Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Strange things people say when you play?

My strangest comment came from my wife. I've been learning a Chopin mazurka. The other day while I was playing she told me "I don't really like Chopin, his music has too many notes." I almost fell off my bench laughing. I still haven't figured out exactly what she meant, she can't explain it to me

"Which few did you have in mind, Majesty?" lol

“There are in fact only so many notes the ear can hear...”

-my favorite line

Some otherwise intelligent people think learning to play the piano is like learning to read. Once one can read music, one can just play it immediately without any practice. One of these people asked me to play Rhapsody in Blue with one day's notice and was surprised when I tried to explain that things don't work that way.

I had just finished playing Mendelssohn's 53/5, the Volkslied, for my teacher. She says, "So how loud do you think you were playing?"

Which is actually good teaching - asking an open question. Supposed to make the student do some critical thinking. But it set me back a little...

And I was playing the old "Chestnut's Roasting on an Open Fire" at a Christmas music party, when the old guy (older than me, so that's really old) sitting just 5 feet away, starts singing. I got flummoxed and stumbled...

Sam

I once played so badly that the teacher of the piano course I was enrolled in, upon listening to my performance, was without words to express his disapproval of the rhythm. So, he made one up. He called my play "all.....janckie!"

I gave birth to a new word!

I was told, "You've been studying so long and that's all you can play?"

Oh man, you are right. She was totally punking me and I didn’t even get the association until you pointed it out. Geez.

I had just restarted piano after a year of not playing at all, and with encouragement from my husband, I took up lessons again and was working on a Haydn sonata. So one day I asked him, "So how does it sound?" and he said, "It sounds good, but is it supposed to be that slow?" LOL I had been playing it under tempo for so long that I had just not even tried to go fast, but I sat down and played it up to tempo without a problem. That's when I became a true believer in slow practice

"That was beautiful... well, the first four bars" My teacher.

"You're getting better"... unsolicited from my moody 21 year old who was home for spring break from college comparing my play in March to Christmas. This was a huge surprise. Maybe he was just softening me up so he could ask for money later.

Lol Chili, I had something similar from my other half. “Wow, my honey is getting really good.” I totally did not expect that. I was more expecting, “Not THAT piece - again!”

"How do you know what you should play with the right hand and what with the left one?" (My highy educated friend with zero music training after I played a Chopin nocturne for her).

Working on Bach this morning, my husband walked through the room and said, "aren't you getting tired of that song?". I guess he is.

Lol that's hilarious!

My spouse had piano lessons for many years when he was a child. His mother would be listening and would call out, "I don't hear practicing!" whenever the music stopped or he started messing around. So now whenever I stop to stretch or look something up, I hear "I DON'T HEAR PRACTICING!" coming from the other room. Depending on how my practicing is going, I might or might not make a reply that he wouldn't have made to his mom.

Teacher "It actually has gotten worse..."

Practicing a Dvorak duet at my friend’s house, I could hear her husband shout “pianissimo” from another room. Every 5 minutes or so he would plead “pianissimo” again. He finally got fed up, walked up to the piano and found a pp in the score. Jabbing his finger at the score he stated matter of factly, “See here, it says pianissimo.” Another 20 minutes pass and now he really has had it. He walks into the room, “I think you have practiced enough for today.” So nice to feel your music making soothes the soul.

Dying!!! 😂😂😂

While practicing for my recital (the only adult playing in a recital with a bunch of children) I was butchering a song I had been playing pretty well. Of course, my nerves were on edge. My darling wife walks by and says "you're not going to play THAT, are you?" Of course, I proceeded to choke during the recital.