<p>Hi everyone! I am an upcoming senior who is looking at colleges and conservatories this summer/fall to major in classical trumpet performance. I recently schedualed a lesson with a professor at a conservatory. I was wondering how these lessons usually go, because I've only studied with one teacher (due to living by very few teachers). I was told to prepare a solo and etude, and to bring something that is difficult so he can help me with it.</p>
<p>Can someone describe their experiences with prospective teachers so I can have a general idea of what to expect? I imagine I would first tell him about myself and my goals, and he would tell me more about his program. Then I would suspect I would play the solo and etude so he can evaluate where I'm at in terms of ability.<br>
I'm slightly nervous because I want to make a good first impression. Any stories would be really appreciated. Thanks!</p>
<p>From what my son has told me, it is similar to a regular lesson and you will experience something different with each teacher. Try to offer to pay even if free. I noticed the paid lessons were much better.</p>
<p>A piece of advice I would give: use the same material for each teacher you “interview.” That allows you to make a good apples to apples comparison of each teacher. Do try to have a discussion with the teacher so that you understand their teaching style, communication skills and what they see as your strengths, weaknesses - basically what a 4 year plan might look like. Recognize that they don’t have all the answers in a short lesson but it is good to see if their teaching style is going to match up with the way that you learn best. Sometimes you know right off that it is not a good match. And after you leave the lesson, write down your impressions so that when it’s decision time, you can remember how you felt at the time.</p>
<p>Agreed about asking for feedback. My son had an amazing lesson with a teacher who also did an evaluation and really impressed me and my son. Also. Listen to their playing and their students on you tube. You can learn a lot from that too.</p>
<p>If you can, try to schedule the sample lesson so that you can also observe a studio class. Listening to current students and especially watching the teacher’s interaction with them (and their interactions with one another) can tell you tons about whether it would be a good fit for you. (Are people supportive of one another? Competitive? Snarky behind someone’s back?)</p>
<p>Something to think about as you consider schools: Do you want to be the big fish in the little pond or maybe somewhere in the middle? As you look at the caliber of talent, do you need to be pushed by having people around you that have a great skill set and dedicated work ethic? Are you going to be disappointed if you are surrounded by students that perhaps are not as focused as you? Just be honest with yourself about the environment that you want to put yourself in for the next four years. If you can watch studio classes and talk with some students, you will really be able to get a better insight.</p>
<p>Ask where his students have gone and what they have done after studying with him (perhaps as a follow-up email). It’s a good sign if he is proud and happily gives you a long list of former students.</p>
<p>I agree with @Stradmom and others who pointed out the value of attending studio classes. (Not all studio classes are public, however. One of my daughter’s teachers does not invite outsiders to studio class for reasons that I think are very solid. She’s cultivated a very strong, safe support network in her studio.)</p>
<p>Also, folks, remember that these lessons are not just you (and your student) interviewing the teacher–i.e., they are not just consumer research–but also the teacher interviewing your student. I suggest not using the term “sample” lesson if you can avoid it but rather have your student ask the teacher if s/he can play or sing for him. The teacher can take the lead an offer a lesson, or just a shorter interview. It’s particularly important to keep this in mind when you are dealing with elite teachers who field dozens or hundreds of these requests every season. If your student misses these important social cues and insults or annoys a potential teacher, that would be a mistake.</p>
<p>The other thing to remember is that, even more than looking up a teacher’s reputation and the satisfaction of his/her former students, you are looking for fit. This is not a one-size-fits-all search. Your student may need a certain kind of teacher (say, a technique-focused pedagogue) at one point in her career and a different kind (say someone who focuses on bigger issues of musicality) later on. The latter kind of teacher, too early, would not benefit your student’s development.</p>
<p>There’s also a matter of fit with regard to teaching style. Some students claim they learn better when they are screamed at by an old-style Russian teacher. Some students find that style traumatizing. My daughter learned and improved immensely from a teacher whom some of her peers found to be too indirect and new-agey. </p>
<p>It’s an art, finding the right teacher at the right time. And come April when you have a confusing array of choices and a confounding display of financial aid offers, the choice will be even more difficult. </p>
<p>My son has an old style Russian teacher and he’s never yelled once and I just wish he was stricter lol. And all his subsequent sample lessons with Russian teachers don’t yell either. I agree to figure out what you need. My son’s current teacher is a heavy emphasis on musicality and he is now looking for a teacher that is mainly technique but will develop the musicality my son already has. </p>
<p>glassharmonica is spot on with her advice about type of teacher at different points in time. The needs of undergrad who has to develop technique and who may have to correct problems is completely different from what a grad student who needs to go through vast amounts of rep may need. Another thing to remember is that “name and fame” do not necessarily mean that person is a great teacher, especially when it pertains to voice. There were a whole bunch of singers who began late and who have had great success- something that is no longer possible- and while they are thrilling on stage, they can be clueless when it comes to how to correct a technique problem in a student simply because they never experienced those things. And that diva/divo stage persona might not transfer well into the voice studio!</p>
<p>@glassharmonica </p>
<p>Thank you for sharing the subtle things that make a difference! It helps so much for those of us newbies who are unaccustomed to how these things work!</p>
<p>GH hit the nail on the head, when you work with a teacher at a high level it is very much individualistic as to what teacher works for the student (and vice/versa, it is as much as how the teacher can work with the student, too). This is basically a master/apprentice kind of deal. And yep, the kinds of teachers out there vary, from some who are very new agey-ish, to some who follow on in the grand tradition of people like Fuchs and Auer and Galamian, who were not exactly known as being cuddly (always loved Millstein’s story about Heifetz playing in studio class, and Auer going into a rage and breaking a chair, Millstein claimed he wet himself, because he was doing the same piece and if Heifetz wasn’t playing it well, imagine what he would do to him…). It is all about fit, a student in my son’s studio this year, who is a fantastic player, transferred to be with another teacher at another school because he felt that where he was, the other teacher was a better fit… Personality plays a role in this, how someone teaches, my S’s high school teacher used to spit stuff out like a machine gun and couldn’t quite get why students didn’t always ‘get’ what they were trying to say…</p>
<p>And I agree totally about not necessarily putting too much stock in the ‘famous teacher’ who is famous because they achieved great things, the concermaster of the great orchestra might be great at that, but cannot teach, that famous soloist may not be able to teach because they may not know what makes their style as great as it is. Unfortunately there is no science to it, and in the end you kind of have to go on gut feeling, what your instincts tell you. It isn’t like teaching algebra or chemistry, it has so many intangibles to it that one size definitely doesn’t fit all:)</p>
<p>At least CC is now letting us write “Fuchs”. A few years ago, IIRC, every time someone typed out his named it automatically converted to F****. </p>
<p>Hahahahaha!! Used to be the same with “fach” here on CC also!</p>