A Prospective VP Major's Nightmare: Why Finding the Right Teacher is Crucial

College Majors Music Major
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<p>Since I'm a senior and gearing up for college auditions this year, I've been in a habit of reading various music major threads. For vocal performance majors, there is one phrase that is repeated over and over again: "The school is always less important than the TEACHER!" I have to say that initally I pushed this notion aside and was definitely drawn to the well-known, exclusive, private music schools that all singers dream of going to. I mean, hey! These schools are famous for a reason. There's gotta be some good teachers there. I just want to get in. BAD MIND SET. I realized my stupidity quickly because I, of all people, should know what it's like to get stuck with a teacher that just doesn't fit...</p>

<p>Let's take a flashback to my freshman year of high school. This was my first year in choir, and I decided to start taking private voice lessons. At the high school I was attending, getting a voice teacher worked like this: You turn in a form that says "Yes! I would like to take voice lessons!" Then during class, the choir director listens to you sing. Afterwards, she assigns you a teacher. I got Ms. X. </p>

<p>At first, I had no real problem with Ms. X. She was an ok teacher, although she liked to talk during lessons. Unfortunately, talking became kind of a problem. She would spend ten to fifteen minutes talking about how wonderfully her son could sing or how awful her ex-husband was. My lesson was only 30 minutes. This went on for about two weeks before I finally got tired of it and told my mother, who called Ms. X and requested that she not talk through half the lesson because we were still paying for a full one. </p>

<p>After that, I still didn't switch teachers. We figured we had the problem sorted out and we'd give it another shot. But then she started missing lessons. And frequently. She was supposed to come in once a week during my choir period, but I would be lucky if I got a lesson every two weeks. This went on the entire year. She was often "sick" or she "just had something come up at the last minute". Needless to say, making the region choir my freshman year had very little to do with her. Then, near the end of the year, she organized a recital with all the kids in her studio. The first thing I noticed is that she has 10 year old girls singing Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston ballads. Yes, Ms. X didn't believe in classical recitals; her students sang pop songs. And often, they were NOT well-sung. Screeching, off-pitch "belting", and just straight up shouting were not uncommon and looked upon as artistic interpretation.</p>

<p>Any normal person would say, "OK, you switched voice teachers then, right?" Wrong. The last half of the year was actually fantastic for me. I sang in the talent show and gave what I still consider some of my best performances. My choir directors and peers really respected me after that. So, I stayed with Ms. X. </p>

<p>At this point, the school district I am in grew so much that a new high school had to be built and that is where I started going my sophmore year. Ms. X gave lessons to me and another one of my friends there. Again, her "attendance" was less than satisfactory. Missing lessons, sometimes without even calling or texting me to let know she wouldn't be coming, became commonplace. But I had yet another great experience that kept me from dropping her: I made the All State Choir. I know this doesn't count much when applying for colleges, but for me, it's a big deal. Getting to perform with awesome singers and an incredible director is a memory I cherish. There was one thing that slightly diminished by happy outlook. I made 10th chair. This is the very last chair, the oh-my-sweet-christ-i-almost-didn't-make-it chair. I had really hoped to perform better, but complaining about making the All State Choir as an underclassmen would have made me look like a (and pardon my French) whiney *****.</p>

<p>It's at this point in the year, that I started thinking about what kinds of colleges I wanted to apply to. Naturally, the major conservatories crossed my mind. I figured if I wanted to get in there, I should probably beef up my musical resume. So, at a voice lesson in mid-April, I asked her, "Do you know of any singing competitions? Or a program that would look really good on my resume if I got into it. Because I'm thinking about applying to some more competitive colleges." She asked, "Which colleges?" And I replied, "I think Eastman would be incredible if I got into it." She stared at me like I was crazy and then said something like, "Well, uh, I'm not, uhh, sure..." We finished the lesson and I went home with a broken heart.</p>

<p>At the end of my sophmore year, we have yet another painful "recital". This one was the worst of the two. She convinced me to sing "And I Am Tellin' You" from Dreamgirls. When she first suggested it, I was like "I don't know if I can handle that..." And she assured me that it was definitely in my range. Given, I am primarily a jazz/R&B singer (but I'm studying opera, go figure), but at 16 I was absolutely NOT READY to sing that song. The next day, she had my friend (who sang "Listen" from Dreamgirls) perform the song for me. My friend is a talented young woman, but again this song was too big for her voice. Her performance was (and I'm sorry) dismal. Her pitch was all over the place, and she screeched her way through it. But Ms. X praised her nonstop for her dramatic stage presence and "powerful" vocals. At the recital, I sounded like crap, as did most of her other students. Not that they were bad singers, they just had a bad voice teacher.</p>

