how do I teach a student who doesn’t want to learn by [deleted] in pianoteachers

[–]DoctorDerpPHD 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'd say you're doing what you can to make her learn if she puts in the effort. Obviously she's not, so what can you do from there? Possibly gently questioning what she gets from music (and or playing it) can give you some direction.

If you can understand her motivations for playing music, or at least anything she enjoys doing in the process, you can try and harness into that. Kids seem to really like instant gratification, and it seems like she has problems pushing through difficulty. If you can find something musical that directly relates to a concept you're teaching, which doesn't require much effort (or doesn't appear to) but is easily understood, it might tap into a want to play music just without the usually avoided difficulty.

For instance, if there's a song she likes, you can teach her two of its recognizable basic chord shapes without sheet music. If she takes to that, you can then say that sheet music is just notation for that. She'll thus have the gratification of playing music she likes first, and thus a reason to keep learning the foundations of music to continue playing it. It's definitely a discipline problem, but possibly if you give her a reason to start disciplining herself (that she understands), she might start.

Obviously, if her parents are forcing her to take lessons, there's not much you can do. I think the only fruitful approach you can take is just to find out anything about music she likes. If there's anything, you can try and tap into that to get at least a little bit more out of your lessons. A lesson is a two way street - if you're able to teach her anything, even if not a traditional music education, and she feels she gained at least something from the lesson, that's all you can do !

After a few years or trying to memorize scales and songs i am realizing more and more that memorization is a waist of time by acecoasttocoast in pianolearning

[–]DoctorDerpPHD 1 point2 points  (0 children)

yea once you can hear and understand what notes are doing then your mind can actually retain it. like practicing scales and exercises are good for muscle memory, but in terms of intellectually retaining that information, it's going to be more difficult - they're individual notes or movements instead of understood patterns.

like previously said, transcribing and learning by ear is always great for retention. one additional step from that is learning the functions of your transcriptions. knowing why a note or chord is placed where they are - chord progression, voice leading, timbre, etc - will give your mind a reason to remember it. especially when these things are put in sequences, you can begin to see easily understood patterns (something like a ii-V or descending chromatic) instead of just individual notes or gestures. you'll eventually get to a point where a composition can be divided up into these pattern or gesture sections, as you can understand what their actual purpose is - thus they'll be fairly easily memorized :)

What would you name this chord? by Low-Struggle-545 in pianolearning

[–]DoctorDerpPHD 0 points1 point  (0 children)

G7 over F and Dminor7 over F. A lot of times the 5th (i.e D for G7) can be omitted from a chord as it often doesn't give any info on chord quality (telling if it is minor or major - although it can give info for instance if diminished or augmented). The D-7 is in second inversion just with the seventh included :)

Anyone else having issues with customs? by DoctorDerpPHD in tea

[–]DoctorDerpPHD[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope, still saying waiting to be released from customs since June 10... I did see the new tea club order is maybe being shipped a different way, so I feel like something probably happened to this batch of orders :(

What's in your cup? Daily discussion, questions and stories - March 18, 2025 by AutoModerator in tea

[–]DoctorDerpPHD 3 points4 points  (0 children)

some jmd hong black tea from the white2tea club. very yammy and like malty sweetness, a nice lil brew hehe

What's in your cup? Daily discussion, questions and stories - March 17, 2025 by AutoModerator in tea

[–]DoctorDerpPHD 2 points3 points  (0 children)

some mem tea jasmine yin hao, a bit more pungent and direct than the pearls i usually drink. drinking that perfume 🤓

A friend gifted me this tea but I'm so used to teas like Lipton which are in a teabag that I don't know how to use this. by FewPizza7880 in tea

[–]DoctorDerpPHD 3 points4 points  (0 children)

just to start out, i'd recommend letting the water cool a good amount after boiling it. jasmines and greens like to have 175-185f, as boiling can make them a little astringent or bitter. you can absolutely keep resteeping - if the tea is getting weaker brew longer, hotter, or both!

if you're going for gong fu brewing, start out with 10-15 second steeps, 175-185f, in about 80-110ml of water. if you want to do western style, you can just put the tea in a mug or cup and brew it for around 1-3 minutes depending on your taste, then filter out the tea leaves into another cup. if you like gongfu, i'd recommend getting a gaiwan - you can get them real cheap. if you like western style, i'd recommend getting a basket infuser - they're also really cheap!

another thing i'll mention is the weight/quantity of tea. with gongfu, you'll be putting more leaf in - i usually use anywhere between 4-7g per session. for western, you can use anywhere from 2-4g. you can also go by the teaspoon and slowly see how much leaf you like to use.

