<p>Around when is it appropriate to schedule/request sample lessons from teachers? I have a few friends who did it their Junior year and a few who did it senior year after they were accepted. Is it better to do it before or after auditioning?</p>
<p>At the very latest I would recommend it shortly after an acceptance, but personally I think the most optimum time for a trial lesson would be sometime prior to the application deadline of a school.</p>
<p>What’s the best way to go about asking? Do you ask to just meet with the teacher? Or do you specifically ask for a lesson? Or do you just ask to meet with them and have them listen to you? And is it better for my D to make the request or myself, as the parent?</p>
<p>I think it’s fine, probably preferable, if your daughter contacted the teacher— this can actually be pretty instrumental in setting up a first impression. In contacting them, I would ask if they would be willing to offer a trial lesson to a potential student who is interested in their studio.</p>
<p>I think it is better to do sample lessons over February and April breaks during junior year to help you decide where to apply.</p>
<p>One note to keep in mind about April, though – when D and I were planning to travel to the midwest last April, we were dismayed to find that two of the schools where she was hoping to get sample lessons were already in finals week (this was around April 17th)! She couldn’t sit in on a class and the faculty were too busy to give sample lessons then. I never thought that finals would happen so early!</p>
<p>My son emailed the teachers directly, during his junior year of high school, and asked when the best time would be to schedule a campus visit and private lesson. He also asked about observing classes. He ended up doing his visits in November and March/April of junior year with one visit/lesson in June after junior year. Most professors preferred not to see high school juniors in January and February so they could concentrate on audition season. In that same email my son asked each professor what the private lesson rate would be. Only one professor charged him anything. He timed it during junior year in order to help him determine where to apply as a senior. It really helped him eliminate a few schools, and he got a feel for what certain professors were looking for on audition day. It also helped him figure out exactly what he was looking for in a campus, professor and music program. Another bonus was the fact that he knew where to go on audition day, and all the professors except one remembered him. It made audition day much less stressful since he had already been on campus and had met the professor.</p>
<p>My D did most of her visits and sample lessons in the fall of her junior year. Her HS only officially allowed 3 days off during senior year, and for a performance major, that just isn’t enough. Let it suffice to say that she had a number of “sick” days in that last year!
Make sure that you know what your school will tolerate and plan accordingly.</p>