I totally agree with Pianoloverus! The comment was inappropriate, most likely made in confidence...but should never have been passed on and most certainly not to one's student!

The OP's first post seems somewhat unclear but what seems inappropriate to me was that the OP's teacher passed on some comments from a judge that were not mean to be passed on to students. Why the teacher did this is unclear but it seems like the OP's teacher was the one acting inappropriately.

My teacher passed this info to my friend because he wanted to make a point to my friend who insisted on playing something that is beyond her technical ability....

More unwise judgment, IMO. Not a good way to try to make the point, and doesn't bolster the chances of its full accuracy.

BTW before continuing to criticize the teacher, we shouldn't forget (as I had) that our idea of what the teacher said is second-hand. We all know that what the JUDGE supposedly said was second-hand -- but really it was 3rd hand (as PianoDad said).

Here's the chain:
Ronald says that his friend said that the teacher said that the judge said.

I will ask my teacher this coming Saturday what the judge really said....

The point was they didn't laugh at the competitors. What they thought about or expressed afterwards to non competitors seems like a different level completely.

The OP's first post seems somewhat unclear but what seems inappropriate to me was that the OP's teacher passed on some comments from a judge that were not mean to be passed on to students. Why the teacher did this is unclear but it seems like the OP's teacher was the one acting inappropriately.

[...]I will ask my teacher this coming Saturday what the judge really said. I will let you know what the judge really said. I do not think it can be inaccurate, it was just a simple message. But let's wait.

...."Amateur pianists who attempt to play difficult pieces above their level of skill are laughed at by professional pianists, do you agree?"

While this whole discussion may have some point (?) in the abstract, I think, at this juncture, what was reported to have been said - or wasn't said - in this particular case is not our business to know. It may not even be appropriate for RS to share in such a public forum what someone said that someone said.

Regards,

Ok, after all this discussion about who said what to whom, I think it is time to discuss what the OP has asked?

Well, he asked it in a political and polite way, but, in the end the bottom line is a question something like this:

"Amateur pianists who attempt to play difficult pieces above their level of skill are laughed at by professional pianists, do you agree?"

Ok, after all this discussion about who said what to whom, I think it is time to discuss what the OP has asked?

Well, he asked it in a political and polite way, but, in the end the bottom line is a question something like this:

"Amateur pianists who attempt to play difficult pieces above their level of skill are laughed at by professional pianists, do you agree?"

It was painful to listen to these amateur pianists

Let's forget the laugh part of what the judge has said and concentrate on the other part of what he has said.



The gestures might vary; raising your eyebrow, looking to the floor/ceiling/right/left, lowering your eyes down, putting your palm to your cheek, curling your lips... you name.

The question is, isn't it painful to listen to someone who is apparently struggling with his/her piece ?

The way I understand this is; a judge at an amateur competition made a comment to a teacher about some performances being laughable. I can certainly understand those who take offense at anyone laughing at an amateur competition, the fact that a judge felt the need to express disdain for some of the performances to a teacher borders on unprofessional to me. However, I'm not taking particular offense because those comments may have presumed some sense of privacy. Then the teacher in an attempt to make a point to a student regurgitates the story. The fact is the whole thing may have been made up for the benefit of said student.

Some might say why not just relate the fact that a moderate difficulty piece well performed will score higher than a difficult piece badly performed (Oh where is that link to the Miss Texas Pageant when you need it?). As a sales professional I know the power of stories, stories make facts real. Stories tend to appeal to our lower selves and also tend get elaborated on over time. In this case the threat of moderate humiliation proved powerful. In my work I only tell first person stories about how what I do has helped others. I don't need to embellish or elaborate on the facts, but I know it happens with others.

My point is I understand why a teacher would tell such a story in order to get a "head strong" student to consider alternatives. I can understand a judge expressing frustration at the quality of performances in a competition to a teacher (especially if that teacher was a close acquaintance), but perhaps having an expectation of privacy. We're getting a story 3rd hand and frankly all of this is much ado about not much (typical for PW). The good news is apparently the story had the desired effect.

If anyone had an agenda in this it was the piano teacher who was apparently seeking to inspire his/her students to score higher by playing less difficult pieces well. Did the ends justify the means? Was this a white lie? There are too many possibilities about what really happened for me to get worked up. Now if somebody said they saw judges laughing at performances at a competition that would be different, but that's not what happened here. Frankly if I was a judge at that aforementioned Miss Texas Pageant I don't know if I could have kept from laughing. We've certainly had laughs about it here.

I hope you realize that much of what he said went against much of what you seemed to be indicating.

I think whatever he said is the correct interpretation of what really happened. He did not really say an opinion or something. He just reconstructed what might have happened, and he is accurate.

....

Didn't catch that.

[

I think, for me, I don't think of it so much as painful for me as I feel bad for the pianist. However, I would never let it show. If I were judging, I would absolutely hold a poker face and listen objectively through the entire piece no matter how poorly I thought it was being performed.

Well, we know Ronald's choice. The teacher's choice is hearsay, and ...