From the Piano Forums Poll as of now:

"Do you take Piano Lessons"
Yes - 39% (90)
NO - 61% (140)

I realize that the majority of people that have taken the poll say they have been playing for over 10 years. However, I also have seen many posts that one is likely to always have the need for piano lessons.

I find it interesting that so many posts tell people they should definitely have a piano teacher when it seems that the majority of them don't have one themselves.......

The answers will probably be that beginners are the ones that really need teachers....but some have been very stern in their opinion that even after years of playing you need a teacher.

Just thinking out loud.....feel free to ignore...

POLL??

Look over there ----------------->

There is a link "Take the.... Piano Forums Poll"

Gee, Rocky, I think that other thread got you fired up.

There are way too many factors at play to have a blanket statement to describe whether you need/want a teacher or not.

Polls can screw up reality. A more accurate representation would poll whether you have ever taken lesson and what stage of learning you took those lessons. Also, a possibly more interesting tidbit would be how many people that don't currently take lessons think they would benefit from lessons.

I definitely fall into that category, yet have no intentions of picking up lessons again any time soon. So, your observation may be pretty accurate.

I also still maintain my stance that this forum acts as a virtual classroom in which all the members are continuously alternating between roles as teacher/student. Peer based teaching/learning adds an entirely different (and cool) element to the overall process.

I've just seen statements like the other one before and I admit it does bother me a bit. The recitals on this forum prove that those statements are simply not true.

OK, maybe I can pull a "Sharon" and just delete out what I've written....ummm.....luv ya Sharon

OK, back to your regular programming

I agree with this statement:

It somehow gets you fired up a bit.... it does.


and then.... I saw this statement:

But then I saw this statement:

I have (sort of, kind of) promised to not delete any more of my writing (whether it be good or bad). It seems to **** people off and tends to throw the context of the thread out of balance (off kilter, if you will). So, dear Rocky, the definition of pulling a "Sharon" has now been revised - originally saying something like - to pull a Sharon is to delete your thoughts before anybody has a chance to comment - or to pull out before anybody sees ya coming...- and now the revised definition is: Pulling a Sharon her words are there for all eternity in the archives of Pianoworld Kingdom - uh - for better or worse (something like that).

Yikes - too many caffine pills! *Wink*

Now - we can go back to our regularly scheduled program.....*giggle*

As for the poll. I would probably benefit from lessons of sort - more to discipline myself rather than formal lessons. If you have a deadline and have to produce, the lessons are a push in that direction. To sit down and do it. I always find myself on a see-saw ride of sorts. Gungho very much into my piano and other times, 10 minutes... and I'm satisfied. I have no further comments - I should be ashamed of myself that I throw away precious practice time... what exactly to I have to show for it? And having said this - will I practice more or just keep talking until I'm blue in the face.... and then return to what I've written and re-read that a couple of times over.

Yet - I love playing piano... it's just painful learning new stuff.

OHHHHHH .....over there [looking around to see if anyone noticed that I didn't notice, slaps onself on the forhead...daaaa] yea I saw that..

No-one mentioned the cost of lessons. Usually a lesson can cost up to $20 an hour and usually you have to commit weekly. Is everyone really that ready to put $80 a month on lessons ? But I do know there are private teachers that would probably accomodate irregular sessions but still....
I think when I was taking classical guitar lessons I was paying something like $100 a month. I did that for about 3 months.
So the question I would pose is: do you think you need a teacher ?...Yes.
Do you want to commit $$$$ ?....ah well...um..no not right now...maybe later...

Peter

Rocky, thanks for pointing out that poll, I hardly ever look at the info on the left of this screen either. I spend too much time here already, I try not to find anything else interesting here! :p

Regarding the disparity between how many people take lessons and how many people say you should take lessons... Remember that there are a lot of people who would like to take lessons, but can't/don't because of time or money constraints.

Rocky, I think I missed the original discussion about lessons. But just for the record, I've been playing piano since 1999, and have been taking lessons for the entire time. I assume that I will continue to take lessons (time and money permitting) for a very long time, if not forever.

rocky i bet if that poll was posted here in the abf the results would be different.

I wouldn't mind having lessons if I could find someone to take them from. Unfortunately I live in the same area where I (barely)learned to play the piano as a child. By the standards of the area I'm considered a virtuoso because I can play from a hymnal.

My last lesson was in May this year. I was too busy in June, teacher doesn't teach in July, I was too busy in August. Now my August projects are done, and I don't feel like jumping back into lessons. This is the first time I've been without lessons since starting in October 1998.

