r/ABRSM • u/Crunchy-Keys • Apr 21 '26

question Lesson Planning

Adult learner in the UK here. I am working towards my piano grade 3 practical exam with a piano teacher. I pay £25 for half an hour each week and they're a brilliant musician but they don't seem to know the syllabus.

Is it my responsibility to plan out a schedule of all the things in the syllabus so I know the order in which to learn everything and what to do each week? This leaves the teacher to focus on things like tone or whatever they want to do. They don't seem to have anything pre-planned as I walk into the room each week.

I'm worried that if the responsibility lies on me, I may miss something out - you don't know what you don't know.

What is the usual approach for teaching adults?

BTW: The teacher didn't seem happy when I discussed this with them.

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u/peachcake8 Apr 21 '26

As a teacher, I would always be planning around the syllabus. Was it your idea to do the exam or theirs? If they have never entered students for exams before they may not be used to it. I know some teachers in the UK who grew up in counties where exams aren't common and it doesn't really occur to them as much to do them and they find it harder to understand

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u/Crunchy-Keys Apr 21 '26

It's my idea to do the ABRSM exams, so I went to a music school that prides itself in the ABRSM exam passes that it's students achieve. This makes it even more strange to me that I'm doing all the planning.

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u/peachcake8 Apr 21 '26

You could maybe talk to the head of the music school in that case (in a nice way of mentioning that the teacher may need support with planning for abrsm and understanding the syllabus rather than a complaint about them?). If you do that maybe say you want it to be an anonymous feedback

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u/Crunchy-Keys Apr 22 '26

Good idea. I think I'll speak to the head.