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Hi,
I have recently started piano lessons with a new teaher- i am on grade 4 but just changed teacher as my other one moved house. I have had one lesson with her and she is really really nice but i get v nervous and play things wrong which i can do perfectly. Does this happen to anyone else? and how do u cope with it. Is there any way to get over it?

someone once told me that I shouldn't be nervous in front of my teacher, because he's been employed to teach me and if I can't play well, it's his fault anyway...

I was nervous too when I first started, but it improved as I got used to the pressure and my teacher.

I used to get very nervous before my lessons, and even now I find I can get nervous if I "think about it."

Two things have helped me: one is just getting to know her better and playing in front of her a lot. The second was hearing her play... both in performances and in demonstrating particular passages to me.

She is a fabulous player and her performances have been wonderful, but there have been occasions when she's really muffed up in a demonstration, having to start over, etc. (In other words, the exact things that I do or am afraid I'll do when I'm so nervous). Knowing that she isn't "perfect," and it's all part of learning, helped me a lot.

If you find your teacher truly intimindating, he/she may not be the right teacher for you, IMHO.

Nina

hi- well- she is very nice as i said and have only had 1 lesson with her. She is far from intimidating though- just wondered if there is anything to get over playing things wrong from nerves= when u know it perfectly

Laura,

I used to have that problem before. Been changing teachers for so many times :rolleyes:

But the point is, you'll get better once you know your teacher better, and knowing that she's there to help you and not to criticise you, you'll get used to playing for her.

Hope this help...

Hi Laura,

I'm sure that she probably understands you're nervous and that a perfectly played passage at home can turn into a mess when your nerves take over. Just keep in mind that she is there to help you, not to judge you. She expects you to make mistakes and she will help you get through the tough spots. Most teachers can tell when a ruined passage is related to nervousness anyway, so don't be too hard on yourself. I'm sure things will get better as you get to know your teacher better and besides, we all get nervous.

Lyn

We ALL get this! As I've learned, playing when noones around is a different ballpark entirely to when someone else is listening. Just the fact that they are there, absorbing the music aswell, makes you more nervous and willing to please, not just your own ear.

The great Rubinstein even complained that he simply could not play for HIMSELF or even practice properly without complete solitude. 'Even when the waiter comes into my hotel room for a minute,' he said, 'I start performing to him!'

I sometimes get so nervous before my lessons I literally get physically ill! I feel like I am going to throw up before I go in!
I think for me it's just because I work SOOOO hard on the pieces all week, I feel like if I mess it up he will think I didn't bother practicing. But no matter how much I mess up, he can always tell if I have practicied...that's basically what he trained to do!

I know the feeling of feeling nervous around the teacher. I'm taking organ lessons at this point, and something that sounded fine when I was practicing on my own sounded like mush, and way too many missed notes (especially with the pedals) when I was in front of the teacher. Luckily for me, he was able to tell it might be because of nerves, but he had also picked up on the fact that I tend to be a nit-picky perfectionist, and he is trying to get me to relax and not be so nit-picky and hard on myself, especially when it comes to working with the pedals. My posture was also very tense around him too, tense arms and legs, very tense around the wrists and the ankles, whereas when I practiced on my own, I was completely relaxed.

So he tells me I should just trust myself and my abilities, because if I can do that, and after a while, ignore the fact that he's sitting nearby, then I'll be able to play the way I'm capable of playing. Or, so he says.

Laura,

Teacher makes you very nervous?

Good!

Teacher makes you play lousy, because of the pressure?

. . . Great!!

If you have an expert, tough teacher that knows his/her stuff, and you learn to deal with the pressure, how to focus, how to "think" your way through it all and play with authority and mastery. . .

You'll learn more than you realize.

yeah- thanks for ur posts everyone- i will keep that in mind. Actually funnily enough my teacher said to me that she knew it was totally because of nerves and that i wanted to give a good impression on my first lesson. It made me feel so much better and I don't think i will be as nervous as the time goes on.