Mastering the piano is no easy task, and often the incessant practice sessions and complicated playing techniques encourage the budding pianists into ditching their dreams and quitting their lessons. Here comes Halo and other video games!
A recent Facebook survey has revealed shocking facts on how common it is for budding pianists to suddenly lose their focus and give up on this constructive hobby. Lack of support from parents, obscurity in terms of future as a pianist, long periods of disillusionment when things don’t seem to click, inability to find time to dedicate to the art – the reasons could be many.
In a myriad of cases, an uninspiring teacher is the cause of all the disappointment. And the fact that musicians don’t really make much money, and that it is still considered a pretty unconventional career option is another major turn off.
Let’s tell you more about other factors that eventually keep piano students out of their classrooms.
Unrealistic expectations
Most students have unrealistically high expectations when it comes to piano lessons; this could be due to the fact that the piano looks deceivingly simple but actually requires a lot of dedication and hard work. Mastering the piano is not a one day job; you need to be patient and practice consistently.
Unflinching dedication to practicing and keeping oneself motivated to learn and sweat it out every day – it takes some doing. This demand for perseverance often discourages budding pianists from learning any further. Therefore before you enroll realize that one cannot become a professional pianist anytime soon after you join; you need to have the thirst and willpower for learning.
No passion for music
Most students join piano lessons due to peer pressure. Also, it’s common for parents with lofty dreams for their kids to almost force their kids into piano classes. Come to think of it, being in a classroom full of students toiling hard at getting the most basic melodies right, that’s not a sweet experience for students who’re in the classroom on somebody else’s coaxing. Also there may be times when students fail to understand the gravity of the music lessons. Music requires a sensitive soul and power of deeper understanding, often missing in the beginners learning the piano.
A lot of distractions
Piano lessons are tough times for students who aren’t able to fully concentrate in their lessons. Also most students just want to learn the popular music pieces and songs and not the basic classical notes that form the foundation of piano playing. Many a times the lack of improvement in the playing, in spite of intense practice sessions, puts students in a fury, forcing them to snap off their ties with their piano classes.
An incompetent music tutor
Acquiring a fabulous music teacher is perhaps the most important aspects of learning the piano. An incompetent teacher is a certain repellent for students beginning their piano lessons. A sound & cordial music teacher realizes your potential and sets your practice schedules accordingly; he also allows you to improvise and experiment on the conventional musical pieces and develop your own style. Who wants to be boxed in?
Lack of moral support
Music is usually considered to be a very lucrative and profitable career option and hence not very popular among people. Most music enthusiast only considers piano playing as a hobby, something to pursue in their leisure. This lack of awareness and acceptance among people who refuse to take music seriously is a major reason why musicians are quitting lessons. Lack of moral support from parents, friends, and the society further inflates the number of drop outs.
No time for practice
Many people join music classes to kill time and aren’t really serious about music, for them piano is just a hobby. As soon as they are faced with more work than they can manage, the piano lessons are first sufferers. Tight routines and other personal and professional commitments deter budding musicians from pursuing their musical dream. Therefore there is no time for practice and hence no significant improvement in their piano playing.
The bottom line
Remember, quitting or running away from a challenge is never an option. Once you recognize the problems that are taking the fizz out of your piano sessions, it’s better to sort things out before they disseminate irrevocable damage.
Featured Image: Image Credit
Hi Ms Jung, I would like to sign up for piano and vocal lessons from you. I promise I’ll be there for every lesson pic.twitter.com/dlt8XyjA3G
— ღㅈㅇㅈღ (@onplanet612) December 18, 2016
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Piano lessons 1947 pic.twitter.com/fSq0J0ZcDB— KHALIFA ♪ (@KHALIFA_S_K) December 16, 2016
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10 Things I Want My Teen Piano Students To Know Before They Quit Lessons
It’s the time of year when I find myself saying “goodbye” to some of my teen piano students as they graduate or move to private schools for their last years in high school. They are making decisions about whether or not they will continue with their piano studies in their new locations.
And they are making these decisions at what is likely the busiest and most stressful time in their young lives: graduation.
As I listened to one of my beloved students explain to me that university sports conflicts and the threat of increased homework meant that she was likely not going to continue piano lessons, I found myself composing a letter to her in my mind… a letter filled with all of the things I wanted to tell her… all of the reasons that I wanted her to continue playing… all of the reasons I was so glad that many of my past teen students had continued on with piano when faced with similar “life moments”. Via Teach Piano Today
It’s the time of year when I find myself saying “goodbye” to some of my teen piano students as they graduate or move to private schools for their last years in high school. They are making decisions about whether or not they will continue with their piano studies in their new locations.
What?! You Want to Quit Piano Lessons?
My son quit piano lessons today and you could say I’m having a hard time with that choice.
His quitting isn’t a surprise. It comes on the heels of months of resistance to practicing and of escalating complaints and ambivalence about going to lessons. In some ways, it’s a relief to finally call it and to put an end to the nagging and the arguments and the are-you-or-aren’t-you-going-to-do-this-recital question and my ever-growing sense of impending doom around the whole enterprise.
My son is 11 and he’s been in some form of music program or another since he was eight months old. He’s losing interest. He doesn’t want to be picked up after school and driven to piano lessons once a week. He doesn’t want to practice. He wants to hang out with his friends, go to the park, toboggan, shoot hoops, kick a soccer ball around and, yes, watch TV and play video games and text his friends. He wants to watch music videos on YouTube, memorize the lyrics to his favourite songs— but he doesn’t want to learn to play the songs he watches. Trust me, I’ve asked. Via Bonbon Break
My son quit piano lessons today and you could say I’m having a hard time with that choice.
Don’t Let Your Son or Daughter Quit Piano Lessons
Reality is that the sky is blue, water is wet, most kids quit piano lessons, and letting that happen is one of the biggest mistakes a parent can make.
Treat piano lessons as a daily fact of life. Like eating dinner and going to school. Make piano a part of the routine, not something extra. That 30 minutes of practice time when they get home from school is simply how it is.
I have over 30 years of professional piano performance and teaching experience and people talk to me all the time about how they wish they hadn’t quit lessons when they were teenagers. Via Scot Ranney
Reality is that the sky is blue, water is wet, most kids quit piano lessons, and letting that happen is one of the biggest mistakes a parent can make.
