sight reading, it's only logical that the student has been taught the thing he is being tested on.

[rikea24]

I don't think I ever hated the piano but I did not particularly like it either when having lessons as a child. Now I am absolutely fascinated with the instrument and really enjoy practicing despite having all kinds of physical and mental problems in learning it. I do not think I would have quite the piano lesson for 30 years if I had been exposed to the kind of piano music I am studying now.

My advice:
If you haven't already, listen to a lot of piano music and try to find pieces that you really like and want to play with passion. Then select some that are manageable and start learning those. Maybe even forget about the exams for a while if it's possible (are they compulsary where you study?). Talk to your teacher, tell her that you are losing the enjoyment in piano playing and are worried that you might end up quitting. Ask her to let you learn some pieces you really enjoy now without preparing for exams.

Oh sorry, by piano i meant the actual piano lessons, not the instrument. Sorry, i'm just so used to abbreviating it. Thank you for the feedback, I did think about giving up the exams but I don't think that the exam is the main problem, it's just the fact that i'm always unprepared for it. I should be at a level where I can take any easy piece of music and can play it with fluency but I can't. Even the easiest pieces are a struggle for me because my sight reading skills are practically non-existent.

[rikea24]

Obviously this teacher is not doing a proper job.  Is there a chance to get a decent teacher?

That's the thing, I can't. Her lessons are really convenient for me because i'm busy with schoolwork throughout the week and also the lessons are inexpensive compared to other teachers in my area. So I'm kind of stuck for now.

[rikea24]

If you are choosing not to quit because you want to be able to play then the piano itself isn't the problem..  perhaps instead your current approach to piano is.

Again i'm sorry for my wording. I meant that I hate my piano lessons, not the actual piano. I'm not quitting because I would love to be able to play it well and I know if I quit, the chances of me starting again are very slim.

[rikea24]

I did...the only reasonable thing to do is to ask the teacher why this happened, did she think it's easy for the student, or maybe the teacher feels it's not important part of the exam. The other option is to change teachers, but I think this is a young person who might not have the luxury just to decide to change teacher when not happy.

rikea24 did fine with the pieces in the exam, so the teacher is probably doing somethin right. I am not familiar with these exams at all, so I don't really know the implications of failing one part.

I assume that rikea24 is not pursuing a career in piano (being 16 and grade 5), just wants to learn to play, so exams shouldn't really be the main focus of study IMO, if they make the experience so bad. Not to say that developing aural skills isn't important anyway and sight reading is of course an important skill.

What worries me more is to be dreading piano lessons...why is that? Because of the teacher or something coming from the student's own mind?

My teacher doesn't believe that sight reading is that important and I think she thinks that when i'm in the exam, i'll have an innate ability to pass aural and sight reading. Yes, I really can't change teachers and no i'm not pursuing it as a career. My teacher just seems to spend more time (or should i say all the time) on scales and aural and i'm even lucky if we speak about sight reading or aural once in a month. Even if I didn't do piano exams, my level of sight reading would still be the same or even worse.

I really don't know anymore, the lessons are not enjoyable and they just seem like a chore to me.

[rikea24]

Gotcha.  And agreed.  Thanks for elaborating. 
I'm with you on that too.  If there are exams, then that might be a good way of checking what's being learned, as long as you take the examiner's input with a big grain of salt since the examiner doesn't have anything close to the whole picture.  Teach toward an exam?  No thanks!  But if a student is going to be tested for ear training or sight reading, it's only logical that the student has been taught the thing he is being tested on.

Thank you very much for your posts. I'm extremely grateful and I really appreciate your input. I was beginning to think maybe I was the problem but to be honest i'm just confused, I really don't want to fail sight reading and aural in grade 5 and working on it at home by myself is only helpful to a certain extent.

[zezhyrule]

i'm even lucky if we speak about sight reading or aural once in a month. Even if I didn't do piano exams, my level of sight reading would still be the same or even worse.

Do sight-reading on your own. Get some easy sheets from IMSLP and just sight-read some stuff. That's something you can only learn by doing