<p>My son wants to fly out to a far-off city to have sample lessons with prospective faculty. (He has been admitted to the school.) He has two teachers in mind, with a preference, so far, for one in particular. But his preferences have been formed solely by word of mouth. He has never met either teacher. </p>
<p>I (the bill payer) have encouraged him to contact both teachers to set up sample lessons on the same day, because of the obvious costs associated with more than one day of travel. HE says, "You don't do that. You don't act like you're shopping around. The teachers aren't going to like that!" I say, "THEY auditioned 400+ students to shop around for you. Isn't it reasonable and expected that the students will likewise want to 'shop around' for them after they've been accepted?"</p>
<p>I don't even like the term 'shop around.' These 'kids' are signing up for two years of education with one teacher, so they may as well verify that they're making a great choice for themselves. It's ridiculous to think that they shouldn't spend some time finding a teacher that will be a good match for them, specifically. And it's practical to meet both teachers on one, single visit. It's quite a haul to nearly every one of my son's prospective schools.</p>
<p>So, is it true that voice faculty will find it insulting if a prospective student requests a sample lesson with more than one of them on one single visit? Do they really have to be sneaky about it? That seems far worse and more insulting, imo.</p>
<p>If he has already been accepted, it is their turn to court him. He should not only take a lesson with each teacher, but also make sure both teachers know he is seeing the other. Their reactions to that information constitutes data that goes into his decision process. Particularly as a grad student, he should step up and take charge of the situation rather than shying away from an encounter that he thinks might turn unpleasant. Personally, I would wonder about a teacher who would object to a student trying to find their best match. I understand that there are some big egos and spirited rivalries out there, but it is generally better to know about those up front rather than to get caught up in them unawares.</p>
<p>If it would make your son feel better about the process, perhaps he could first try to contact students who have direct experience with the teachers in question. They would be in the best position to know if there are any inter-departmental rivalries causing problems of this sort. Prior year Master Lists of Acceptances and Decisions may come in handy for this sort of thing.</p>
<p>My daughter had sample lessons with four teachers at one school, after she was admitted. She had two lessons the day we arrived and two the following day before we left. It wasn’t a problem and she has been quite happy with her choice.</p>
<p>Your son’s impressions are way off, teachers themselves had to go through auditions and find a teacher, so they know how the process works. With teaching, whether it is vocal or instrumental, the teacher/student fit is basically the entire package, and taking a teacher on reputation is a dangerous game, in part, because a teacher some or a lot of people think is great, may not work for your son. There are a lot of teachers people say are ‘the best’ because they were once great performers, for example, and some of them from what I can tell aren’t as good at teaching as at performing.</p>
<p>He should definitely see both teachers, and see which one seems to work better with him. I am not sure about a teacher wooing a student, what would be inducement to entice a student to go into his studio that would be more important then the fit between prospective student and the teach? If for example teacher B told S he would give him 2 lessons a week if he went into his studio, but S found teacher B difficult to work with, what would be the point of going into his studio? I assume S was accepted and both teachers indicated they would be willing to teach him, so the ball is now in his court (your S)</p>
<p>Perhaps “shopping around” could be changed to “interviewing” prospective teachers, and as stated above, the ball certainly is in your son’s court. I think that it is necessary to find the best chemistry, and the only way is to take sample lessons from all who are being considered. To my knowledge, it is expected by the faculty, and indeed-being honest is the best policy. I highly doubt that they would be shocked that your son is taking more than one lesson after traveling a considerable distance to visit. ^My belief is that the incentive to woo a student into a particular studio is to keep the level as high as possible. Courting top talent will ensure the continued reputation of an established teacher, or help build the reputation of a new and talented professor who is eager to build their studio, which will help to secure their position. There is an expectation that faculty will recruit and bring the best talent available to the institution.</p>
<p>There is nothing wrong with taking lessons from multiple teachers to see who you click with. I had lessons with four faculty members at my current school and they were all aware that I was meeting with other teachers.</p>
<p>Thanks, everybody, for the confirmation. I couldn’t see how this could be considered rude! My son got this idea from somebody else whom we know and trust and who is certainly well-meaning. But it looks like that person was wrong this time around. I passed along your collective wisdom, and my son went ahead and made a few appointments with a few different professors. All is well! Thanks again to all of you – such a great resource here! :)</p>
<p>We did call one institution to get contact info for a particular teacher and mentioned that we were going to be taking a lesson with the other teacher on that instrument and the person in the office told us that would be a very bad idea. Quite puzzling. Seems the problem was more in the perception of the office person than either of the teachers because when we did manage to see both ( one while they were visiting our area ) they both laughed at the idea of it being a problem. </p>
<p>Sometimes there are a couple of teachers on the same instrument and one happens to be the head of that department and we were very glad lessons were taken with both. My kid declared for one teacher’s studio but decided to go back and take a lesson with the department head out of courtesy AND to have one more person more familiar than a ten minute audition could convey. Worked out nicely… I hope… we’ll see…</p>
<p>During junior year, we actually visited a school where professor X changed her mind and would not give a sample lesson when D mentioned in an email that she was also taking a lesson with professor Y. This was a surprise but very useful information in the end. But I think this was a rare case – it never happened anywhere else she had a sample lesson.</p>