<p>My D has her first sample lesson with a voice teacher in August. I'm curious as to what others have experienced in these lessons. Her core audition repertoire is not ready, but she has a French song that will be used at schools that require more than 3 songs. Should she just be prepared to sing that and then the teacher just takes the lesson from there once she hears her sing?</p>
<p>French is pretty specialized, too much chance the teacher will only get picky about the language. I would go with English or Italian, more vocal concepts will be available first for teacher to approach. Good luck to her!</p>
<p>Our experience is instrumental rather than vocal - but I'm sure there are similarities. S2 did horn, D did violin. We went in with only two goals, really: to find out does kid like teacher and does teacher like kid?</p>
<p>What we got out of lessons was much more broad than that.</p>
<p>S2 gradually honed in on what he wanted from a teacher: This one was too nice, that one was too critical. D experienced different teaching styles and personalities as well, although she was less picky. But she did spend some time evaluating whether or not she could stand lessons from this one or that one for the next four years.</p>
<p>Teacher reactions helped us gauge who would go to bat for the kid - who wanted them badly enough; who seemed lukewarm. This helped both S2 and D narrow their lists, eliminating teachers who weren't impressed - figuring it meant a decreased chance of acceptance and/or money.</p>
<p>S2 eliminated NEC, and D eliminated Davidson at least in part because of teacher interaction.</p>
<p>Listen, too, for how the teacher represents the school. Is he frustrated or complaining about politics? Is he "selling" or advocating the program? Is he talking about a long, steady history of successes, or is he excited about the new changes coming? Does he say, "I think you would be a great fit here," or "go ahead and apply, and see what happens," or "have you considered such and such a school?"</p>
<p>You can learn a lot about the school or the program by listening for these nuances.</p>
<p>Also, go in armed with questions. Some sample lessons were more like interviews, with very little playing. Now is your kid's chance to ask about how orchestras are seated (by audition, unchanging throughout semester or year? By seniority? By major? If private teacher misses a lesson, how is it handled -- Teaching assistant? Master class? Substitute?)</p>
<p>Other times S2 had real, full-length lessons. D's lessons were always shorter - but D's teachers also did not charge; S2's did. My D did not have a polished piece to play. She played a piece she was working on, that she later played for auditions. (Her trial lessons were fall of senior year.) She paid attention to the differences that teachers had - in bowing, phrasing, interpretation, etc. </p>
<p>S2 knew more about his teachers prior to the lessons, so he was able to adjust his rep ahead of time. He knew that the teacher at CCM, for instance, did not believe that a HS (or college) student should attempt Strauss 2, so he did not play that! (He played it at two of his auditions, but not CCM.) He knew that one teacher believed in strict interpretation, and another took more liberties. He avoided those conflicts as much as possible, so that he could find out more about basic teaching philosophies.</p>
<p>When all was said and done, both kids had identified several schools where they would be excited and comfortable studying.</p>
<p>DD's lessons were all done after acceptance when decision was down to the top 3 choices so it was a little different. She was never charged for those and some of it was selling the school and how well she would fit in. Although interesting enough, one did ask why she wanted to go there with the other acceptances she had :) (She liked the school overall and it had a great finaicial package.) She did eliminate them. </p>
<p>Each talked for a while, talked about their philosophy and techniques. They did some vocalizations with instruction and a little bit with one of her songs she was working on. She did not do the material she had auditioned. She sat in some other lessons and classes, too. It was enough to tell whether she would fit with their style. All invited me to stay so I could watch the interaction, too, and answer any questions I had. I know that is a little different but it suited D. She wanted the extra opinion since her teacher couldn't be there.</p>
<p>Thanks to Lorelei and binx. </p>
<p>D already sat in on a lesson with this teacher and really liked her style. She loves her private voice teacher and the styles are similar. She hasn't asked the teacher about charging yet. I have heard that some email beforehand and ask about the fee and others just go prepared to pay and see if the teacher accepts or declines. She is starting new songs in English and Italian for auditions - her school does German and French junior year so those are further along. Her voice teacher will work with her in the next couple of weeks in choosing something - perhaps an English song she did in a spring concert - not audition repertoire but nice nevertheless.</p>
<p>Singersmom - I think I read on the board that some people have recorded these lessons for their voice teachers - or did I imagine that?</p>