<p>Now we reach junior year, and she still didn't come to lessons regularly. When she did, on the off-chance, decide to show up, my technique still wasn't being refined, I was singing the same pieces over and over with my no real advice on how to enhance them, and I really and truly wasn't learning anything from her. This in combination with the fact that I was balancing learning the All State music, swim team, and the school musical led to a very stressed out and unprepared Liz when it came for All State auditions. I (just barely!!!) made 10th chair. AGAIN. I spoke to my choir director later on, who told that after the singing portion of the audition I was sitting at 11th chair. But my sight reading (which I had worked on with my choir director, not Ms. X) was what saved me. It had been so precise that day that it pulled my score back up to 10th chair. Thankfully, I was able to have another great All State experience. </p>

<p>After I came home dejected about making 10th chair (again!), my mom sat me down and we talked about my audition and my lessons this year. She said, "Do you think Ms. X has really helped you this year at all?" And I, of course, replied with a very sour "NO".</p>

<p>So I switched teachers then, right? RIGHT?!?! Yes, right. I talked to my choir director, who set me up with an AMAZING new voice teacher, Mr. S. I learned more in two and a half months with him than I did in two and a half years with Ms. X. I am still taking lessons with him and we are preparing for college auditions. I have never been (vocally) happier!</p>

<p>And just for the record, he told me "Getting into whichever college won't be a problem for you. It's really all about how much you're willing to pay." His students don't screech during recitals and there are several who have recieved scholarships from notable music programs. One ex-student won the semi-finals for the Met auditions for his region. I think Mr. S's opinion is probably the one worth listening to. :']</p>

<p>So, moral of the story is find the right teacher. Find someone you really connect with and who you can learn a lot from. Otherwise you will end singing Dreamgirls songs and feeling ashamed that you ever dared to dream of going to that fantasy school. Hey, it's what happened to me.</p>

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<p>I’m glad you’re happier with your new teacher.</p>

<p>But this comment</p>

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<p>raises a red flag for me.</p>

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<p>My kids, for a variety of reasons, have had a number of different teachers over the past thirteen years of private lessons. We’ve left some because it was time (they had outgrown the teacher’s level of expertise), and some teachers left for other reasons (retirement, relocation, etc.). In nearly every case, the new teacher (if well researched) brought the child to a new level. I’m not saying the switching teachers was not without a bit of trauma, but changing teachers certainly also has its benefits.</p>

<p>I also don’t believe there is just one “right” teacher who will be best for the student. Certainly not every student can work, personality-wise, with every teacher, and not all teachers are up to the task of teaching every student. But learning to work with different individuals with different personalities and styles can help students become more flexible and open minded. It can also advance their technique, as the OP discovered.</p>

<p>Sometimes it even becomes necessary to change teachers at the college level, and even then, life does not end,. The student, if open to the challenge, can be offered the opportunity for substantial new growth and development, under the tutelage of a different individual.</p>

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<p>It is very common to work with different teachers over the years. Most teachers agree that there is a time to move on and get a new perspective. But all of the teachers you work with must be “good” and they must be people that you can work with. It can be very hard to find the right teacher sometimes. My son has found in looking for a teacher to look for a teacher that has successful students. That in itself does not guarantee that is will be a good match, but it is a good place to start. And your right it can be a nightmare, but it doesn’t have to be. This is an area for lots of research. Lots of visits and sample lessons.</p>

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<p>Stradmom- When my teacher said that, I had mentioned that I was very nervous for some of my college auditions. His reply meant that he thought I didn’t need to worry as much about admissions, but I would have to decide if I wanted to attend a state school like LSU, which has very reasonable tuition (24K, i believe), or a private school like Ithaca, which is 40K-ish a year. Maybe you thought he meant “how much I was willing to pay HIM”…? Or if that’s not it, please feel free to elaborate. Sorry for the poor wording. My fault. :']</p>

<p>-Allmusic- and srw: I wish someone had told me just that my freshman year. I was in orchestra from 5th to 8th grade, and never took private lessons. I went into high school being totally and completely naive about the importance of a good teacher, and I was also pretty naive about choir as a whole. All in all though, I glad I had this experience in high school, so I would be a little bit more wise in college. I am very much looking forward to some sample lessons.</p>

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<p>LizAlto, I won’t speak for stradmom but will give you my interpretation of that comment.</p>

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<p>It can be taken to mean how much and for what level of instruction you and your parents would be able put forward to prepare you for auditions. Granted, not having the talent and potential cannot be overcome by any sum.</p>

<p>-There are some programs and for profit institutions that will take virtually anybody provided they can pay the cost of the program. I don’t believe your instructor’s comment was meant to imply you should consider those programs.</p>

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<li>If you’ve begun to address/consider a number of programs with your teacher, there may be the standard method of a talent based reach, match, and safety. Talent/audition awards are based on strength within the audition pool. A top candidate at a “lesser” program often will get a huge award, but within a more competitive pool at a “top” program the talent award could well be paltry or non-existent. Given the disparity in costs, a number may well choose the “top” program at higher cost. Another way of interpreting how much you are willing to pay. An astute comment if the instructor has that good a comment on the process.</li>
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<p>-Another way to read the comment is to imply an unrealistic expectation by the teacher of your relative competitiveness with a broad pool of highly qualified talent. It suggests an unfamiliarity with the extremely competitiveness of the audition process. Any audition based admit is a crapshoot, regardless of the student’s talent. There are too many variables. Not recognizing this on the part of a teacher may well be a big red flag, but if the instructor has a history of developing qualified candidates with success in any number of solid programs, it should not be an issue. </p>

