A question has been buzzing in my head for some time now.
I took private piano lessons from a teacher for 7 years (from age 7 to 14), then for various reasons I played less and less until today (37 years old). Now I feel that a moment has arrived where, due to several life coincidences, I would be able and want to get back into it seriously. Beyond relying on a teacher, which I will certainly do as soon as I have permanently moved into my new house, I would like to be able to understand what could be a valid study program to recover some of what was there and then progress.
I had thought about trying, given the necessary time, to follow conservatory programs from the beginning, both to realize what has remained and what has been lost, in practice and in theory, and also to have a solid learning structure in front of me. Of course, I have another job and this return is solely for pure pleasure, culture, and personal passion, but I would like to have a complete approach (including the complementary subjects). Perhaps it will take me my whole life...
It is difficult to recommend "study recipes." The Teacher who accompanies the student must be able to understand what the student needs to insist on and where they should begin, especially if they already come from a piano experience. One must know how to trust. One must not rush after time. One must properly assimilate the basic principles, even if one thinks they possess them. Facing the great Authors is extremely useful. Clementi, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin. Their music already contains all the technical-musical principles and teaches us how to relate to our instrument in the right way. It is evident, however, that it is not enough to know how to play the notes and the more or less difficult passages of their compositions, but to understand, upon the suggestion of a true Teacher, of a Musician (before being a pianist), what lies behind their musical thought. Maturing from a musical point of view helps us resolve many doubts and grow as a whole. One cannot be in a hurry, something that today governs the acceleration of learning and the "waste" of time. Therefore, you will have to use time to search for and find a person who can speak to you primarily about "Music," and then about the piano, and then about the program, and then about composition. Everything will become more useful and evolutionary near an important presence. Time and your dedication will do the rest. A phrase I like: "When the student is ready, the Teacher appears" (Confucius?)
Thank you Pianoexpert, that's exactly what I meant... at this moment I have all the time in the world (meaning I'm in no rush, I live well off other things and so it is purely a pleasure) and I would really like to have a well-rounded approach, involving not just the technique to manage playing a piece but Music, composition, spirit... in short, since I'm in no hurry, I want to enjoy it
Finding the right person takes time... and in the meantime, however, I would like to return to the subject... inside the music... starting again while karma brings me to the right teacher...
S
stefano
Member
Reply 4 by stefano
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205
Lux, you are in the same situation as me. I am only a few decades older than you...
I am realizing that it is not easy to find people who are attentive and dedicated to teaching. They might be excellent musicians, but as far as teaching goes...
Let's say good Musicians can be born; musicality can be a gift. But teachers are made. This is my thought. Experience and courage pay off. Another concept I believe in is that none of us can teach something we do not know how to do. An honest Master refers back to their experiences and tries not to go beyond them. We are all Masters and Students at the same time. I believe this because a Master learns a lot from their students if they are capable of understanding how they must diversify the way they transmit knowledge and help the student make it their own. Thus, the Student also becomes a Master.
Entrusting oneself completely to the Master is good and right, while still trying to feel within oneself a sense of conviction regarding the notions being transmitted.
The relationship of mutual trust and humility in approaching difficulties to be overcome has great value. I also remember a phrase that I like which does not come from a Music Teacher: "few rules, but sound ones". I feel this is important because often both the student and the Master can lose their way. The call back to the rigor of rules, in a simple and light manner, and to method, brings us all back to the right path. "He who does less, does more" is also something I like. In the sense that we must strive to destructure and simplify. In the study of our instrument, the piano, one discovers over time that giving up tension and effort develops great energy, for example; that Music itself suggests technical solutions to us; that muscular coordination (between small muscles and large muscles) offers us the path of tranquility and relaxation, etc. I remember some of my Teachers who spoke a lot during the lesson. Sometimes we would leave the lesson time without having played much, a bit disappointed. Today I am convinced that those words were more than an example, more than teaching of the type "do as I do". One last thing that comes to mind and then I will be quiet: I believe that a good teacher must succeed in suggesting to the student not what they should do, but what they should not do. Perhaps this way they will leave the student the freedom to develop their own personality and eventually their own talent.
