<p>I was looking for some input. Child wants to audition next fall for music major position in college. She has taken lessons from teacher A for about 6 years; likes teacher A and wants to continue with her. Last week talked with and played for Teacher B who is one of her former chamber coaches and who works regularly with auditions for college (she is a teacher at a conservatory). She pointed out just a few gaps in technique which regular teacher has never commented on. I suggested child takes a few extra lessons with teacher B for some added input. Daughter would like to but afraid of hurting teacher A's feelings.
Any problem with this?</p>
<p>If there are technique or technical gaps, they need to be addressed prior to auditions.</p>
<p>Now having said that, two teachers can be counterproductive and at cross purposes, but I see nothing wrong in a few lessons ro see if there is improvement and the pair can mesh. Realize that there may be issues, if the changes are noticed by the primary teacher and she may question where your d “learned that”.</p>
<p>The tact to take is d is examining options in order for her to be as competitive as possible for auditions. </p>
<p>Many switch teachers the year prior to auditions. Sometimes a new perspective is helpful, or the existing teacher may not be able to take her further. Severing the relationship may be the toughest part.</p>
<p>Taking several lessons with another teacher is usually a very good idea if a student has had only one teacher. This is exactly what happens at summer programs: students get several lessons with another teacher. Most students applying for violin performance will have had at least two teachers prior to going to college.</p>
<p>I write that it is “usually” a good idea: it may not be if the second teacher wants to drastically change the student’s basic setup; a huge change in setup (i.e. bow hold; throwing away a shoulder rest or chin rest etc.) can take too long to adjust to and still allow time to get repertoire into shape for auditions. </p>
<p>If you choose to try some more lessons, be certain that the new teacher understands what your intent is and whether or not your daughter is still having lessons with her original teacher. Ideally you should tell her original teacher about the lessons. Honesty is the best policy!</p>
<p>Almost any good teacher encourages students to occasionally get input from other better or equally good teachers (i.e. masterclasses, summer programs etc.). Has the original teacher recommended participation in master classes or summer programs in the past?</p>
<p>If the original teacher’s feelings are hurt, then I would suggest this is more a reflection of the teacher’s insecurity than anything else. To me it is a warning bell that the teacher might not have your daughter’s best interests at heart. During the year prior to my son’s college auditions he had four or more lessons with each of 3 teachers other than his primary teacher (these were at summer programs) and had single lessons with at least 10 teachers that I can think of (some of these sample lessons, some masterclass lessons, and some just regular private lessons). My son’s primary teacher actively encouraged all of these. </p>
<p>In summary, I highly encourage the lessons with the new teacher if you and your daughter think this teacher has some good things to offer. If your daughter’s original teacher’s feelings are hurt, and if either the new teacher or another good teacher is available, then I would consider leaving the original teacher. </p>
<p>It is always difficult to leave a teacher, but it must be done at some point. Six years with the same teacher is quite a long time for a student who is near the end of high school (not so long if a student starts at the age of 6). College is close, auditions are competitive, and a lot is at stake (i.e. scholarship offers which could make certain schools possible or a lack of merit aid which could mean years of loans or closed doors). Don’t let a fear of a teacher’s reaction get in the way of your daughter’s future if you believe the new teacher can really help your daughter.</p>
<p>Does the original teacher regularly have students get accepted at good music schools/conservatories of the sort that your daughter wants to attend? If not, I would especially recommend that you strongly consider the new teacher. If the original teacher does regularly send students to good music schools, then perhaps the holes that the new teacher mentioned are not that substantial.</p>
<p>What kind of gaps in technique? It would be helpful to know what type of issue the coach pointed out, to figure out whether they’re minor/easily fixable or fundamental.</p>
<p>Also, is your daughter going to be attending a music program this summer?</p>
<p>In my senior year of high school, out of a sense of allegiance to my teacher (who I’d been with for 5 years), I didn’t seek outside lessons except with people I was auditioning for, and those only subsequent to the auditions. I did this despite being advised to seek outside guidance-- or even change teachers-- by a very fine teacher at a summer festival prior to my senior year.</p>
