Just had a lesson. Decided on a Karl Bohm piece, it was a grade 6 ABRSM piece years ago. It has double stops, which are newish to DD, but so far, so good.
Waffle, I have to ask you, as you are a music teacher, but our teacher does a particular thing which drives me a bit nuts, and has done since the beginning. She is a good teacher, obviously. DD has had nothing but Distinctions in just under two years. For example, the piece is in G minor, and the finger positions are quite different on each string, with the addition of accidentals.
So she asks DD where is her position for the third finger on the g string, DD says natural. What about the d string, etc. Anyway, this questioning got DD thinking she had done something wrong, and that her answers might be wrong, so of course she then became completely silent and looked very uncomfortable. Long silences, more uncomfortable. At that stage she is not thinking about the notes, but that this is torture and the opposite of fun.
Anyway, I try to break the atmosphere, and say, Well, DD, you know your G minor, so this is a trick question, as it is where you know it is. She smiles in weak relief.
I know we have a good teacher. But the long tense silences when this happens are just so unnecessary. DD feels belittled and confused. I have brought this up once before with her teacher and she said the silence allows her to know what DD knows and doesn't know. This is simply not true, as by then DD is in a tunnel of despair. It just seems so unnecessary.
Er, apart from that, brilliant teacher!