Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum Warming up or going for coffee?

About a year ago my piano instructor started giving me 10 minutes (and sometimes a bit more) to warm up before she actually started the lesson. My lessons are at 4:00 and last 1 hour. So what happens is I enter the room at 4:00 and she leaves and returns 10 or 15 minutes minutes later, but the lesson still ends at 5:00. Because she started this so casually and I don't wear a watch, I did not notice at first. Then when I did notice it, it took a couple weeks for me to figure out why she was always so tardy.

Now, before every lesson I am in the practice rooms of the conservatory for about 2 hours, sometimes more, practising. So I don't need time to warm up my hands. The idea of telling her that I wanted to start the lessons on time seemed a little embarrassing, so instead I figured I would just sit quietly at the piano and upon not hearing me play she would get the message, but she didn't. One day she walked in and said "I give you this time so you can warm up your hands." I replied that I knew that but that I always practice before the lesson. I thought, "okay, everything is solved now." Wrong. She did it again at the next lesson, and then the one after that. Finally I told her I want to start the lessons on time from now on (not in a mean way), and, oddly, she seemed a little peeved at this.

My question is: as a instructor, is it appropriate for her to allocate this 10 minutes of warm up as part of my 60min lesson? Lessons are not cheap, and she knows I have a difficult time with money on account of university. It just seems like I am paying for her to take a 10 minute coffee break. And how necessary is the warm-up really when the first thing she has her students do during the actual lesson is go through the various exercises (scales, arpeggios, etc.) she has assigned?

She is behaving inappropriately. You have every right to expect your full 60 minutes. If she needs a coffee break, she should schedule it in.

I've been noticing a lot of threads lately about teachers who take lots of personal liberties while teaching. Let's just make something absolutely clear: The teacher should be 100% focussed on you and your lesson for the entire duration of the lesson. Unless they are choking, they shouldn't even be getting up for a glass of water. Some of these teachers lately...texting while teaching, having a sandwich, taking money while you "warm up" your hands... it's disgraceful. These are not real teachers, these are mercenaries who have eyes only for the money and not the craft and duty of educating. It's just a pity that so many people feel so anxious about confronting these unacceptable behaviours. These people really need to be set straight on what professional behaviour looks like.

I agree. Your teacher is wasting her time and yours if she gives you 10 minutes to do essentially nothing.

Does this apply to the student as well? Does this mean if a student requests a glass of water, I should say no? (I've always gladly gotten them one in the past) or what if they request an urgent bathroom break?

I disagree about the glass of water. When I am teaching, I am talking so much that I often begin to lose my voice a bit, so I grab a glass of water very quickly. I've also had students ask for one, and I don't mind offering it. It takes *maybe* one minute away from the lesson. By "often," I mean I do this about once every two weeks, and not always with the same student.

I do try to hold it if I have to go to the bathroom, though, or wait for a late student.

Yes, I agree it's fine to have a glass of water, as long as the glass and a jug are in the room with you. I was talking about leaving the room to do such a thing. That costs valuable minutes from the lesson. Of course, if the student requests to go to the bathroom, that is a different matter. It's their lesson time to waste.

Not necessarily. The parents are paying for the lesson, not the kids. Fortunately, I don't have to leave the room to fulfill their wishes or to get myself a glass of water if my throat runs dry.

Not all students' lessons are paid for by parents. If a child is distracted by the need to go to the toilet, I'm not going to stop them. I will tell them to go beforehand next time.

All students invest their time and effort into lessons, regardless of who pays the money. It starts with practicing in preparation for the lesson. In the lesson a teacher both gives feedback on what has been practiced, and input on what will be practiced the next time round. Both past and future practice sessions are affected. The student is also investing his time by his physical presence and his attention. Money is only one investment, and it may be the lesser one.

All you can do is ask the teacher to give you the full 60 minutes. You obviously need to be quite clear with this. "I would like my piano lesson to include 60 minutes on instruction, not 50, since I come having already warmed-up." If they will not do that, the choice is up to you whether to leave or stay. You can't always change others, but you can change yourself.

My point, which may be too subtle for a forum, is that teachers don't need to constantly hover to be effective teachers. My ears work fine whether I'm standing next to the student looking intensely at their hands, or standing back, listening to the overall playing. I can pick up a glass of water without losing context of what the student is doing. In fact, by stepping back, I may pick up issues I might have missed close up.

But there's a larger point to be considered (and this is not to rationalize in anyway the boorish behavior of a teacher who leaves the room for ten minutes during lesson time, except for a bone fide emergency) and that point is that no one, whether a factory worker, a white collar worker plodding through stacks of paperwork at a desk, or any professional, can stay 100% focused 100% of the time. A teacher can give a 45 min lesson, but charge for a 55 min lesson, giving themselves a 10 min break, which, if they are truly focused, they will need periodically through the day.

In the end, the student must pay for more than just the teacher's teaching time, which includes items such as billing, planning, order materials, studio rent, instrument upkeep, utilities, etc., etc. The student must pay for the business' overall operation, of which the teaching time of the teacher is just a part.

FWIW, we've had major discussions on this topic over the years; I'm not sure how easy it is to find the previous discussions, but if you can, there are many valuable insights worth a review.

Come now, John, don't be obtuse. I already clarified the statement about the water. Unless you think you can leave the room for a while, locate a glass and pour water in the kitchen and be equally attentive....

That's not really my point at all. It's an unrealistic expectation to believe that a teacher can give you 100% for 60 minutes straight.

Maybe not, but you should give it a red hot go!

I have no idea what that means!

Ando, we can argue all day what a teacher "should" do. Whether the teacher does it is quite up to them. And whether or not you pay them as your teacher is up to you.

Any professional aims to give 100% and the actual output will vary. The bottom line is actually giving one's best. However, stating that a lesson is 60 minutes, and consistently giving 50 minutes by taking off for 10 is dishonest. Trust is necessary in a teaching situation. The fact is that if the university or college imposes back to back 60 minute lessons, then the teacher is in an impossible situation. Nobody can concentrate fully without a break at that level for so long. I'd wager that the 10 minute break actually allows her to put in her full concentration for the remaining 50. The real problem is that 50 minutes are being presented as 60 minutes. Does she have a choice?

That's correct and it's termed an "academic hour." You get 50 minutes of actual lesson time, but they are scheduled hourly. Many students get surprised as they first encounter this terminology. I know I was. I offer 50 min lessons and teach "full bore" for 50 min, but I schedule breaks in every two or three lessons. As I get older, my body is telling me that I need more breaks. Dang it.

Well, I must be "bad". I always have my students begin with scales, chord inversions, arpeggios, etc. for warm-up. I don't care if they "warmed up" before coming, I want to hear them. I have perfect-pitch, and I have actually gone a few steps outside of the studio for 2-3 minutes for a bottle of water. I can still hear every note played.
I don't think I'm cheating any students - I spend additional hours in the local music store selecting just the right pieces for each of their 10 piece Guild, festival, and MTA programs. I'm a counselor for 3 junior music clubs, of which they are all members, etc. Just finished preparing and attending 3 seniors for final recitals. I'm sure all of you who care enough to post here, have never cheated a student