<p>As soon as I was in college, this decision made no sense retrospectively. My old teacher taught at a college; had I really been concerned with “allegiance,” I would have thought about staying with her for college, which I didn’t at all. Moreover, whatever hurt feelings there might have been (which would likely have been minimal, looking back) would have ceased to matter the minute my freshman year started. Most importantly, I would have gotten better, and fixed some easy and obvious things before the auditions!</p>
<p>This was all some time ago; I’m now a graduate student and a teacher myself. I understand now that as deep as the bond between student and teacher can be, it is still a functional relationship (and a paid service, at that), which should be supplemented however necessary in the service of the student’s development. It’s true that students often don’t know what they need-- but neither do inexperienced teachers.</p>
<p>All that said, if many outside lessons are necessary to your development, you should be switching teachers, not just supplementing. Your primary teacher needs to be able to provide your principal guidance.</p>
<p>The teacher-student relationship can be an emotional minefield, especially as college auditions loom on the horizon.</p>
<p>Various experiences have led me to conclude, unscientifically, that 5 years is probably the maximum time for a productive teaching relationship, especially in the formative years. Beyond that, I think both parties just become so comfortable with one another that it’s not as effective as it could be.</p>
<p>Emotionally, of course, one hopes to maintain long-term relationships with all past teachers. We were delighted to “find” D’s first violin teacher online after being out of touch with her for 12 years.</p>
<p>I was in a relatively similar position about a year ago. I had been with my Teacher A for 7 years, and I think we both knew it was the right time to switch. She was very gracious about the whole thing (She even arranged for two lessons with wonderful teachers, one of whom I currently study with), and encouraged me to have lessons with the other professors at the summer festival I went to with her. My Teacher B took apart my technique and built it from the foundation up. It has been the most productive and rewarding year of my life. She is very comfortable getting students into top conservatories, (she teaches at a well-known pre-college), and her experience proved enormously helpful during the audition process.
It was not hard on a musical level to make the switch, because I knew that Teacher B was a good fit for me and could teach me a lot. The only hard thing was the emotional attachment I had to Teacher A. She was like my second mom, and we were extremely close. In her words, she ‘raised me’. She was my teacher during my most vulnerable years, and knew me very, very well.
Teacher B will be hard to leave as well (I will be going off to conservatory to study with Teacher C!). She wasn’t as involved in my personal life as Teacher A (which I am grateful for; the involvement in my personal life was sometimes detrimental), but she was caring and supportive during the year I spent with her. You need to evaluate the reasons you have stayed with your Teacher A for so long, I think. Is it comfort? Are you scared to try someone/something new? You can’t be afraid of hurting Teacher A’s feelings. Chances are she will be understanding, especially considering how long your D has known her. I would go for the lessons, and if they seem good, I would switch.
Good luck!</p>
<p>I could write a lot on this topic; it’s hard to know how to focus remarks since I don’t know the particulars of your situation. But in my own family’s experience (and we did not seem to learn from experience, we did this over and over) it was never a good idea to hesitate to make a change out of fear for hurting a teacher. Your child’s needs are the most important; this is her career on the line, not Teacher A’s. That said, if your child has genuine technical gaps, it might be worth considering taking some extra time off, a so-called gap year. </p>
<p>You don’t have much time between now and pre-screening tapes, so it could be overwhelming, planning to make a lot of technical fixes in a short time, as well as to polish repertoire. On the other hand, if the gaps are minor, it might be better not to unsettle her playing. Depending on what needs to be fixed (and there are, of course, many schools of thought about technique…) it might be wiser to go through auditions with her current technique. A lot depends on who her potential college teachers would be. Some teachers are comfortable taking students who need some technical work if they can see the potential in their playing. Other teachers don’t want to bother doing fix-up work and will only take students with near-perfect technique. Taking trial lessons is a great way for your daughter and a potential teacher to see if they can work together.</p>