Does my Piano Teacher hate me?

[mrrobot]

Greetings.  I started learning the piano mid March this year.  I'm in the second book of a method series for total beginners.  I met with a private instructor once a week for 45 minutes until last week, because he assigned a Czerny Etude from opus 299 so I upped my appointment to one hour.  I can play the first 12 measures at 50 bpm, and then it goes to hell, and I can barely play it. 

Is my piano teacher trying to push me away with this?  Do Piano teachers behave like this?  Am I a bad student?

I practice at least 2 hours a day, 6 days a week.

Thanks for any input.

[anacrusis]

I don't think your teacher hates you, and I don't think you are a bad student. It sounds like the music feels too challenging for you at this time, which sucks the fun out of playing. This is a mistake teachers sometimes make, they give you something that is too challenging, often with the best of intentions, but it's simply not working for you. You're not supposed to play pieces that are too hard for you at this time, that's why they are labeled "too hard". Have you discussed your feelings about this piece with your teacher?

[lostinidlewonder]

Teacher seems to have an unimaginative repertoire understanding.

[mrrobot]

Have you discussed your feelings about this piece with your teacher?

No, I will put my primary focus on the method book, because I can hash those pieces out. The Etude, well I'll practice crazy annoyingly slow, one painful measure at a time, and when I see him next week I'll mention that I'm probably over my head, but I'll keep working on it if he feels I should. 

I just didn't realize piano players worked this hard.

[bwl_13]

Teacher seems to have an unimaginative repertoire understanding.

Cold!
but true...

[keypeg]

  I can play the first 12 measures at 50 bpm, and then it goes to hell, and I can barely play it. 

This statement tells me that you have not been guided in how to practice (which a teacher ought to do, but not all do) simply from what you describe.  Typically someone who plays the beginning well, and then it falls apart, has started at the beginning and then tries to slog through the rest.  The beginning gets really good because it gets practised the most.
You should be taught to divide your music into sections (sometimes called chunking) - then practice sections.  Typically it's wise to do the hardest parts first - also find out why they're hard, and what you need to do about that.  Again, that is a teacher's guiding role, especially if you're not advanced.  The Czerny etudes have particular purposes.  Is your teacher explaining things?

[ranjit]

Is my piano teacher trying to push me away with this?  Do Piano teachers behave like this?  Am I a bad student?

No, you're not a bad student. On the contrary, I feel like your teacher probably underestimates just how hard you are finding the pieces he's assigning, and assumes you're talented and can be pushed further. This is often bad judgement on the teacher's part. A particularly assiduous adult student like yourself can make good progress in a short period of time, and teachers can be misled by this from what I've seen.

[mrrobot]

  Is your teacher explaining things?

Yeah I feel he is, but at the same time this just happened.  He recommended the opus (299), picked the etude (9), and had me sight read the right hand part.  I was able to sight read the first 12 measure with just a few mistakes.  The scale patterns are easy, what is killing me is the chords.  Then when you have scales in one hand and these weird chords in the other my brain slows down and the passage stops in its tracks.  He did show me a way to practice this particular scale shape, and I can barely do it even at snail pace.  Throw a metronome in the mix and I'm in real trouble.  But I was chunking and breaking things down.  Measures 13 through 17 are this weeks task.  Thankfully the expectation is hands separate!  So for that section the right hand is easy, it's just a scale pattern.  The left hand is doing weird chords that my brain isn't happy with.  I'll figure it out though, eventually.

[mad_max2024]

It's hard to say if something is too hard for you without being there. Sometimes your teacher will try to challenge you with things that will be difficult but that he thinks you will be able to achieve. If you only play what you are comfortable with you will find it hard to evolve.

If you truly feel this is beyond your grasp then just openly discuss it with your teacher, tell him your concerns and ask for help. He can advise you on your difficulties and guide you on your practice process or just give you something different if he feels you are really in over your head or if he knows something you might enjoy more.

But also do give it a real go before you give up. A lot of people have a glamorous and romantic view of playing an instrument and don't really see all the background hard work that goes into it.
A lot of practice is like this, trying difficult things and figuring out ways to play them. It's a slow process.

[anacrusis]

I just didn't realize piano players worked this hard.

It depends on the player some of us are very passionate and work very hard, others just dabble when it feels fun, and everything in between. Feel free to approach the instrument the way that you derive the most enjoyment from.

[bernadette60614]

When I resumed playing after a long hiatus I assumed that the more I brought each week to a lesson...in terms of measures..the more my teacher would approve of my progress.  My current teacher who is an RCM examiner changed my approach.  Her view is she's rather have me play 6 measures well, then 15 measures badly. The big issue with playing too much too soon, is those bad habits tend to get into the finger memory, and they are the devil to get out again!

[leigh anne]

No of course not!!