<p>hello - my d is a hs senior and, altho she's taken private flute lessons (youth program affiliated with top level conservatory) since 5th grade and has consistently excelled at state level competitions, it is only very very very recently that she has decided to pursue music professionally. Fortunately, her teacher has prepared her for the college auditions without having told her she was doing so (which my d now sees and is grateful for!)</p>
<p>Academically and musically, she is a reasonable candidate for any school in the country; of course, that doesn't mean she'll be accepted at any of them.</p>
<p>Because of the late timing of my d's decision, it is likely she'll be unable to schedule trial lessons at any of the schools on her list. She is not applying to the local conservatory. </p>
<p>What are your opinions on the pros and cons of scheduling a lesson with a teacher at a school that you are NOT applying to? With full disclosure of course. </p>
<p>My dh is concerned that this would offend my d's teacher. My d is concerned that the conservatory teacher would feel that we're wasting her time. They both feel that an evaluation is not necessary. I like to gather information and feedback and seize opportunities</p>
<p>My son had lessons at schools that he didn’t apply to. They were schools he was considering, and after the visit/lesson, he changed his mind. I think this happens all the time. </p>
<p>It is also very common to ask a professional teacher for an honest appraisal of a student’s talent, and a teacher who does not have time to do so will simply tell you. Most times you would pay for the lesson/appraisal anyway.</p>
<p>If your D is not applying to the local conservatory, would you still value the opinion of the local conservatory? Or are d’s reasons entirely not connected to the quality of the program? If you know for certain she will not apply, then the most ethical handling would be to explain up front that you will pay for the assessment and that you’re looking for additional insight for audition preparation as a support to existing teacher, not instead of. Then there’s no wasting of time. I’m sure her teacher would understand that it is valuable to play for someone else, and practice accepting and working with varying feedback.</p>
<p>That said, there is still time for sample lessons with teachers at schools where your d does intend to apply. These can often be arranged in tandem with auditions, or post-offer, and can be an important determining factor.</p>
<p>PS This is slightly unrelated but sort of in the same vein, in case your situation is similar and you run into it. My son had a sample lesson at a reasonably well regarded department of a decent but very regional school. However, during the course of pursing that option as a possibility, when the department head found out he was applying to a ‘more major’ (aka national level) program, his interest/attitude etc. cooled considerably. I found that very odd. I mean, it was a crap shoot that he got into his intended program. But the attitude “oh, if you’re applying there you’re not really interested here” made that particular program suddenly very unappealing. So if your d is applying to a substantially more reputable program than the local program, your response mileage may vary a tad ;)</p>
<p>If you aren’t considering the school, then it is not a trial lesson, it is simply a lesson.</p>
<p>Semantics, perhaps, but a trial infers that it could lead to something more. A regular, but single, lesson in order to get an evaluation, or feedback, or whatever, is something else. As long as you are clear on what you want from the teacher, and are prepared to pay him or her accordingly, I don’t see a problem.</p>
<p>Local conservatory is top tier and would be a perfect match for D; only reason it’s not on the list is because it feels too familiar</p>
<p>Sample lessons with teachers at potential schools seems geographically and financially impossible, but we will certainly make the attempt in tandem with auditions; certainly post-offer (sure would be wonderful to be in that position)</p>
<p>I think I need to reassure D that if feedback is less favorable than expected, we’ll adjust list accordingly rather than drop music (a friend had an assessment on another instrument and then parents didn’t let her pursue music)</p>
<p>@binx - absolutely true about the semantics. It isn’t a trial. I just want her to have the experience of working with someone different and get another opinion on which schools/teachers would be appropriate</p>
<p>You know, that was my D’s initial response to the local conservatory - she’d been in their precollege program since 6th grade and gone to summer programs there since I think kindergarten - ho hum, old news, too familiar, boring. She auditioned anyway, and the scholarship offer they made was too good to turn down.</p>
<p>So off she went, a couple of weeks ago, full of trepidation and not a lot of excitement. And you know what? It turns out that college is totally different from being there for a couple of hours on the weekend, she’s learning a lot, making new friends and facing new challenges. </p>
<p>So don’t discount the familiar.</p>
<p>(Also, D was able to schedule some sample lessons during audition weekends - not ideal, but sometimes the only option since we’re not made of money, despite rumors to that effect from the children._</p>
