Many piano questions

Allmusic
Thu, 20 Mar 2008 19:15:21 +0000

Six years is a very long time for one teacher. My son has had four, in eleven years; a couple of these changes were not necessarily by choice (one moved, one became so controlling there was no choice but to let her go). I think each time he has moved to a new, more challenging teacher, he has made giant leaps musically. I have seen this with many other kids too, who did not progress nearly as much by staying with one teacher as they would have had they moved to a new, more advanced teacher (and once they did change teachers, improved dramatically).

It is hard to look for new teachers, and I did find it stressful. However, my son auditioned for a number of different ones as he progressed, and each time we were told that teachers understand that some students “move beyond” them, and that professionals do not take these kinds of changes personally. I am not sure I ever believed them, but we have had wonderful teachers (including the controlling ones) who generally looked at my son’s needs first, and their own second (aside from a prima donna too…ah yes).

I also think that it is really hard to repair issues of technique, phrasing, dynamics and style, particularly in a short amount of time. Perhaps your son is still years away from auditions, but a good teacher is imperative if these are considered deficient areas by objective judges.