<p>Taken out of context, the comment could well be read a number of ways. Those of “us” that have been involved in the process tend to read between the lines. In my mind as you stated the comment, it is open to interpretation. Those with experience might well have asked him to clarify it further.</p>

<p>But that’s just my take.</p>

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<p>Though I think going through multiple “good” teachers is a definite asset to learning, I think there’s also something to be said for staying with a teacher for a while and building a relationship with him/her. I think it’s important to have a teacher that knows you and your playing/singing inside and out, and - in my experiences - that’s not something that can be figured out in a few months or even a year. I’m a pianist, but I imagine this would be especially important for a vocalist. Having a teacher that really knows your strengths, weaknesses, and limits as a musician is crucial for a couple of reasons: the teacher knows you well enough to have an idea of how you learn and what kind of criticism will have the greatest effect on you, and the teacher knows what repertoire will be the most beneficial to your learning (while still meeting required rep. for competitions, auditions, etc.). In short, the teacher needs to know how you “tick.” From the perspective of the student, I think a long-term relationship is also beneficial. Just as the teacher needs to know how the student learns, the student needs to know how the teacher teaches. For me, my practice is usually the most efficient when I can imagine my teacher standing over my shoulder critiquing me. I play a passage, imagine what my teacher would have to say about it and how he would go about fixing it, and attempt to solve the problem myself. The outcome of this is generally positive, and I think I can only do this because I’ve spent a significant amount of time with my teacher. In addition, I think there needs to be a certain level of comfort between the student and the teacher in order for both to truly “open up” to each other.</p>

<p>Granted, it’s still necessary to constantly seek multiple opinions on your playing, and - at a certain point - switch to a new teacher. However, I think the ideal teacher to have as college auditions approach would be one that the student has studied with for at least a couple of years (in addition to being experience, qualified, etc.). In addition to this, the student should seek coaching from several other qualified musicians on his/her audition repertoire, which can happen with trial lessons, master classes, mock auditions, etc. Though I see the value in gaining a different perspective from a new teacher, I think a solid, long-term relationship with a good teacher is the most beneficial for a student about to start the audition process. Just my opinion, though.</p>

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<p>LizAlto - I’m glad I misinterpreted your statement and your teacher isn’t trying to take advantage of you. Hope you get into the program of your choice with a nice scholarship to match, because [paying] less is definitely more in this field!</p>

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<p>And <em>I</em> interpreted this totally differently. I thought he meant that if the family was willing to pay more for COLLEGE, the student would have a better chance of acceptance.</p>

<p>It’s all about the audition, and not just yours…but yours relative to the others who are taking the auditions at that school.</p>

<p>I’m glad you found a teacher with whom you can grow. </p>

<p>I will say…in our experience, the best applied teachers were NOT at all affiliated with the high school…they were private teachers or affiliated with the precollege programs.</p>

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<p>When you are in HS it is also worthwhile to ask where a prospective teacher’s students have been admitted. At our HS the teacher they sent people to only sent students to the in state techers programs and some other in state options. Anyone wanting more that that had to find another tecdher on their own.</p>

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<p>“Breaking up” with private teachers is so hard to do. We’ve had to “break up” twice, once with a piano teacher that D had studied with for 11 years and just recently with voice teacher that S had been with for 5 years. Both had become personal friends, as well. But in both cases, it was time to move on. D decided to major in musical theatre instead of piano. She just auditioned at college for the voice teachers and I’m anxious to hear who she “got.” And S (HS soph) has found new voice teacher who can work with him both on musical theatre and classical since he hasn’t decided what to major in.</p>

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<p>LizAlto17 – here are my thoughts – I would ask your teacher what he meant by “Getting into whichever college won’t be a problem for you. It’s really all about how much you’re willing to pay.” But let me also ask you this – do you have reason to believe he is knowledgeable about the current music school acceptance scene? Is he familiar with the schools to which you are thinking of applying? I ask these questions, because it’s not so much how much you are willing to pay as how much do you think you will be able to get in scholarships. There’s a lot of good advice about music school acceptance here – I would read closely; take the advice about getting a lot of practice lessons; hear what other professionals say about your voice.</p>

<p>On anothe note, I’m a little surprised that no commented on your previous teacher’s track regard with regard to dependability and other issues. I guess even if she were the best music teacher in the world, I would find her lack of dependability a big problem. I’m not sure I would have tolerated it for so long. I guess that’s neither here nor there at this point for you. However, in the future you may not wish to tolerate it. I feel badly that you had such a poor experience. Congratulations on chugging forward.</p>