A recent teacher: "What are you doing with your arm...is that intentional? Did you get that from Youtube?"
[no it wasn't intentional, but I think I had been watching a Taubman video!]

Not sure if this counts, but I remember a recital coordinator who, right after every student's performance, always promptly said something nice about the performance like, "Beautifully played", "I loved your energy" "I love how you kept that tempo". It was all children and I was the only adult student, and when my turn came, I bombed. He paused for several seconds and then all he could manage was, "Um...that's a really interesting piece...I have to remember that version." I can chuckle about it now though! 🙂

    After playing the introduction to the Chopin Ballade No.1...." That was really boring". I still remember that 60 years later.

    I don't have any good ones! But when our scary Russian teacher said "not bad... not bad at all" my sister and I were like "she loved it!!".

    I remember one of my teachers talking about Chopin's Minute Waltz ("my-newt" as in "small", not minute as in the time increment) and his joke was that it doesn't take one minute to play, but two-- and he had timed it!

      Me; "I shouldn't play today, I am likely leave blood on the key tops"
      Teacher " It doesn't matter I will wipe it off".

      Context. Earlier that day I had taken a thin slice off the end of a finger and it was bandaged as best I could. Piano teacher had arranged an afternoon concert for her four adult students but only one other and myself were able to attend.

        keff her own piano or someone else's? 😬

            twocats Did that mean "play with more intensity?" or something else? I'm not sure what it could be!

            yeah his big thing with me has been getting me to play with more contrast (both loud and soft rather than various shades of mezzo lol) and more intention. Related quote: "If strawberry is my favorite ice cream flavor and you give me chocolate ice cream, will I be unhappy? No! What matters is that we get ice cream!"

            "You're a smart kid. But your playing is terribly dull."

                After struggling through something and making a total hash out of it, LL says "Maybe you should leave out the repeats on this one..."

                After really pouring my heart into something - I think it was one of the Mendelssohn SWoWs - I turn to LL expecting maybe a little praise, and she says, "How loud would you say you are playing?" Of course I was gobsmacked, it was so totally unexpected, since I thought I was playing so well.

                Then over one of the summers, when we were taking a break from lessons, I learned Grieg's "Gade", which I loved. I was going to impress her by playing it at the first lesson in the fall. What does she say? "That should be a G# in the coda, not a G".

                Of course she is a great teacher - I took from her for 6 years, and I have sent a couple of adult students to her.

                LifelongBeginner A recent teacher: "What are you doing with your arm...is that intentional?

                This is like the inverse of "I meant to do that" when you fall or do something embarrassing! 😃

                Not sure if this counts, but I remember a recital coordinator who, right after every student's performance, always promptly said something nice about the performance like, "Beautifully played", "I loved your energy" "I love how you kept that tempo". It was all children and I was the only adult student, and when my turn came, I bombed. He paused for several seconds and then all he could manage was, "Um...that's a really interesting piece...I have to remember that version." I can chuckle about it now though!

                Oh my, that would have been a shock!!

                  twocats when our scary Russian teacher said "not bad... not bad at all" my sister and I were like "she loved it!!".

                  That's the kind of person my PhD advisor was!! (not music related, but basically the same, you at least wanted to know you were on the right track!)

                    These are all great, thanks everyone!! I feel like this is a thread that could keep going for a loooong time!

                    BTW @Sam do you still take lessons, or are you on your own these days?

                    • Sam replied to this.

                      ShiroKuro BTW @Sam do you still take lessons, or are you on your own these days?

                      Nope, after 10 years I am on my own. I do take masterclasses about once a year, and i did a 90 day intensive at Tonebase with a teacher a few months ago.

                          Sam after 10 years I am on my own

                          Do you miss having a teacher?

                          • Sam replied to this.

                              twocats Her own. If I remember correctly there was just a faint smearing left after I had played a movement from one of the easier Beethoven sonatas. I must go back to that music. The other adult student was a hospital doctor.

                                ShiroKuro Do you miss having a teacher?

                                Not really - I am enjoying doing my own thing. I do have a piano performance/piano pedagogy degree. I know what my strengths/weaknesses are. I practice 1.5-2 hours a day, every day. I prepare for and perform in online and live recitals. So I am not your typical adult beginner trying to self-teach...

                                    Sam Not really - I am enjoying doing my own thing. I do have a piano performance/piano pedagogy degree. [/quote]

                                    Oh believe me, I never forget that for a second. I was so impressed with your journey as you documented it at PW!

                                    I am not playing music anywhere near the level that you are, but I have been playing piano for 26 years now, and am definitely very self-directed. At the same time, I love working with a teacher and the benefits I get from that are very apparent to me.

                                    But recently I’ve been thinking that I will probably always want to work with a teacher. I feel like what I want is becoming more like that of a coach than teacher. And I’m lucky that my current teacher and I work really well together in that regard, but when I eventually need to find someone new (he expects to move overseas in 2026), I think it will be really hard to find someone who can work with me in a similar way…

                                    Anyway, that’s where my question was coming from.