|
|
|||
 |
Phone: Skype: E-mail: school@pianowell.com |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| How to Find a Good Student? During the years of training at college and conservatory I noticed, that in 90% of cases both student and teacher remain with a mutual feeling of disappointment from the learning process. For this reason I often hear phrases that students repeat, some in full despondency and some in maniacal excitation — “There’s no one to study with! Who should I study with? What’s next to do?!” Why does it occur? The main reason is that students are usually not sufficiently prepared for training with teachers at colleges or professors at conservatories. By the time of entering a college or conservatory students collect a huge amount of questions due to the absence of necessary knowledge, abilities and skills necessary at this learning stage. After entering a conservatory, students’ “blank spots” remain unfilled since professors teach on a different level assuming or hoping that the school program has qualitatively prepared students for work with professors of higher institutions (colleges or conservatories). And this is correct and should be like that. And students remain still half-educated without passing the school program qualitatively. And after entering a conservatory, they expect that professors will now begin to teach them the school program. As a result, student doesn’t know what exactly his professor wants him to do in the class and how exactly to play it on the instrument. And after the lesson student feels a sensation of even bigger congestion, and even more questions appear including a vague feeling that after a number of teacher’s requests, it won’t become any easier to play pieces. And soon student stops asking his teacher for help being afraid not to receive answers which he needs so much. And this is the main problem of teacher—student communication — the lack of understanding of what exactly professor tells in the class and incorrect interpretation of professor’s requests. Today many students come to professors without having even essential musical means of expression (MEMs), such as dynamics, articulations, intonation, phrasing and meter. They cannot do exact dynamics — everything disappears on p; f sounds hard and raw. Fine balance is absent. Articulations, such as legato, staccato, portamento and marcato are not done precisely, or too crudely or too flabby. The words “phrasing” and “form” only leave a vague feeling that it’s necessary to get together inside and move ahead all the time. And the phrase “sing the melody expressively” puts students to trance because they don’t know what exactly the word “expressively” means and how to “sing the melody on the instrument”. And when teacher asks his student to keep the meter steady — his phrasing falls apart; when teacher asks to do phrasing correctly — beautiful sound vanishes; and when student starts watching sound — meter changes, etc. And again, all of this is caused by the absence of necessary preparation of student to study in higher institutions. And when professor hears that his student is unable to complete his requests (as these requests don’t change the ugly picture of poor performance for better), he starts getting nervous being unable to help his student. Professor continues farther classes with his student feeling that “he is unfortunately not Kissin” and gradually starts treating student’s playing with still less responsibility and more prejudice. And student, being afraid to play bad to his teacher, begins to treat him not like his teacher who helps to answer his questions, but a butcher who has to be visited once or twice a week. I think, this is why teachers also ask themselves a question “Where to find a good student?” A student that is prepared for work and contact with his professor, that values him, understands and qualitatively fulfills all of his requests. As a result, teacher loses the need and joy to try and make the piece his student plays sound even a bit more attractive; and student doesn’t feel joy studying with his professor, fears to disappoint him feeling dissatisfaction, humiliation or insult every time. In order to fill the gap in knowledge, which many students formed during the years of studying in junior and middle classes in musical schools, the very knowledge that many students now want to get in the class of professors of higher institutions, I offer to pass my independent or distance programs. After months of studying, you will step up to a qualitatively new, professional level of performance. After learning to study correctly and consciously, student will begin to value his teacher. He’ll understand correctly what his teacher wants him to do, and he’ll know how to do it correctly on the instrument in order to perform his teacher’s request in full measure and feel himself that he plays naturally and comfortably. And thanks to the system, student will keep everything in his head without missing any of the following — sound quality, dynamics, balance, harmony, pedal, phrasing, form and meter. And the next time, when his professor asks him to “purge the pedal”, “get together form” or “keep steady meter”, student will know exactly what needs the biggest attention in his system and how to quickly and easily change everything. The teacher will be happy to see that his request is understood at once and completed right away and in full measure. And this is because student will know what exactly his teacher asks him to do and how to correctly perform it on the instrument and include it into the system. The student will feel that now he’s fully responsible for his performance. He’ll control his every sound and every movement. His playing will sound beautiful and natural. He’ll be considered a lucky person and will always get pleasure from playing and charge himself with positive energy from well done work every day. It sounds like a fairy tale. But that’s because many students replaced love to music with fear. They lost their faith that there’re teachers that would help them, support them and answer all their questions. After all, in the beginning they used to believe that they would play naturally and beautifully, that they would be adored and get a huge, incomparable pleasure from playing. And that’s how it should be! Previous | Next |
|||||
 |
|||||
| Pro Articles • The “PianoWell” System • The First Piano Textbook for Professional Pianists • Typical Pianist Mistakes Related to Incorrect Sound Production and Undeveloped Internal Ear • Unnecessary Tension of Arms • Correct and Incorrect Piece Analysis. About Our Workbooks With Piece Analysis • Mastering the Musical Means of Expression Develops All Types of Musical Ear • The Myths About Piano Education and the Disclosures • Studying the “PianoWell” System as Preventive Measures of “Overplayed (Injured) Hands” • Problems of Piano Methods • About Piano Technique • The Musical Means of Expression • Playing Without Intonation Like Living Without Air • The Correct Sound Production Technique • How to Find a Good Student? Other Articles • About Piano Education of Amateurs • About Piano Education of Children • Recommendations for Beginners From Zero • What’s in “PianoWell” for Amateurs • About the New “The Art of Piano Technique: The Basic Course” Textbook for Professional Pianists Pro-Ams and Teachers |
|||||
|
|||||
|
|||||