This comes from when I was about eleven or twelve years of age and with my first piano teacher. Together with one of her other students we had been entered to play in a music festival in a town about fifteen miles (20 kilometres) from our homes and this involved getting up early and taking two bus rides to get there. Before entering the town hall I was surprised to be ushered into a nearby cafe so that teacher could treat us to breakfast and I can still remember sitting at the table eating cheese on toast. A precious memory.

My first and only local teacher started me off. She is longer 'with us' ... but she is right up there with the good sorts in the world. She taught me to play the piano and read the sheet music, counting, timing, feeling etc and use the pedals, and 'ear' (interval) training. Yes indeed ... a tribute to our piano teachers, especially the ones that had so much patience and gave us foundations to play one of the most versatile mini orchestras in single instrument form.

    SouthPark mini orchestras in single instrument

    Absolutely.

      5 days later

      I had two teachers in my time. The first was a gentle southern fellow in south Florida named Rorer G. Covington. He got me when I was nine, after suffering under the tutelage of the knuckle-rapping nuns. Yes, that old "joke" is true. I was hit when I erred. My mother found out and yanked me away from their tender mercies. Two years later she found a way to cajole me into starting over with this very kind and very effective teacher. He used the Pace method, by the way.

      I stayed with him till I was 15 and progressed up to Rachmaninoff prelude level. But my technique was underdeveloped. I had hit a ceiling with him.

      And now, I'll cut and paste from a remembrance I posted on PW when my second teacher passed away ...

      When I was in high school, I switched teachers. My first teacher was nurturing and he developed my meager talents very effectively. But I hit a ceiling. I had a disastrous experience at a master class and my parents and I decided to make a switch to a professor at the University of Miami who had a thriving private studio on the side. I was not in contact with that teacher for many years, but the memory of the two years I spent in her studio (not to mention the technical improvements I experienced) stayed with me. That teacher was Dr. Rosalina Sackstein. She passed away at 93 on Valentines Day. This is a bit of a remembrance. It's also an invitation to talk about how teachers affected you.

      Part of my decision to switch teachers was a brand new piano! To that point, I had "learned" on an old junky upright. At age 16, Dr. Sackstein frankly terrified me. The audition confirmed that my terror was well founded.

      I remember playing the Rach C# minor prelude, with arms, wrists, and shoulders full of tension. Well, I didn't know that at the time, but she pointed it out rather matter of factly.

      Nonetheless, she saw something in me and agreed to add me to her private studio of younger (non-college) students. My terror receded as I settled more fully into her studio. Alas for me, I didn't have enough time studying with her before heading off to college, and she told me she wished I had started working with her many years earlier. Oh well. History can't be undone. Claudio Arrau used to stop by her house every other year to work with her students in an informal master class, but not in the one year (my senior year) where that would have been possible.

      She also terrified me because her studio was loaded with pre-conservatory types and prodigies ... you know, the seven year olds who practice five hours a day and who can play rings around you.

      But she worked with me as I was, and corrected the bad habits she could get at in such a brief time. I had never been around such driven and talented musicians. It was daunting and challenging at the same time. I still recall very fondly my last formal studio recital on campus at the University. She arranged the program by age, so I was at the end with all the conservatory-bound seniors. I nailed my piece and went out with my head held high.

      I can trace my lasting appreciation for the piano to the two years I spent in her studio.Thank you, Rosalina. Rest in peace.

      11 days later

      I have had many teachers,, because either I moved, or they moved, so I've changed teachers kind of a lot. Some of those teachers I wish I could still work with... one of them I'm friends with on FB 🙂

      My teacher during lockdown was great. We had Zoom lessons, he had a PhD in piano performance, and he just was so enthusiastic about everything. He was actually the teacher I had after I had a really awful teacher. Awful in terms of she was not a nice person. She used to make snide remarks about the pieces I wanted to play and would say these off-handed vague things that you kind of register and then a few hours later realize it was incredibly insulting. So having such a great teacher immediately after her was nice because it quickly dispelled the bad taste she left in my mouth.

