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Hey Pianist Corner people. I just wondered: i have played for round about 6 months now and my teacher says im sooo good and keeps saying im a star pupil.. but i don't know if i have talent or is she just encouraging me? .. SO anyway i have played for six months,the first month was basically just learning rythm and tempo, second month was slightly more advanced pieces(back then) like winterwonderland, third month i learn gnossiene o.1 and same month i learn gymnopedie 1 and fourth month i learn gnossiene 3 ( in one week or so) and the fifth month i just practice details. then now i have learned.. umm http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MtIZT_LShU (NOT ME!!)
that one.. and im 15 years. I haven't played piano before.. am I "talented" or is that an ok learning speed.???

If it is indeed true that you've only been playing for six months, you are indeed a VERY quick learner and very talented. Wow.

Your teacher ought to be concerned about your right wrist. Why and how is it bothering you? When it hurts, something is wrong.

I think your progress seems average for a person your age. I'm sure your teacher is commenting on your progress because she's being honest. I don't know many teachers who flatter a student who isn't doing what she's telling them to do!

edited to add: OK, didn't see the video before (I thought you were saying that you were playing music *like* that, and not that that was in fact you playing). You shake your right wrist several times. There is no need to do that if your technique is good. There must be a lot of tension building up in your hands and wrists. I woudl ask your teacher about that. It is *not* normal under any circumstances to feel pain or fatigue while playing. If this happens your body is telling you something is wrong. Do *not* assume this is normal, or it may cause permanent injury. Please speak with your teacher about this as soon as possible to help resolve it.

I would guess that you spend a lot of time at the piano. This means it is essential that you sort out your technique to avoid ending up with an injury. You sit very close to the keyboard and your elbows are tucked in tight which restricts your movement. Watch carefully as you play those chords. There is no flexibility in your wrists which is obviously causeing you pain (the shaking!). Also on the fast RH passages your little finger pokes up in the air showing signs of tension. It could even be down to the way you tilt your head forward. I bet you get neck and back pain right?

You no doubt have talent. Please get these issues sorted out. You owe it to yourself.

NO NO NO NO it is not me playing, i can play it, i don't shake my wrist, he seems older than me.. anyway i dont feel pain when playing that

its not me.. ... I dont feel that pain at all

Well! umm ... probably him but.. me no, i have learned how to sit properly... you would think after six months you atleast know how to sit...i have had back problems before , it was the first 2 months... but that was because i posture was all wrong

Are you playing games with us here in the Piano Teacher's Forum?

Is that video you or not?

If not, then the comments were earned by the piano player we saw.

I agree with others, his playing is problematic, teachers watch out for your well being, and that right wrist (what else did we not see) is going to be a problem along with other discomfort.

Did I like the piece? No, but I'm a different age group, and someone who doesn't like repetition in what I listen to. His playing is loud and on - just like the tv set is on and loud - no volume control.

Any issues about your playing really need to be between you and your teacher if she or he is seeing you each week. Handson with a teaching professional will get you where you want to go.

Most of the tutorials on youtube that everyone raves about are very poorly done. If the videos come from a reputable teaching source of an accomplished and experienced teacher that is another thing, someone you can trust. Just because there are composers out there playing their own stuff does not mean they are well school in piano techniques or for that fact, can read music.

Do you want to be authentically good? Or is imitatively good enough for you? You have a path to choose, don't you!

The OP changed his post after I posted mine - he added (not me!)

Then what is the point if that is not you?

Betty Patnude

To be fair, the OP did write that it wasn't him playing
(Highlight in red not in original quote)

Hmmmmm, I think that Oblacone went back and edited the original post. That doesn't really matter though.

It's impossible to comment on progress without seeing you play. Anyone who could give a good, musical performance of the Satie after three months would be very impressive. I dare say it's practically impossible but there we go. On the other hand you could learn a bit of it by rote and memory and hack through it.

Obviously that was confusing in the OP. I wasn't sure and even went back to edit my post becuase of it.

It is hard to tell if you are talented or not without actually hearing you play. If you aren't talented, what then? Will you love music any less? Sometimes we like to label ourselves, but hat is so dangerous. At any given moment there will always be someone better at piano than you and someone worse in the world. Why not enjoy it for the pleasure it gives you and hopefully others who listen to you, and leave it at that? Are *you* happy with your progress? The real test as to your dedication and ability will be if you are still going strong year after year.

Piano is something that takes years, and many of us study it for a lifetime, still learning every step of the way. Enjoy the process, because it can be as long or as short as you want to make it.

I have seen the OP's edited post and realise that the youtube clip is not him/her.

That aside, Oblacone, I think you are doing very well and should congratulate yourself with your aptitude and dedication for music! Keep it up!

PS: a teacher saying a student is their 'star pupil' is a huge statement and I would imagine and hope, not one easily thrown around by your teacher. Enjoy the encouragement!

Actually, I had a flashback this morning. For the first 8 - 12 months or so, my teacher was constantly pleased and enthusiastic and secretly I wondered whether he was just doing an "encouraging" routine, if this was real. Then I suffered an injury and could no longer play well for a while. He did not DIScourage me, of course, but I learned that he only said something was good if it really was good.

