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I know someone mentioned this a few posts back, but I definitely agree we should see about making these stories into some kind of book! These are all really priceless, something that teachers and parents can both appreciate!

Last week while teaching a 7 year-old beginner about the term "diminuendo" he exclaimed,
"Diminuendo?!? That sounds like the starting word of the Dominican Republic!"

Lastnight I was teaching a 7 year old girl the piece "Rodeo" in the Piano Adventures primer lesson book. I asked her if she knew what a "rodeo" was. She said matter-of-factly:

"Of course, it's a place where everyone goes and rides wild donkeys!"

Wild Donkeys! LOL!

Back when I was teaching a children's chorus for an outreach opera program during my undergrad, I asked them if they knew what opera was:

"Opera is where you sing and you sound like an old lady."

"Opera is where you sing a beautiful song and then you just don't stop."

There's a lot of beginners in my piano studio right now, and some of their best moments have been:

"How many beats does a treble clef get again?"

"I tried to practice, but I just can't find my piano!"

"Oh! I get it now! That note is an H! Why does it look so much like a C?"

And my most recent favorite:

Mom was holding a holiday teacher present from her son at the end of his lesson, for him to give to me, and something in her subtle hints didn't quite connect. He kept looking at her quizzically, till he saw my name and his own on the tag, and broke into a wide grin, "OH! Thanks, Nate!" He thought it was a surprise for HIM!

My son asks the strangest things during his lessons.

My son: What does this say?
Teacher: Baldwin.

My son: Where?
Teacher: Huh?

My son: Where the ball went?

I think the teacher is catching on to him.

The phone rings.
My son: It's the phone.
Teacher: Don't worry about it.

My son: Maybe it's your dog.
Teacher: She doesn't know this number.

4evr88keys,

Hee Hee! I love the teacher's last response!

That humor sounds familiar. My 7th grade son gets into similar conversations with his father. (I find it funny when he tries to confuse his father...not so funny when he uses his sense of humor on me.)

I was reviewing scales with a student yesterday. She played G-major, and it sounded funny. She stopped, thought a moment, then said, "Oh yeah, the F is capitalized."

Priceless!!!!

wild donkeys..

ha ha

i love this thread... such a pick me upper

So many cute and funny stories! I love this thread!

"Please tell me all this practice will pay off some day". "You're the only one I can tell, but I don't really like to practice". " My mom is staying out of the room now because 'Someone' tells her she should let me practice by myself. (The 'someone' turns out to be mom's therapist). "You are my favorite teacher I've had, and I've had a LOT". While teaching her how to move her whole arm around the keyboard she says "You're REALLY a good teacher!!!". Now, that's the kind of positive feedback I need!

This is all in just one lesson with Olivia, age 9.

LOL, these are great!

I have a student who, when she was only 7, walked in for her lesson as I was finishing up a little sight-reading for a later lesson, and as she set down her books and came to the piano, said, "Oh! You play?" It was in this kind of tone that you might expect from someone you just met at a dinner party, making small-talk. It just cracked me up.

I also have this story from a few weeks ago. Please forgive the length... it was something my daughter did (she's kind of my student, LOL):

After hearing (on Performance Today) a long note played at the very end of a piece for piano and flute:

I said to my DD, "That was a really long note, wasn't it?"

DD, smiling, said "Yes! That's probly 'cause they used the sostenUTO pedal on the piANo." [emphasis and pronunciation hers] It was actually the flute, but, um, OK. She is just 5.

I said, "Oh, you think that's what it was? I didn't know you knew "sostenuto." Do you know which pedal the sostenuto is on the piano? Is it the right, middle, or left pedal?"

She laughed and said, "It's the MIDDLE one!"

"They just PUSH it down, and it goes 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee' . . . "[she's singing this ridiculously high (and loud) pitch -- think tea kettle -- for about fifteen seconds...]

Maybe you had to be there. I was cracking up.

LoL =p Thanks for sharing all these funny things

We are learning a piece in D Major for the first time. My student is not ready to read two sharps of key signature yet, so, I suggested that she will use her finger to point all the F and C so that I can use yellow highlighter to highlight it for her to remind her. The piece is Piano Adventure Level 3A Lesson book Song of Joy by Beethoven in key of D major.
So, here is what happen....

Student: Wow, there is a lot of sharps, I am sure Mr. Beethoven loves sharps, I wonder if he got sharps for his birthday!

We both laugh, then...

Me: Oh yeah, I am sure he has bucket of sharps at home, and you need sharps eyes to spot the sharps!

Student: And I need to be careful too because they are sharps, I do not want to hurt my fingers!!

Hahaha......

Wow! Funny stories!

From 7yo: "WOW, your rubber is COOL!"

I should explain to the N American audience she was referring to the eraser at the end of my pencil. It goes in and out in a funny sort of way.

My student to me: "Is this your actual job?"

Me: "Yes it is."

Student: "That is interesting."

hmmmm... not sure if that was a compliment or an insult! haha

I have a new transfer student. She's a 3rd grader who has had a year of lessons in which she basically only learned finger numbers.

Today I asked her "How many lines are on a staff?"

She answered "Six usually?"

This cracked me up. Not just getting the wrong number, but also not knowing that it is a consistent number. LOL!

Earlier this week I greeted a 7 year old student as I usually do asking "How are you?"

I heard her say to herself 'good...bad' (as though she were recalling incidents from her day) and then she said to me "In the middle".