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Post by possom on Oct 7, 2006 12:05:03 GMT
I had a man ring up during the week asking for lessons. Usually my answer would be "sorry I have a waiting list but I can recommend blah de blah", but as i'd just been to the dentist I wasn't with it and said ok I have a space on Saturday 12.00 Anyway, guy turns up and says he just wants to learn enough to play tunes he likes such as Beatles etc. He then plays Fur Elise which he's picked up from the demo on his keyboard , all in all it was a really great lesson (back to basics and learning notes). All of my other pupils are long term children and adults, so it's going to be quite refreshing taking someone to the standard they want in a short time and then letting them go again, also hoping no-one off my waiting list realises ;D
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Post by princessmoose on Oct 9, 2006 9:24:07 GMT
Woo .
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Post by digby on Nov 4, 2006 9:13:48 GMT
I've taken on adults who initially just wanted to play Christmas Carols and a few Beatles things before - 3 years later I've still got one of them and they are now working towards grade 4 - Piano is addictive!
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Post by mitch on Nov 6, 2006 17:52:39 GMT
I've taken on adults who initially just wanted to play Christmas Carols and a few Beatles things before - 3 years later I've still got one of them and they are now working towards grade 4 - Piano is addictive! I've got one of those adults at the moment. He just wants to play Beatles but recently Trois Gymnopedie. Well, at least it's a change. Oh yes, and a couple of boogie woogie thingies.
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Post by possom on Nov 6, 2006 22:03:37 GMT
Lessons are going well, we're doing a mixture of stuff, learning notes and rhythm basics, also exploring chords and progressions and learning Norwegian Wood partly by ear for the melody and chords for the bass which he's really happy with.
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Post by princessmoose on Nov 6, 2006 22:05:02 GMT
Ah Norwegian Wood, I remember that one .
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Post by Dulciana on Nov 7, 2006 1:33:45 GMT
Are adult beginners all the same, then? Been there, done that... I feel another thread coming on...
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Post by caz on Nov 7, 2006 13:29:36 GMT
The thing that's driving me mad about my adult learners at the moment is that I seem to spend most of my time being a psychologist rather than a piano teacher - trying to talk them out of letting nerves get the better of them and trying to stop them stressing at the rate of progress they are achieving
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Post by jod on Nov 7, 2006 15:39:56 GMT
caz, don't you find yourself soing that with teenage pupils too...especially near exam times. I also find myself giving them careers advice over where to go to University!
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Post by Dulciana on Nov 7, 2006 16:21:19 GMT
The thing that's driving me mad about my adult learners at the moment is that I seem to spend most of my time being a psychologist rather than a piano teacher Yes, me too!
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Post by caz on Nov 7, 2006 17:37:08 GMT
caz, don't you find yourself doing that with teenage pupils too...especially near exam times. I also find myself giving them careers advice over where to go to University! Yes true, but more so with the adults - they seem to have higher expectations of themselves which causes bigger confidence problems...
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Post by Dulciana on Nov 8, 2006 1:07:19 GMT
It's actually not that long since I was an "adult learner" myself, having gone back to the piano after many years away, and I have a personal theory that a lot of the stress comes from being back in that pupil role - those of us of a certain age will remember that pleasing the teacher was all-important - or the teacher showed displeasure; you'd fallen short of glory. Obviously we don't go ape- with adult learners (or even child-learners for that matter) but I think the "pupil" can feel very insecure at having to "perform" to a "teacher". It takes the pupil back to how he/she felt when at an age when you did what you were told. This is incongruous with being a mature, independant adult, and the memory combined with the incongruity sends all sorts of stress messages to the brain. Fight or flight. Am I an intelligent, free-thinking person here, or am I a helpless, blithering idiot?
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Post by caz on Nov 8, 2006 12:26:53 GMT
It takes the pupil back to how he/she felt when at an age when you did what you were told. This is incongruous with being a mature, independant adult, and the memory combined with the incongruity sends all sorts of stress messages to the brain. Good point - I always tell my adult learners that the kids seem to have less issues simply because they are in learning mode and have no problem with making mistakes. Am I an intelligent, free-thinking person here, or am I a helpless, blithering idiot? Love it!
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Post by kerioboe on Nov 8, 2006 14:03:17 GMT
caz, don't you find yourself doing that with teenage pupils too...especially near exam times. I also find myself giving them careers advice over where to go to University! Yes true, but more so with the adults - they seem to have higher expectations of themselves which causes bigger confidence problems... I don't think I have worse confidence problems as an adult learner than I did as a teenager. In fact as an adult I think I probably cope with them slightly better as I know that it is a problem and that there should therefore be a solution. As a teenager I was convinced that that was just the way I was and that nothing could be done about it and also (typical teenage self-centeredness) that no one but me suffered from a lack of self-confidence. The big difference between me and my nine-year-old daughter is an awareness of just how much better professionals (and teachers) are. When my daughter first started the cello (aged six and a half) she was surprised to discover that her teacher actually knew how to play anything other than open strings and first fingers! Bizarrely the more my daughter progresses the more lacking in confidence she is becoming.
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Post by possom on Nov 8, 2006 14:19:35 GMT
I have two adult pupils now including the one that started this post. The other one is a lady whom i've taken from grade 3 piano up to grade 8 (she got to grade 5 standard as a child). She was terrified of playing in front of anyone, me and her husband included until about a year ago! The new pupil is so keen on learning that he doesn't worry about being nervous, all of his worries are about what he's going to do next and how to do it!
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