I am wondering if the OP might have been wondering, like I did back then. It's like, "Is this teacher saying good things in order to keep up my enthusiasm - or could I possibly really be doing well?" You yourself can't know since you only know your own playing and have nothing to compare it with. There's the added factor that you will hear what is still lacking, without knowing that this is normal and is actually progress. That is when you look for the feedback of other people - sort of "Is this real?"

I would imagine, Keystring, that this has been very much the motivation for the OP posting this thread.

Not having a scale by which to measure oneself and only adhering to the opinion of one person (being one's own teacher), it is understandable that one might question the 'gushing' of one's teacher in regard to one's talents.

However, I do feel the OP is doing exceptionally well in their pianistic endeavors, with regards to repertoire and ability, after only 6 months of lessons from someone who is 15 yrs of age.

That is why I posted, Lotuscrystal. Some teachers may have had the impression that the OP was bragging or looking for praise (which may or may not be true). In my first year of lessons I was indeed doing exceptionally well but only know it in retrospect. I was seriously worried that I was being taken for a ride and not being corrected or that it should be harder. Now I know that adept teaching can slip in the right thing so subtly that you don't know you've been taught because it seems so "natural".

On that thought I'm off on a tangent. Sometimes I read threads where a student is doing exceedingly well after 1 or 2 years of lessons. The teacher may appear to "not be doing much". Is it a result of the student's talent, or a combination of superb teaching and talent? But at this point - so it often goes - the parent wants to pull the child out and get a "good teacher" since such talent should not be wasted on the present teacher (who might have gotten the child there). This always worries me a bit.

Years ago I tutored a young teen who came in with serious reading and writing problems and was labeled learning disabled. I found some underlying causes and she went from gr.2 to gr.6 reading level in a few months. She started to love to read, and write in a creative playful manner that took the feeling of burden from such activities. At this point her mother became anxious because learning must be a chore and unpleasant. The girl could not really be learning anymore. She tried to force me to assign a boring task she herself had been given in the old country. When I refused, the student was pulled out and placed in a "learning centre" where she filled in workbooks every week. Since it was an unpleasant chore, parent was satisfied that her daughter was "learning" again. When it was effortless, it could not be learning.

A good way to get a gauge of one's ability is at the studio recitals. Does your teacher hold these, or group lessons? If so, after hearing the different levels of playing you can ask students how long they've studied for. This gives you an idea of where you fit in, at least in your teacher's studio.

I do wonder if the OP is straight out of that story about the three billy goats gruff. (for those that aren't familiar, two of the goats featured in the title meet a nasty end when they get tossed into the river by a troll).
However I've just spent an hour practicing all 36 keys played over 4 octaves in 10ths and trying to master trills in Hannon played in Bmajor, so crossing the bridge to get to the green grass on the other side comes as very welcome relief.
Gnossieme 3 is an ABRSM grade 6 peice, mortals usually tackle that one after 6 years of playing - ergo yes you are learing 12 times quicker than the rest of us, especially since it only took you a week to learn. (although it didn't take Les Dawson long to learn it either -if you dont get that, look him up on Wikipedia, the entry's worth the read)
So "Well done Oblacone"- do you want me to pm you a medal or something?
But what will really set you apart from the rest of the world is if stick at it and come back in 6 or 10 years to post a video of yourself on you tube - that really is of you playing this time - then we can all truly marvel.
The world is full of talented people who show great promise at things and then dont stick at it, prefering to move onto the next 9 day wonder - which is what keeps the music industry and divorce lawyers in business.
Good luck
PS I really would n't waste time on Gnossieme 3. I think Eric had eaten an omlette made from the wrong sort of mushrooms when he wrote that. In my edition they've forgotten to put in the bar markings and is the instruction "open your mind" a neurosurgical directive? I cant play it anyway because Mrs W refuses to throw a rug over the piano on the last line where eric tells us to "muffle the sound". But if wierdy's the bag your into, good luck,

No.. im not playing games... and are you trying to be rude?
I asked was i a quick learner? and i gave you a list of the pieces i have been learning, i dont know if Orochimaru's Theme makes much sense to you people. therefore i posted a video of it! i told you it wasnt me. if you had read some of the previous post you would have understood. The point of showing it was to show what piece i learned...second i dont know if you have heard the gnossiene's but they are definitely not like a TV... please do some resaerch before you post a reply which has no meaning.

Also the thing about tutorials... i dont use them, i use sheets... i dont understand people like you... just babbling about things i havent even talked about

What was that about the goats? isnt it like the small goat says dont eat me the next one that passes is much better or something? anyway haha I just wanted to know because ive tried to teach my little brother some piano.. but he cant even use all his fingers at once.. and this girl that has her lesson before me used 2 weeks to learn "winter Waltz" ... but i dont think she practices much... .. ill PM you for that medal later:P

do you have any recomendations for pieces i could try to learn? I dont think gnosienne is hard because all you have to do is move back and forth with left hand and some simple notes on the right... so i am thinking of trying to learn Schubert's Serenade