Returning pupil
I've just come across Tonebase and think that it might be just the platform that I've been looking for.
I have one question. I'm a 68 year old piano teacher/accompanist in the UK. One of my gifted pupils is now playing repertoire which I don't play. The pupil is returning to me after a year with someone else because he feels that I gave him more support. Of course I can practice the repertoire pieces which he'll be working on but it takes me longer than it takes the pupil!
Any thoughts?
Many thanks.
Philip Robinson
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Always nice to be able to perform the pieces, but surely not essential. What the pupil wants from you is the stuff he cannot work out on his own (including independent listening). Or that he doesn't understand as deeply, like your general technical approach. If you can show how to overcome the difficulties, and how to understand the pieces musically, this should justify the pupil in feeling supported.
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Jeremy Stone I absolutely agree, the thing I look for in a teacher are an opportunity to grow musically and technically, not talk about what I have already learned...
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Jeremy Stone Thanks for this. I appreciate it.
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There’s much more than the technical aspect of piano playing to offer a student coming from a teacher. An intelligent student can always figure out a lot on their own and I think it’s critical to have the teacher guiding them how to get there, with our deeper understanding of the music, or life in general; or teaching them how to learn, practice and be creative in their own way so that they can achieve their true potential.
From my own experience I think a talented student would have a pretty good idea of when and in what areas they have outgrown the teacher. With that being said I think the student chooses to return to you because you have offered something that they value that they cannot find from other teachers. Keep up the great work!
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Katrina Wei So helpful. Thank you.
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I’m a student and not a teacher. And I have to echo others’ remarks. I don’t expect or need my teacher to know the repertoire. I just need guidance, either musical or technical, or how-to coaching. Because I had once studied piano professionally for many years, my teachers allow me to select my own repertoire and explore less known works that they’re not familiar with. When we first start, I usually play a recording of such a piece, explain what attracted me to it and provide the score, so they can follow me when I play. It works well.
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So helpful, Tanya. Thank you!
