Hello folks,

In three 15 min sessions my daughter, (who is studying for her ARTC in Performance with another teacher), was able to teach me some very basic and enlightening tips for melody playback.

So it makes me wonder why my teacher never pointed these out to me AND why my teacher ONLY tested my playback once (!) and that was at my last, really last, lesson.

Is there such a thing as learning thru osmosis or telepathy or maybe my teacher just thought I am SO smart that I'd figure it out for myself!

Sorry about my sarcasm...just a lot of nerves happening here before my exam but I am VERY
disappointed with this teacher.
I don't need to have my hand held but a road map with clear directions would be helpful...or am I being unreasonable?

Emrys

Emrys, why aren't you taking lessons from your daughter's teacher?

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A chocolate bar in each hand is a balanced diet!

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience with your lessons. Unfortunately there are teachers out there who don't take the time to cover some of the important elements in a musical education, ear training being one of them. A student should never be sent in for an exam without having covered every area completly.

I understand your frusteration, but I don't quite understand your reason for directing this sarcasm to the piano teachers forum. Instead of taking this out on those of us who strive to provide a quality music education you should be addressing this to the teacher in question. They need to know exactly how you feel and what they haven't taught you, maybe they will end up being a better teacher for it.

I agree with Diane W. Definitely find a better teacher, and if you can't get in with your daughters, you will still be a much more aware piano student when it comes to interviewing new teachers.

Best of luck with your exam!
Stephanie

Good point Stephanie!
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Gone Chopin, Bach in a Minuet, but forgot my Liszt.

I should add, that as with any specific goal or type of music, if you want to do exams it is extremly important that you find a teacher who regularly prepares students for the exams and knows all of the requirements inside and out.

Also, out of curiosity, what grade are you doing and how long are your lessons. As a teacher it can be a struggle to fit everything into a half hour lesson. I am not trying to make an excuse for leaving it out, but it is something to consider in the future.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by StephanieF:

I understand your frusteration, but I don't quite understand your reason for directing this sarcasm to the piano teachers forum. Instead of taking this out on those of us who strive to provide a quality music education you should be addressing this to the teacher in question. They need to know exactly how you feel and what they haven't taught you, maybe they will end up being a better teacher for it.

Oops..sorry about that earlier "reply" which actually was a "no reply".

There seems to be a misunderstanding here...I directed these posts to the Teacher's Forum and the Pianist's Forum first to voice my frustrations and in doing so, hopefully to get feedback from pianists AND teachers because I'm not sure what is the norm for lessons leading to an exam. I was hoping for insights and different perspectives from both the students and the teachers.
I am profoundly sorry if I have offended anyone because that was NOT my intention. My sarcasm may have put people off but I was in a bitter state of mind. Sorry.

The reason I did not and will not bring this to my ex-teacher's attention is because over the past four years that I've been with her she has said negative things about her ex-students mostly along the lines of how it's their fault that they aren't improving, etc. Therefore in my mind people who think they are never at fault would not take too kindly to opinions contrary to that conviction.
Besides it's my fault for not asking her to teach me technique at every lesson and make sure that we are covering all the requirements for my exam...isn't it? Especially if my lessons are an hour long.

Yikes - okay time to let go of this sarcasm.

Wow, it sounds like students should be running in the other direction when they meet this teacher. I am assuming that she has a lot of students leave her studio? Not to mention how unprofessional it is to gossip about other students during someone's lesson. I would still let her know where she went wrong, but I understand your point. If nothing else she definitely won't be getting any referrals from you or your daughter.

What she did is definitely not normal. It is the teachers responsibility to know everything that is required for the exam and make sure it is all well learned. With one hour lessons, there is no excuse. Of course, it is also up to the teacher to make sure the lesson length is adequate to cover the material.

Unfortunately, I know many teachers who gloss over the ear training and/or sight reading, thinking I guess that the 10% mark awarded for each doesn't warrant the work involved in learning? Never mind that the 10% could be the difference between honours and first class honours, or even possibly a medal. My own teacher did the same kind of thing to me with my grade 9 and 10 exams. Didn't bother with ear training all year, then breathed a sigh of relief when I happened to be very good at it the one time she tried it. Lucky for both of us that I had learned ear training in high school music.

It is up to the teacher to cover everything, but I know from experience that some times it does come down to the students knowing enough to speak up if they feel something is missing. Teachers aren't perfect, and I hate to say it but some of them are just lazy. If your daughters teacher isn't accepting students maybe she can recommend someone good, or try your provincial registered music association chapter.

To Diane W

I will be asking my daughter's teacher if she'll take me on even though she has dropped alot of her students due to her very busy schedule with ORMTA, composing, lecturing, etc.
My daughter's playing improved alot since she started with this teacher and her understanding of the pieces she's playing and the "history" or analysing of the pieces has shown me that I am REALLY getting my money's worth from her teacher.

There's hope for me yet.

To StephanieF

Thank you for your reply.

I'm glad that the misunderstanding is cleared up.
Even though I don't post often, I do find these forums very helpful and enlightening and I really enjoy visiting them.

In hindsight (which is always SO clear after the fact) I probably should've looked for a new teacher when this one suggested it in Sept 06, giving the reason that it's good to switch teachers every few years, but I somehow I felt that this was not the time to do it halfway thru the preparation for an exam.
Now I realize she was NOT really preparing me for the exam as she should've been.
Oh well...those wrong notes have been played and there's no use mulling over them.

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If you all would like a follow-up to my exam please read my posting on Pianists Corner "My Gr. 8 Exam".

Keep on playing...

Emrys