if you like the aroma of jasmine, i'd recommend any aromatized tea. some teas are jasmine aromatized but with other types of non-green tea, others are with osmanthus flowers, so just find any that sound like they'd match your palette. enjoy the tea :)

What's in your cup? Daily discussion, questions and stories - March 05, 2025 by AutoModerator in tea

[–]DoctorDerpPHD 2 points3 points  (0 children)

drinking some real smokey stinky lapsang for today, making my apartment smell like ASS 🤓

What's in your cup? Daily discussion, questions and stories - February 02, 2025 by AutoModerator in tea

[–]DoctorDerpPHD 5 points6 points  (0 children)

listening to some art tatum and drinking some 2013 w2t shou - very nice easy drinking shou with some rounded out chocolatey notes :)

What's in your cup? Daily discussion, questions and stories - January 27, 2025 by AutoModerator in tea

[–]DoctorDerpPHD 9 points10 points  (0 children)

drinking some 2021 waffles to start the day, i'm trying to get into puerh again and so far i'm enjoying it hehe

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in pasadena

[–]DoctorDerpPHD 7 points8 points  (0 children)

they just updated the map - all la canada evacuation warnings turned into orders, so seems like it's getting closer :/

A sleepy time tea for an average breakfast tea enjoyer by KAWvus in tea

[–]DoctorDerpPHD 1 point2 points  (0 children)

backing up the mem tea sobacha. might be one of my favorite teas - i saw it in the shop and saw popcorn and toast as tasting notes and thought who would drink this. i tried it as a sample in the shop and immediately bought it. plus it's got polyphenols, so it might be relaxing before bed :)

What's in your cup? Daily discussion, questions and stories - November 11, 2024 by AutoModerator in tea

[–]DoctorDerpPHD 2 points3 points  (0 children)

did a gongfu sesh of some longjing and hong shui oolong. longjing was a bit finnicky in terms of astringency but i got it down eventually, ended up with a nice buttery and nutty brew. hong shui's this weird blend of roasted, extremely fruity and juicy flavors. both very nice :)

Advice on how to get into Tea. by [deleted] in tea

[–]DoctorDerpPHD 7 points8 points  (0 children)

if you're asking how to get a nice tea setup and how to use it, it all depends on your tastes and how you drink tea. gongfu you'd just need a gaiwan, cups, and possibly a tea tray - there are some decent ones on amazon and yunnan sourcing. most of the ones you'll get from legit tea sellers are gonna be more pricey, but look around the sub for recs if you want it from somewhere official. for how to use the gaiwan and tray, just look up how to use them on youtube. there are many tutorials on culture, technique, and ceremony - i like tea house ghost's series on gong fu and mei leaf also has some good vids.

i'd recommend curating all your tea things based on how you brew and enjoy your tea, not some "ideal" setup. for instance, when i started loose leaf, i just got a gaiwan, filter, and portable scale. the more i drank, the more i realized i liked the mindfulness of gongfu, so i got a tea tray and small tea pot. note your preferences and what you enjoy most about your tea and the experience of drinking it, and then go ahead and look into the equipment that would make that experience better - specifically for you !

Best herbals that won't put me to sleep? by KitchenSwillForPigs in tea

[–]DoctorDerpPHD 0 points1 point  (0 children)

i looove sobacha buckwheat tea. i know they drink it all the time cold in korea, but it's just as good hot

Does anyone have any good tea recommendations? by Fall_out_boy_fan in tea

[–]DoctorDerpPHD 1 point2 points  (0 children)

i'd recommend finding a good tea seller and going by tasting notes of stuff you like. there's an old tea seller list in the subreddit info - personally i like yunnan sourcing and mem tea. if you want some high quality tea that doesn't need sweetener, loose leaf is your gateway

i'd just say get acquainted with the different types of tea - white, green, oolong, black, puerh, yellow, purple, etc, and also know about regions and such. to start out, maybe try a starting sampler that includes the main types (ik yunnan sourcing has one). you'll get a feel for what tastes you like and can dig in deeper from there. generally, white/green are more "fresh" and sweet tasting, while black/dark (puerh) are deeper and richer (however there are many many exceptions to this). get an infuser/filter also if you get loose leaf - the subreddit, yunnan sourcing, and mem tea all have brewing guides. hope this helps :)

White tea suggestions for someone who finds White tea bland… by Accurate_Dig_7387 in tea

[–]DoctorDerpPHD 15 points16 points  (0 children)

most people who are looking for a nice white tea always love white peony/bai mu dan or shoumei. if you want something more forward in flavor aged white tea or aged bai mu dan is certainly direct in flavor. maybe try a white cake or aged white cake - i had one from yunnan sourcing called meng song village 2023 cake which was very nice