Anxious in Lessons?

[keyquest]

You might find this article helpful, which deals with the issue of how anxious we sometimes feel, especially adults, when attending piano lessons… and what to do about it!

https://pianodao.com/2017/02/04/piano-lessons-dealing-with-anxiety/

[dogperson]

 As an adult student, I would add one tip for students:   stop seeing your lessons as 'performance' about how much you have accomplished during the week... and start seeing them as 'here are my weaknesses, help me'. 

How to do that?   I start every lesson with my teacher not by 'playing through' what I have been practicing, but asking for assistance on the measures/section/technique that have been problematic during the week.  I add question marks to the score, or sticky notes where I know I need to improve/discuss.   We often do not get around to 'playing through' at all.

I therefore set the mood (for myself) of learning rather than performing.  Lessons are 'brain picking'  to take advantage of the skills/education of my teacher that I am trying to develop.  

[bernadette60614]

Thank you, OP, for the posting.

To speak personally, our son has multiple learning disabilities, and something I've learned from eavesdropping on his tutors, is that the best tutor follow this routine:

.  At the close of every session, they'll ask: What do you think you should work on next?

.  Then they will discuss a strategy and timetable for that learning.

.  When DS has his next session, he'll start out with:  I worked on this, and I need help with this.

As an adult, my process doesn't follow each step each time, but when I view the lesson as learning rather than performance, it becomes more collaborative and more productive.

Thank you again for the topic. I think as adults we tend to view situations as pass/fail, win/lose, ranking/grading, rather than a lifelong process.