The first few piano lessons you show up ready to learn, then as the weeks go on you find it difficult to stick with it. When the going get's tough you quit all together.
This scenario is the exact one I have seen many times while teaching.
If you are having a hard time getting to your lessons, you need to be honest with yourself.
Do you really want to take piano lessons? If the answer is yes, what is the reason you give yourself for not showing up to your lesson?
I understand that life happens and there are legitimate reasons not to come for example, weather, deaths, sickness, vacation etc. But if it is a consistent thing and there is a part of you that wants to learn piano you need to take it seriously. Take piano lessons seriously. In our fast-paced, over-consumption, easy-results oriented society we are brainwashed in thinking that everything will be easy. Lose weight by taking a pill, get rich quick, eat this unhealthy fast food instead of making something yourself.
Everything worth having or doing in this life requires time and effort. There are a couple of piano learning apps out there that making learning songs easy and to a certain extent are good, but if you are serious about piano, you need instruction from a teacher with experience. There are so many things you will not learn if you try to teach yourself. I am not saying that learning on your own isn't important, it's actually a forgotten thing to do, a teacher does more than feed you information about music, a teacher can push and encourage you and basically fill the role of a coach. That's the problem with only learning on your own. We tend to be easy on ourselves and not try things that are hard. The fact is if we are not challenged we will not grow. This is a truth for life.
Another issue a student may be experiencing is the comparison delusion. You see a
terrific piano player and you really want to play like him or her, you finally start taking lessons and soon find out how difficult it is so you stop coming. This is not a good foundation when beginning piano. What isn't apparent when you watch a talented piano player is all the practice and years of study that went into what they were doing. This route does have a positive side of the coin though. It can also be a source of inspiration and motivation. Because what they played is so awesome it invigorates your spirit to learn as much as you can.
Here is a little disclaimer if you are considering piano lessons:
There is going to be a learning curve. It's going to be slow, boring, and tedious some days. You are going to suck. Your fingers will not do what you want them to do. Learning notes on a page will be frustrating. But IF you practice daily, you WILL see results before you realize it.
Check out this article on practicing.
You must trust the process! By sticking with it when going gets tough you ARE progressing. I have seen students come week after week, struggling through the tedium. They are tired from a long day at school or work yet they keep coming and in 4 months play amazingly when the recital comes around.
When the going gets tough stop to ask yourself a few of questions to help frame your purpose. Why are YOU taking piano lessons? What is it about the piano that you love? What do you want to get out of piano lessons? Is it purely for enrichment? Is it to be a professional musician? Is it to emulate a pianist you have seen? Whatever it is try to answer these questions as honestly as you can. You CAN overcome the inertia, the fear, the boring parts. Keep going to lessons as often as you can and DON'T give up.
You will reap the rewards before you know it!
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