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Tim, please do not put words in my mouth. I did not say I told students they were lazy because I have never done that to anyone.

I was simply making an observation about some students' lack of desire to move forward in their music, for whatever reason(s), all in reference to the OP about students rejecting new music to play, in this case, rejecting music that is slightly more difficult.

Perhaps "lazy" was too vague a term...

Lazy might be somewhat present, but organized, motivated, sincerely interested, may not be present yet. Many students don't know where to start when they look at a piano piece, they don't know what it feels like to be productive in preparing a lesson. For some, piano lessons are a perplexing activity that they have no idea how to construct when they get home.

Many piano teachers leave their student on their own as far as preparing them by giving attention to the habits and activities of becoming a capable, independant learner.

I suffered that experience at age 9, but my age 12 I had surpassed any ones expectations of me.

I won't go into the contributing factors that turned me around but I will say I was in "limbo" for a long time because I was truly lost in the explanations I received and the music I was assigned. Thank goodness that I stuck with it I wouldn't want to have missed my last 38 years of teaching for the world.

We have to em-power our students. We have to meet their needs. We have great responsibilities.
The students problems, if they have some, need our problem solving help and our support all the way until they are self-actualized.

Betty

I do think "lazy" is too vague a term, and in fact, too vague to be helpful. I prefer "unmotivated", because there is a very clear solution for that - motivate the kid (which can be done in a number of ways). What can you do for laziness? Nothing.

I do think that most kids can be motivated to work. It's just a matter of finding the right button to push.

Better, but it somewhat presumes you know what the cause of the problem is.

At least it avoids some of the "blame the student" mentality that accompanies calling them lazy.

But I didn't put words in your mouth. Nowhere in my post did I suggest you say that to a child.

I simply made the observation that calling a student lazy, whether to their face or internally, is neither precise nor useful.
Moreover, it is a value judgement, which by nature interferes with problem solving.

"Lack of desire to move forward in music" is far better, but it is still a deduction based on observation of behavior. And it tends to lead to value judgements as well. I'd rather deal with the objective behavior.

Perhaps the OP did mean resisting music that is more difficult, but I did not take it that way. I took it to mean music that for whatever reason just didn't appeal to them personally, causing them to ask for another selection of equal musical value and difficulty.

That seems a reasonable request to me; it may not always be possible but where it can be done why not? Now both teacher and student are actively involved in the process, and that tends to increase committment.

I'm not sure it does presume that - "unmotivated" is simply a descriptive term. The student who does not want to practice a particular piece lacks the motivation to play that piece. Why does he lack the motivation? I don't know. I can't know that without knowing more about the kid. But the lack of motivation is obvious on its face.

TimR:
I agree that the OP meant students who resist music that they do not like.

I was adding to the conversation by noting another reason for rejecting music that teachers might face: that some students refuse music because they are content to stay at a particular level because the next (small) step looks too hard; so they reject it, and all other selections of that level.

Larisa:
"Lazy" is a symptom...but yes, too vague.

If you go to the doctor and say, "I don't feel well", that also is too vague, but it is a starting point for further investigation.

"Unmotivated" is closer, much closer, to the cause. Human nature is such that people find time and energy to do what they like...so if a student is not motivated, in some way he or she does not like the situation.

But as Larisa said, noting that someone is "unmotivated" (or "lazy") does not mean that you also know why they are unmotivated.

If it is simply the wrong choice of a piece of music to play, that is easy...real easy.

If it is a general disinterest, then what? Must the piano teacher become a private detective, therapist, psychologist, counseler, etc, to try to find the cause...?

The only success I have had with people who lose interest is finding a different genre of music for them to play, but most who lose interest do so because they find that piano, and/or the work necessary to play well, is just not for them.

Beware of teachers who use too many words to express very little indeed. Cliches, strung-on "sentences", puffy fashion-words and lots of vague rah-rah, blah-blah can take many precious minutes away from an hour's lesson.

Most adults with lives of responsibility outside of piano lessons expect teachers to be efficient and to be able to effectively tailor lessons to the goals and learning style of the student.

If you are there to learn to play the piano and the teacher knows what they are doing, then there is a reason why they assigned you that piece... Ask them and they should be able to articulate this to you. If they can't, or their reason is one of unthinking habit, I see no reason why you shouldn't reject it out of hand.

On the other hand, if they have explained to you why they see this piece as a good choice for your development and you still don't want to do it, you might ask for an alternative piece that could achieve the same learning objective and that might have greater appeal to you musically. If they are professional and know their teaching repertoire, this should be no problem for them.

Or, you might decide that you don't want to learn what the teacher is teaching you, which is another great moment to have a little discussion about why you ARE there and if you two are well matched.

Wow, is all I have to say. It almost sounds like some are accusing me of being lazy or unmotivated.

I heardly think that is the case at all, as I generally fit in an hour or more practice a day (despite the fact that my left hand is getting pins and needles from over use)and have gotten to page 75 in the Alfred's adult AIO course with only 3 lessons, plus have 6 individual pieces she has assigned down, working on one more. Have the scales of C, G, D, A, E & B down. C&G cadences I, IV & V. And just for fun, I've started working on the Alfred's Greatest Hits, Level 1.

I know that is all very beginner, but I think suggesting that I am lazy or unmotivated because I don't like ONE song she gave me(yet acknowledged there was most likely a lesson to be learned from sticking with it), is a little harsh.

No, not true. No one is accusing you of being lazy or unmotivated.

Based on the subject of your original post, (students rejecting songs), folks took off on a sidetrack discussion about some students, primarily teens, who loosely fit the description of "unmotivated", (a better term it seems than "lazy"), and who may manifest their lack of motivation by rejecting songs that are a step further in difficulty.

It is common on this and other forums to take sidetracks once the initial topic has been addressed.

Again, I see no instance where anyone was referring to you as the lazy or unmotivated person.

Thank you for clarifying that Rocket!!!!!!!!!

In my opinion a student should enjoy the piece(s) he or she is learning in some way. It is up to the teacher to be able to incorporate the concepts they are trying to teach into a particular song.

If the student hates every song that's a different story and they probably don't really have a genuine interest in learning. My method has always been to keep the student playing things they enjoy. There is too much good music out there to be playing something you don't like.

Though not exactly an adult beginner, when in college one of my piano teachers wanted me to study Bach. I told her that I didn't want to learn Bach as I didn't care much for his music. She seemed surprised at my response, but I was quite adamant. She did not insist, but rather acquiesced to my position. So I studied Haydn and Chopin with her. In later years I did study Bach. Had I been forced to study Bach I probably would have changed teachers or quit. At the time Bach wasn't for me. Later on I realized the discipline involved in playing Bach facilitated the finger dexterity in other composers. The teacher may know what is right for the student, but in some instances it is also necessary to wait for the right time.

I'm surprised she didn't give you Scarlatti and Handel.