<p>I have a question which for some of you who are more knowledgeable about music might seem silly. But I am just trying to better understand the choices my son is making. My son is now a sophomore at conservatory studying Jazz Double Bass. This semester he will NOT be taking private lessons with a Bass teacher but has instead decided to study with two other teachers to improve his musicality and ear. Now I know in the classical world there is the view that you should study with one teacher over a period of time. But I don't know if that is true for contemporary music or for Jazz or what it even means to take private lessons with somebody who is not a specialist in your instrument. I trust my son and his decision. He seems quite confident in his choice and has explained it to me. But I am just trying to understand it in the bigger context of a conservatory education and what others think of this decision.</p>
<p>Are the two new teachers double bass players? And why two- do they share a studio? It’s not all that unusual for 2 teachers to work together, especially if one travels a lot, even in the classical world. Is your son planning on “going back” to his primary instructor in the Spring semester and is this sort of thing common at his school? It may indeed, be the right thing for him, but I do wonder about the wisdom of doing it this early in the game and the impact that this could have on your son’s relationship with his instructor down the road, because it takes some time to get to know each other and to have a comfortable working arrangement- that’s the rationale behind schools putting off “semester abroad” programs until the fall semester of the junior year and why performance majors aren’t usually lined up to apply for that opportunity.</p>
<p>MezzoMama,
Neither of the two new teachers are Double Bass Players. One is a pianist and the other a horn player. It is not unusual at my son’s school to “split” your studio. Many students do since it is an option. Also it is not unusual to step outside your genre and take lessons with somebody different. My son will continue to get a private lesson from the guest artist that visits his school each semester, who is a double bass player. My son had one of the teachers he will be studying with this year for Ear Training last year. </p>
<p>I am not sure where this will take our son or who he will study with after this semester. His feeling was that he had gotten all that he could out of the two Bass professors. It might be because his private instructors in high school had both studied with these professors and had passed down their knowledge and technique to our son. But our son also talks about how he feels that he needs to improve his ear and his musicality and that was not going to happen if he continued doing what he was doing.</p>