      Not quite my piano teacher but, as mentioned in a post in the Learner's Lounge, when I started school there was a wonderful teacher who introduced all of the kids in my school to classical piano music. Her name was Mrs Martin and she was the vice-principal of this fairly small rural school. Once or twice a week, all of the pupils gathered in the hall/gym/cafeteria before lessons started. As we entered the room, she would be playing the piano. Once everybody had arrived she would start talking about the music - asking us what it felt like we'd heard, or what the piece was about. I remember few of the details (one piece was about animals), but I do remember her name and the joy of hearing all that music and thinking how wonderful it would be to be able to play it.

      Mrs Martin retired soon after I started school, certainly within 18 months, so I never had her as my classroom teacher. She taught one of the upper years, and I was deeply jealous of them, assuming that all day they must have had marvellous music in their classroom. How little did I know what was to come in my school career.

      Also not my piano teacher but my music teacher in senior school. During my senior school years I specialised in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics but to maintain some balance we did have to spend some time with the arts and my first choice was music. During that time we studied in detail Beethoven's symphony no.6 and Dvorak's symphony no.9 and I fell in love with both. I had to obtain vinyl of both for fear I might forget them and this started me down a lifelong pursuit of orchestral classical music. It turned out another driver to get me back into piano.

      Many years later I made contact with some of my previous teachers by person, by letter or email just to say thank you for what they had done for us. I told the music teacher that attending his class had greatly contributed to my journey with piano and classical music and I reminded him of those two symphonies that had restarted it all.

      He replied saying that he had been taken by his piano teacher to a northern UK city hall to hear a performance of Dvorak's symphony no.9, From the New World in 1927 (he must have been 9 years of age). It was probably the premier of this work in the north of England and often I try to imagine what it must have been like to hear it played live for the very first time without of course having had access to a recording beforehand. The music teacher was 92 years of age at the time and lived until he was 100.

      Very good thread! It's easy for me to remember the not-so-nice times with teachers; it's important to take a moment to remember the good ones.

      I've never studied piano formally outside of a basic "piano tech" class in college, but I had multiple music teachers for saxophone, upright bass, even a bit of voice. At the pre-college level they were all fantastic. I don't think I could have developed my love for music without them.

      Once I got to college, not so much, unfortunately. (That's not a dig on college or professors in general, BTW -- I'm a college professor myself.)

      Enthusiastic but mediocre amateur.

      15 days later

      Yes great thread.
      My most intense relationship with a teacher was with the one I studied under at university. However my fondest memories are with my first piano teacher. She was a nice little french lady who had studied with Cortot, and her favorite composer was Chopin. When I started studying with her I only loved baroque music, had zero interest in Chopin, and she respected our differences! Thinking back, it must not have been easy for her, but she never showed it. She fostered my love for music despite those challenges. Because of this, I absolutely loved each piano lesson with her. It was the highlight of my week. I studied with her for 8 years. By the end of those years I my interest had switched to late romantic Russian music, which was as far from her comfort zone as baroque music was, but she was always supportive of my musical interests. Fast forward a few decades and my favorite composer is now... Chopin. I wish I could tell her, but she passed away recently. At least I always showed her how much I appreciated her teaching.

      10 days later

      In my younger days I had a few music teachers. Not many lasted long enough to have a lasting impact. The first piano teacher at age 5 was mom's friend lasted for just 1 month.

      The most memorable was a high school violin teacher who taught strings class with viola, cello & bass. He was also responsible for the music for several school plays throughout the year and leading a school orchestra as extracurricular activity. I learned enough music theory from 1 teacher that is helpful to learning piano as an adult. In class the students were asked to copy music by hand for different instruments. Today I use a computer notation program to arrange music. A few years ago notices went out there was a retirement party planned by the students. A chance for older students to reconnect with the music teacher from the past. I think of him as Mr. Holland from the movie "Mr. Holland's Opus" with Richard Dreyfus playing the role of the music teacher.

      My current music teacher teaches group classes and private lessons. Had her for about 3 years. Quite knowledgeable and friendly. Open to students suggestions.