<p>"S2 knew more about his teachers prior to the lessons, so he was able to adjust his rep ahead of time. He knew that the teacher at CCM, for instance, did not believe that a HS (or college) student should attempt Strauss 2, so he did not play that! (He played it at two of his auditions, but not CCM.) He knew that one teacher believed in strict interpretation, and another took more liberties. He avoided those conflicts as much as possible, so that he could find out more about basic teaching philosophies."</p>
<p>How did S2 find the "inside" info he needed about certain teachers prior to the lessons?</p>
<p>My son knew something or another about every teacher with whom he has had a lesson thus far...sometimes, it was something he had read about on websites or elsewhere, or a comment from someone else who had met or worked with the teacher. One wrote a book that son uses a lot. </p>
<p>His private teachers have been terrific in providing information, and one has a friend (in a different department) at a school that S is very interested in, who met with us and gave a great lowdown of the ins and outs of different teachers.</p>
<p>We have paid for all lessons, but not for any meetings or phone calls (and there have been some of those too).</p>
<p>I think the lessons have been very revealing, and very helpful to my son. He did play a bit of audition material for two teachers, and got very good and useful feedback, which he has applied to his practicing.</p>
<p>Cartera, we did record the lesson for her teacher a couple of times. Since recording a voice lesson is so common there was never any issue with it. She asked whenever she wanted to and no one said no.</p>
<p>Rudysmom - S2 was auditioning at a higher level than D, so the teachers he was meeting were more well known. He had been directed toward these teachers through a networking via other teachers, camps, festivals, etc. So the same person, for example, who suggested that he look at one school and/or teacher, might also tell him that teacher is known for this or that peculiarity.</p>
<p>Certainly at minimum Google every teacher you're meeting with. For instance, the teacher that D will be studying with at Miami attended the Mozarteum in Austria. Knowing that in advance helped D know to expect certain things (her teacher in Germany also had studied there), and also gave her something to talk about with him.</p>
<p>Another thing that Googling might tell you is who else has studied with the same teacher. S2 often found bios of other hornists who would list their teachers. It helped him evaluate teachers -- knowing for instance, that teacher A turns out a lot of ensemble players, or B seems to produce a lot of symphony members, or C produces a lot of New York sound, and so on.</p>
<p>rudysmom- expanding a bit on binx's points on Googling: the more names you can pull up for a particular teacher and their subset of students, the more indepth info you end up with. Her A, B & C examples are great. But if you can also begin to isolate some names within your geographic area, you'll eventually find a current or former student at a local music studio, university (either as a teacher or grad student), orchestra or ensemble that you can actually call/email and speak with. </p>
<p>The music world becomes surprisingly more narrow the further you progress. Think of it as a series of concentric cirles. As your son's experience broadens, his level of contacts does as well. Contacts provide info, experience, gig opportunities, potential jobs. </p>
<p>If you think about it, this is one of the reasons (other than the personal learning experience) that attending as many summer programs/festivals as financially feasible is important... you are broadening your base of contacts.</p>
<p>Another reason that I continually advise not to burn any bridges now. You'll never know when you may need one of the planks later.</p>
<p>Teachers change schools, too, and if you have a difficult exchange or relationship with a teacher you do not chose, it could come back to haunt you when you audition for graduate program somewhere else. Hence my advice to find something very concrete to use as an explanation about choices made. "I have never studied with a female, and I think I need to do that." "I have thought very hard about the distance from my family and it would be too difficult for them to see me perform." Etc., rather than any kind of verbalized reaction to those schools and teachers not chosen amongst the acceptances. </p>
<p>About the fee, I think it best to know going into the situation, and it is fine to ask "What will be the fee for this audition lesson?" Once S neglected to ask as he left, so I did e-mail the teacher to tell him that if he charged a fee for such a lesson, we would be glad to send it to him. An adjunct professor (meaning not full time, tenure-track) is perhaps more likely to charge for such a session, which is reasonable considering they are making their living by cobbling together various music and teaching jobs, as opposed to the full time teacher whose professional obligation is to the stature of the institution. I am generalizing here, and there are doubtless many, many exceptions.</p>