Questions about my teacher

[stormx]

Hi !!

i began to study piano just a month and a half ago. I take 1 class a week, 1 hour long. I have 2 questions regarding my teacher and his teaching method:

1) He has never played anything in front of me, besides some ultra easy stuff (the stuff i am playing).
Is it rude to ask him to play some real music? will he feel that i am puting him under examination?

2) At the moment, i am reading both trebble cleffs. He says that he prefers not to introduce the bass cleff at the beginning. Is this the normal method?

Happy new year !!!! 

[m1469]

Hello.  At the moment I only have a bunch of questions for you, with a purpose of course.

How did you come about studying with him in the first place? 

(Did you audition for him?  Did you interview with him?  How did you come to find out about him?)

What do you feel you will learn from having him play for you?  Do you know specifically what information you are seeking from this display?

There is not a "normal" method, there are only popular methods.  What are you working on?

m1469 Fox

[stormx]

Hi m1469:

I have choosen him because the Institute is one block from my apartment. 
It was not a very meditated decission, as a matter of fact. I have privileged proximity over other factors. On the other hand, being a complete newbie, i was under the impression that almost all piano teachers could guide me in my first steps.

Why do i want him to play something? well, i beleive i have the right to know how my teacher plays the piano.

I am working on the FIRST excercises from the following 3 books:

Carl Czerny: "Il primo maestro di pianoforte (op. 599)"
F. Beyer: "Piano preparatory school" (op. 101)"
Diabelli: "Melodic excercises (op.149)"

PD: i hope he does not read this forum   

[anda]

1) He has never played anything in front of me, besides some ultra easy stuff (the stuff i am playing).
Is it rude to ask him to play some real music? will he feel that i am puting him under examination?

depends on how you ask
my students ask me all the time that, and it's not "to put me on test". they even have their favourites, and i use this to blackmail them: "you learn this by next time, and i'll play for you the chickens/the children quarelling/etc. "

2) At the moment, i am reading both trebble cleffs. He says that he prefers not to introduce the bass cleff at the beginning. Is this the normal method?

about 50% of teachers prefer teaching cleffs separately (one at the time), while the rest prefer teaching them at the same time.

[m1469]

Hi m1469:

I have choosen him because the Institute is one block from my apartment. 
It was not a very meditated decission, as a matter of fact. I have privileged proximity over other factors. On the other hand, being a complete newbie, i was under the impression that almost all piano teachers could guide me in my first steps.

Why do i want him to play something? well, i beleive i have the right to know how my teacher plays the piano.

I am working on the FIRST excercises from the following 3 books:

Carl Czerny: "Il primo maestro di pianoforte (op. 599)"
F. Beyer: "Piano preparatory school" (op. 101)"
Diabelli: "Melodic excercises (op.149)"

PD: i hope he does not read this forum   

Well, stormx, of course you have the right to know how your piano teacher plays the piano.  To an extent anyway, the extent that he is willing to concede to you.  I personally would never ask any of my teachers to play for me unless s/he has given me explicit permission to ask of them this thing, it is of a very personal nature.  When they do/have really played for me, it is very special to me and means more than I can put into words.  I carry these experiences around like sacred treasures, and this is as it should be in my opinion.

This is not really the main point, however.  My main point is that you may not get the information you are looking for even if he does oblige you and your solicitations.  I think that your main questions are... (or at least they should be IMO)

1.  Can he teach
2.  What exactly does he know about the piano/music/life
3.  How can he help me reach my goals

So my question to you about what exactly you are looking for, is more along these lines.  How are you going to figure out the answer to these three questions by experiencing him playing for you?  Do you know?

Personally, I have always needed and have had more than one teacher at a time anyway.  Literally and philisophically.  I have always been searching on my own and have always been discovering on my own with Music itself.  I have also almost always had more than one source of teaching in a formal way as well as an informal way at simultaneous periods in my life.   This is something that I need (to an extent) and I am aware of it.  However, I know when the balance gets off and I have a ranking in my mind of whose opinion matters most at what time.

My main point is that I view a main formal teacher as somewhat of a center for learning and growth, where I formally bring everything I have to work with which may have been gathered from many sources.  My main teacher gives me a focal point for pianistic/musical/personal discipline, growth and execution, and ideally knows how to handle my whole person (or at least learns how to work with it).

You are not wrong to be curious about your teacher, just make sure you know what you are looking for.  You may be able to already find many of the answers you need in what he has already been willing to share with you.

I am still curious about this one thing... did you not meet with him and talk with him before you began lessons?

m1469 Fox