<p>Good advice here: go ahead and ask for the lesson at the local conservatory, being totally above board about your intentions.</p>
<p>A word of advice about trial lessons scheduled when you visit for auditions. We did this at several schools (as we live in northwestern Canada thousands of miles away from all the schools). I would recommend requesting a lesson after the audition if possible. We took whatever time was available either before or after because we realized that beggars can’t be choosers and the audition days are very busy for teachers who have to fit the auditions on top of their regular teaching loads already (without adding trial lessons). We tried to schedule return flight times for later rather than earlier in order to facilitate post-audition lessons.</p>
<p>Two reasons for asking for the lesson after the audition:
a) Having a lesson before the audition puts the teacher in an awkward position: they know that you can’t change your repertoire in the few hours or day or two prior to the audition, so they can’t really do much with it. They also realize that even kind constructive criticism can do horrible things to a student’s confidence when they are incredibly vulnerable and in need of tons of confidence. Hence most astute teachers can’t really bring their best game to a pre-audition lesson that is scheduled very close to the audition. We had one internationally-renouned pedagogue that said very little critical at a pre-audition lesson and we weren’t sure if she was holding back because she didn’t want to disturb son or if she just wasn’t that engaged in the teaching. We had heard that she had a reputation for letting it all out, so we just didn’t feel that we got the most accurate read on her as a teacher.
b) If you should happen to get a teacher that gives a genuine normal lesson the day before auditions, your child may be destroyed or may find themselves in a quandary wondering how much of the teaching should be incorporated in the playing the next day.</p>
<p>Having said all that, take the lesson whenever you can get it–you will at least get a feel for the teacher’s personality. If they do a number on your child’s confidence when they know that the audition is imminent, then you know that the teacher isn’t right for your child. My son ended up having a trial lesson a couple of hours before his audition at the school he is attending now. The teacher treated it like a real lesson not holding anything back, my son felt it was one of the best lessons he’d had in his life, his audition was fine, and the rest is history.</p>
<p>@Stradmom - I have not ruled out the local conservatory; my daughter has. And there are several months between now and the due-date for applications. Plenty of time for her to change her mind. Especially if she has a lesson with the professor and they ‘click’ on any level</p>
<p>@violindad - thanks for the story; we’ll aim for lessons after the auditions, if time allows.</p>
<p>mtpaper: My son said he would never apply to the school he ended up at because it was the only one in-country and he was much more familiar with it than the other schools he applied to (the grass is always greener . . .). I caught him at a weak moment literally less than a week before applications were due and got him to apply (fortunately the application was online and auditions there were on the way back from another audition so there was little additional expense). Son surprised himself by loving the school when he auditioned there (knowing a few friendly faces in a strange environment is nice). </p>
<p>If you believe that the local school would be a good fit, I would encourage you to try to persuade your daughter to apply and audition. Ultimately the decision as to where she attends must be hers, but if nothing else, the experience of auditioning at the local school will be educational and will help give her a benchmark with which to compare the other schools. The audition there will be inexpensive and relatively stress-free.</p>
<p>@violindad - certainly this is all true. And part of the persuasion-process is a lesson with the teacher. I do not think it is the best possible fit but, as this is flute, we need to explore all options. She is facing in inordinate # of applications at this point…</p>
<p>@violadad - thanks for the links; I’ve read thru those posts but they didn’t address my question</p>
<p>What is your reason for doing this? Personally I think that if you have no intention of studying at a particular college, it is wasting that teacher’s valuable time to have a lesson with them. </p>
<p>If you are seeking input about your daughter’s level of playing or something of that sort, sure…schedule a lesson. BUT don’t ask for a “trial lesson”…that’s not what you are doing. You are taking a lesson as Binx noted. Don’t be surprised if the school asks if you are planning to apply there. Some schools asked my kids that question…my guess is that if they had said NO, the lesson time would not have been available.</p>
<p>FWIW, my kids ONLY had trial lessons at schools that they were <em>considering</em>…they didn’t apply to them all…but they were considering them. The lessons actually helped them rule OUT some schools.</p>
<p>@thumper1 - yes, it’s already been brought to my attention that my choice of words was wrong. Ask for a lesson, not a trial lesson. As I originally indicated, I intend to be very clear and disclose our expectations.</p>