Online Lessons?

[iancollett6]

Ive read mostly negative opinions towards online lessons from this forum, does anyone have different views.?
 I noticed a site called iplaythepiano.com. It has lessons for students of all levels for 19 euros a month.
 I only get a chance to see my teacher every six weeks so I was considering these as a something extra.
 Is anyone familiar with the site I mentioned? Does anyone have thoughts on the topic?

[iansinclair]

I had no familiarity with the site you mentioned -- so I went and looked it up just now.

It is an interesting concept, but... and this is just my opinion -- I don't see the feedback.  That is, it appears to give you the lesson, but I don't see much provision for the teacher to actively review and criticise your own work.  A good teacher, after all, does not just listen to the results of your playing.  He or she listens, yes -- but also observes your hand position and movement, arms, indeed your whole body.  Further, he or she will offer suggestions for and ask questions about interpretation.  A whole lot of things.  And I don't see provision for that interaction.

Just my opinion, mind you.

[eric0773]

I did not know that site, thanks for sharing. The teachers on there have a very serious academic profile (many of them from the Ecole Normale or the Paris Conservatoire), and the sample videos are interesting.

However, IMHO, a format that lets you choose and pay for individual pieces would have been better, rather than access to the whole library under a subscription format. A punctual use of the site is not conceivable with the current format.

In your case, though, I think it may be a good idea. Since you still have lessons every six weeks, you will be able to get feedback from your teacher. It will be necessary to play to him whatever you learn online, in order to have a critical point of view on your "achievements".

To me, in general, good online lessons can be used in conjunction with standard classes. I am currently going through an improvisation course on a website, and love it so far. The topic and the tone are very different from my weekly interpretation classes.

[iancollett6]

To me, in general, good online lessons can be used in conjunction with standard classes. I am currently going through an improvisation course on a website, and love it so far. The topic and the tone are very different from my weekly interpretation classes.

Thanks for your responses. Its interesting to hear that you are doing some improvisation work. I recently asked a question in a post if improvisation is ever a component of practice while in the field of classical music. No one had an answer.
 Because Im only interested in learning classical I had never done any work on improvisation and I was quite stunned when the piano salesman where I bought my new piano belted out some beautiful sounding tune that he had improvised. I suddenly realised this was a skill I had no exposure to.
 Do you think this is the case with most pianist in the classical field, that they can only play sheet music and technical exercises?
 whats the name of your online improv course and for what reasons did you decide to take it up? Thanks     Ian.

[eric0773]

Reasons:

1. Being able to play my own things, and to quickly reproduce on the piano melodies I hear.
2. Not being stuck with my repertoire of four or five pieces. When somebody asks me to play something, for instance in a party, I do not want to always play the same Chopin nocturne. It feels completely out of context.
3. Getting a better understanding of chords and harmony. Right now, I feel that my learning of classical pieces is a little "dumb". I see very well how certain chords should be played, and try to play them this way; however, I rarely understand why the composer used this particular progression.

The site is Quaverbox. It is a basics training. I purchased the first ten lessons, and am trying to follow them diligently. With online programs, it is tempting to go too fast ("Ok, now I see, what's next? Ok, got it, what else?") and be superficial in the learning process. It takes discipline to stick to one chapter until you master the techniques completely. Five hours of videos can be split across three months - and not across one day, like I first did :-)

There are certainly other great online classes for improvisation, but this is the only one I can speak of. So far, it is working quite well; I can start playing my own little things on the piano, although they are still elementary. With a couple a months of daily practice, it should start taking shape.

Basic improvisation classes may be more suited to online training than classical interpretation, where you need a very accurate feedback on many subtleties. My current combination of classical teacher + improvisation online works fine so far.

Regarding classical interpretation: in your case, since you do get the opportunity to see a "real" teacher every six weeks, you could prepare one or two pieces for each lesson (using the website you mentioned, or a similar one), and then get feedback from him. See if it works.