How can i get better at the piano?

i started piano lessons when i was 14(im 15 now). My teacher started me out with moonlight sonata, some mozart, and chopin. Now this is my second year playing and i had my first recital this year (my second recital in total) and i got owned by 4 year olds. I played Chopin's Prelude in Eminor Op. 28. no.4. My teachers excuse for me not being as good as the other kids my age (they are playing concertos and very advanced peices by the way) was that i only took lessons for a year, but once i got owned by kinder gardeners, so i have no excuse now.

whats the best way for me to get better to be at teh level of the kids my age? (the ones who are playing concertos)

or will i not be able to catch up to them because the took piano lessons for like 10 years? (if they were to start at age 5, making them 15 like me)

There are a lot of ways to improve technically at the piano, then you can play difficult pieces more easily. Is this the kind of better you were talking about? Czerny composed a lot of exercises for the piano aimed at improving a pianist's skill. Try one of these books of his compositions:

School of Velocity
Practical Method for Beginners
Art of Finger Dexterity
Thirty New Studies in Techniques
Virtuoso Pianist in 60 Exercises

Constant repetitive practice of these exercises helped me, I hope they help you.

How many hours a day do you practise and how do you practise ? Those younger children may be practising up to four hours per day. That is not unusual if somebody really wants to be good at something.
If the other kids have taken lessons for ten years then you will be able to catch up with them but it will require a great deal of hard work and dedication on your part.
What does your teacher say about this matter ?

Good question!

The answer is that you've got to love what you're doing. This means you want to practice instead of playing vids or going to the mall. It means that you play not to please anyone else, but to please yourself. It means that you're not satisfied with anything less than your own personal perfection at the piano. It means that you conquer difficult things instead of blowing them off.

You won't get to be a pianist without sacrifice in other things. There will always be someone better than you, so don't worry about them, regardless of their age. They're not your problem.

And shame on your teacher for "excusing" you. Learning piano is not about be letting anyone else tell you you're "doing the best you can." If you're serious, ditch that teacher and get someone who will MAKE YOU WORK and who isn't satisfied with mediocrity just in order to get paid for another lesson.

I don't mean to be harsh! But if you WANT to, you may, repeat MAY, be able to outperform other kids your own age in a couple of years - the difference will be that you WANT it more than they do.

There are no easy roads to musical ability. If there were, everyone would be famous, instead of just a very few.

Good luck!

good question!....i beg to differ...mate, you know what ya gotta do, ya gotta spend less time on the net, and more time practicing....dont compare to kids your age, its piano, there will always be a 8yr old Japanese kid who's better that you. you've gotta ask yourself a question....do you play piano because you wanna be the best, or because you enjoy playing?

Just move along at your own pace, it all depends on how hard you work. It all depends on the person, if you're like me and slack off but still improves somehow on a weekly basis ( i still don't know how that works with me), then you push yourself to practice harder, but if you see that you don't improve without practicing, then practice more.
You can also improve by thinking about your pieces like in school when you get bored.