how long to learn music and then some

[unknown-user]

Hey Leigh,

Yes, he is the very much the absent-minded professor. He reminds me of stories I’ve heard of Einstein, walking home, going in the back door, making a cup of tea, and then suddenly realising…it was not his house!

Anyway, he cancelled again today, but there has been a definite improvement, he rang a couple of hours before his lesson and not half an hour after he should have been here. He also admitted on the phone he does not practise at all….so there you go.

He does want to play, but he does not want to pratice – he finds it boring and a chore.

[sherry-lenox]

I don’t know if anyone has considered that there are times when I leave the house confident that my lesson music will be perfect, and for whatever reason, it isn’t even close.

I love the little pieces I’m learning (yes even “Cricket”) and I love Grossi. Sometimes if I’m bothered by something I sit and Grossi myself into oblivian. Yet many errors appear in my lessons, and I’m always afraid that my teacher won’t believe that I’ve practiced for at least an hour every day between lessons.

I’m also one of those goody-goody putty in the teacher’s hands type of student. I can suspend my own sense of adult musical judgement at any time to improve.

Of course, I’d LOVE to blame the problem on the fact that my teacher’s harp isn’t exactly the same as my home harp. Oh well…….

[unknown-user]

Yes, well, if the Berlin Philharmonic heard the way I play at home, I’m sure that they would give me a gig immediately. I have never played as well in public as I do at home, and lessons can be nerve wracking.

Teachers can generally tell if a student has practised or not, even if they are nervous or thrown by the situation of a different harp or being on the spot in a lesson! And this student is genuinely just not practising and has said so! He doesn’t like doing it and is not going to…which makes it a challenge to decide how to proceed.

This student, is very very talented, and I don’t want to rag him. But he is chronically unreliable and actually just seems bored with me! Which is confronting. But well, the teacher pupil relationship is a relationship like everything else – and maybe I am just not his cup of tea.

[kay-lister]

Curley,

I’ve been thinking about your student not wanting to practice and such.

[Leigh Griffith]

I’m glad that my first impression was not on the mark, but that doesn’t
make it any less frustrating for you. That reminds me, I have another
hour of working on a quilt before I can go practice. I’m hand-stitching
the binding on the back of a window quilt (now that all the velcro is
on) and it will be a treat to look at something that is more than 5
inches from my nose!

Leigh

[unknown-user]

You make me laugh Kay, but he would never ever stand for it! He demands absolute attention and concentration, and enthusiasm on my part or he starts complaining….

In defense of him, he does have a very busy and stressful job, he is tired alot of the time…and maybe I am boring…it is confronting to contemplate, but maybe it is true!

What does he think? I don’t think he does think logically all of the time, even though he is highly intelligent. He expresses what he wants alot of the time, to be able to just play and be free as the wind, but hates the routine of having to practise. He finds it a chore and finds it oppressive. (that last comment upset me no end!)

He has been learning (not with me) for over 10 years and has not grasped the basics of technique, does not place in advance, and does not use the fingerings on the music. He does understand well why its necessary but it does not translate into what he does….He came to me, I thought, to finally sort it all out and get cracking. But it is 3 months now, and it is not really working as yet.

I have tried writing out music he loves, he refuses to do exercises or simple pieces, he will just learn things from the back of books, so I work at re editing them in a way that he can learn them. And by the next week, he’s moved on to something else instead! I lend him books and CD’s and he is enthusiastic and can talk endlessly about what he loved about it and how depressed it makes him that he can’t just do all of that. He has read the Yolanda book from cover to cover and loves the ideas in it, but does not do the exercises.

I’m actually not sure how to proceed, as he is very talented. I’m thinking I should let him go with what he wants to do and just help him with whatever he wants to work on each week – and not expect progress. Let go of my expectations of it and not expect him to like me either!

[unknown-user]

My naughty “I don’t practise coz you are so boring” student has… done some practise! Shock/ horror!! I bit the bullet and rang him on the weekend, and said maybe we needed to make a new time more suitable to him for lessons, due to all the lateness and cancellations, and maybe we needed to take a new direction as he was so bored….And this time, he was only 10 minutes late (much better

[unknown-user]

How could anybody find you boring?

[carl-swanson]

I think that the problem for many students is that their only point of reference is their own way of playing. One of the (many) jobs of the teacher is to raise the bar for the student. Let me give an example.

I’ve got a very good student at the moment-a 17 year old boy who is very dedicated to the harp- and for the last year I have been telling him over and over again to get his scales faster. They’ve been plodding along at 4 notes to the beat, at 72 on the metronome. So several weeks ago I told him to get them up to 84 for the next lesson. He was actually able to play them at 80 without too much trouble so that’s why I chose 84. The next week he played the right hand(his strong hand) at 84 and had the left hand almost there. Without thinking about it, I told him to let me sit at the harp. I put the metronome on 104, told him the number, and played a left hand scale up and down 4 octaves at 104. Then I did the same thing with the right. He was leaning forward intently studying my hands as they played. I then put the metronome up to 112, told him the number, and played each hand seperately up and down 4 octaves at that speed. When I had finished, he said,”They’re perfect!” I decided to push my luck. I said,”I’m not finished!” I put the metronome on 116 and played 4 octave scales in each hand at that tempo. He turned to me and said,” I’m going to work soooooooo hard on scales this week!” I was not doing this to show off. I did it to show him that it could be done and to show him what it looked like. It made a huge impression on him and got him, after a year and a half, to really take scales seriously. At his lesson yesterday he played both hands at 88, 4 notes to the beat. I told him to get both hands to 92 or 96 for next week. If that’s what it takes to inspire him then I’m willing to do it. And by the way, my top speed, after warming up, is 126, 4 notes to the beat!

[diane-michaels]

This is a great example of how to motivate a motivated student who is underachieving.

[carl-swanson]

Thanks Diane- Actually, it motivates me too because I have to make an effort to stay a step or two ahead of him.

[unknown-user]

This is interesting, as this student definitely lacks any sort of competitiveness at all..in fact he loathes it and avoids any situation where he may be compared to anyone else,

[catherine-rogers]

You may find this idea shocking, but I don’t think it’s your responsibility to motivate your student, especially if he’s an adult. Playing the harp should be self-motivating. You will do whatever is necessary to learn if you want it enough.

Teachers struggle to motivate students to learn basic skills like reading and math because those are necessary to survival, but learning to play a musical instrument is a desire, not a need. If one wishes to play the harp at a certain level of proficiency, one must apply one’s self to the task. Wishing will not make it so. Teaching this student sounds like dragging a bag of rocks up a hill, and I certainly would not have tolerated his rude remarks. Your posts imply he’s been manipulating you for some time into feeding his fantasy of playing the harp. You’ve gone above and beyond what most people would do to help a serious student, and he still hasn’t responded.

Unless you’re afraid of his poor public performance reflecting badly on you, I’d say you’ve spent more than enough time trying to help him. He needs to help himself now. If his desire is strong enough, he’ll apply himself. If not, he’s wasting your time and his. Some people spend their entire lives saving bits and pieces for the airplane they’re going to build and fly–someday. Is that your student?

[unknown-user]

Interesting insights Catherine, into not just my student but I think me….

Yes, I

[unknown-user]

I agree that motivation really should come from within and your average teacher is doing a perfectly adequate job giving him the lesson

[Author]

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