I worked really hard learning Rondo alla Turca in July, and played about an hour a day (that practice log is addictive!). I'm thinking that if I work that hard most of the year, what I really want are drop in coaching sessions, but not weekly, or even bi-weekly (my usual) lessons. I don't learn fast enough to feel ready for lessons that often.

I'm going to September Sonata (piano camp) and will get several lessons there. Maybe I'll be ready again after that.

Adagio, we expect a FULL report on September Sonata when you get back. (I'm planning on doing the island version in 2008.)

I do hope everyone realizes that I in no way think that lessons aren't useful. Someone just had said that without lessons one isn't likely to ever get beyond easy pieces of music and I disagreed with that. Then I noticed the results of the poll and just thought they were interesting is all!

I take lessons and I am AMAZED!!! at what you guys have accomplished...REALLY

rocky, I agree with you 100%. I strongly believe that people will progress faster with lessons with a competent teacher than working on their own. But I also strongly believe that most people can get past easy material on their own. I haven't gotten to truly advanced stuff, so I don't want to speculate on how far somebody can go without lessons, but I haven't seen a limit yet.

For me, my decision to self-teach is a function of lack of time, combined with a sense of inertia. As I am pleased with my progress so far without a teacher and don't feel like taking any more time away from my kids to go off for a lesson (I've got serious Working Mother Guilt), I haven't seen the need for lessons. Maybe they'll be in my future, but right now I'm happy with my situation as it is.

without lessons, i was already playing/learning some intermediate/advanced pieces, like Tempest sonata 3rd movement, Bach preludes and a Chopin etude. but only when i started lessons with a very good teacher i realized i didn't play everything correctly. even now after i have progressed a lot from 8 month lessons with my teacher, my teacher still doesn't believe me being able to play a Chopin etude at performance level yet, but i'm going to prove he's wrong in one month!

Yeah, I think a poll of adult beginners might yield somewhat different results. The current poll probably includes professionals, advanced amateurs who have mastered the instruments, and teacher.

That said, I always figured that the fastest and most reliable way to progress *all other things being equal* was to take lessons. Golf, tennis, piano, voice, pretty much anything.

I think it would be interesting to hear from more people like Signa. Signa got very far on her own (you are female, right Signa?). Signa is now finding out from a good teacher that she could have been doing a few things better. What does that mean? Well, Signa would be the best authority on that.

Signa?

Cindy, your words tickled my funnybone! That's all!

My guess, based on my own experience, is that for most people, having a teacher is the most efficient way to learn. However, it might not be the most enjoyable.

yeah, your guess is right, how can i be a M rather than a F?

i did go far on my own, although it's not all that good and not at all impressive. my teacher watched me playing at the 1st lesson and was actually happy with my basic techniques in general, such as hand position and playing habits, even though i played everything badly then and was too nerverous, but the first bad thing he noticed was my pedalling, totally mess! i found that pedalling is especially troubling with one who's self-teaching, unless one would go through extended length to correct that, such as recording/video taping or something.

with my teacher, i found that a lot subtle details in playing a piano cannot be learned just by teaching oneself. there's something you'd never know on your own. it took me long time to realize it and still try to catch up on such things. i have to see how far my teacher can take me later, but now he's not all very happy with my playing, even though he's much less concerned with helping me on learning stuff than performing details.

Around here it's about $50 and up per lesson.

It would be correct to say that you didn't harm yourself by learning on your own, right?

I ask because I've always wondered whether it was really true that people develop bad habits that are very hard to undo. In your case, Signa, it sounds like the few bad habits you developed are more than outweighed by the good things you learned on your own.

True or false?

true! my teacher literally said that i have no bad habits to be corrected but new things to add on (except pedal of course).

Lessons are a little bit like marriage.
A woman marries to correct all the bad habits...

.(Turns around and runs for it !!)

Peter

What part of the country can one get piano lessons in the range of $20 an hour? Not in my neck of the woods. The teachers I contacted wanted $50 an hour. One did say she would consider $30 for half an hour. Didn't do any further checking after speaking to the three I called.

One friend solved it by getting a teacher who agreed to giving her an hour lesson every other week, but the teachers I spoke to insisted on once a week and would not even consider every other week.

So, I am studying without a teacher and relying on all the wonderful help I get from the Piano forums. Thanks all of you. Gaby Tu

doing bi-weekly lessons is a good idea, or contact some graduate students in some music school who'd charge less.

i wouldn't go for a teacher who charge too much (no point for especially beginners), unless i only need some coaching from the teacher once a while without doing it regularly.

I should correct myself.

This was an approximation on classical guitar lessons which actually lasted 45 minutes I think or maybe it was 1/2 hour. Now I don't remember.
And that was aside from an administration fee.
And last of all in Canadian dollars which makes that about $1,000 dollars an hour in american dollars

Peter