Piano teachers teaching singing, why? Options

[VerityG]

Before I start, I should point out that I mean piano teachers who have not studied singing, but think that after accompanying so many singers, they are fit to teacher singing.
I have only recently started teaching and I was wondering if any other singing teachers struggle with it? My old singing teacher said that she spends half her life correcting the mistakes taught by piano teachers teaching singing. In my own experience, I've been on here before talking about one of my young students, a 10yr old singer. She turned up to the first session, and sang exactly as I would expect a beginner to sing, her voice was completely raw. After the lesson, the mother told me that the girl had been taking singing lessons for a year and she had sung through the whole grade 2 book, could I please pick the songs for grade 2 and enter her for June. I was horrified that someone could have a year of lessons, yet sound so raw. There was no way I was putting her in for grade 2! With a bit of diplomacy I talked her out of it. At the next lesson, I quizzed the pupil and found out that it was her piano teacher who taught her and they had just sung four songs from the grade 1 book and then moved onto the grade 2 book. I'm so angry that this teacher led both mother and daughter to be believe that she was grade 2 standard when in fact she isn't even grade 1 standard! What a waste of a year's worth of lessons, thankfully the teacher did no damage, but she didn't do anything at all! What a waste of money. And I seriously worry about the teacher's methods in general when her only focus in the exams. The mother isn't musical and so she seems to have been led to believe that exams are all that music is about. It's such a shame for a girl of only 10. She's currently studying for grade 5 theory and her grade 6 piano.
Verity
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[VerityG]

Sorry, by 'raw' I meant that her voice is completely untrained, exactly what I would expect from someone who has never had a single singing lesson. It seems that this teacher just got her to sing through the songs, just learning the notes and the words, nothing else. She sang me her favourite song that she had even performed (I do not know where) and I got her to sing it to me the next week as well to check that it wasn't just nerves but she was breathing in the middle of phrases, struggling to pitch a lot of the notes, no dynamics, completely blank facial expression etc etc - basically apart from the words and the vague melody, nothing was right. I'm also very concerned that she's just being forced through the exams and missing a lot an awful lot of what music is about. But what her piano teacher does is none of my business except that I'm concerned about the child and her mother's expectations of singing. I refuse to do the same with singing. I will do put her in for grade 2 until I think she's capable of it, because if I had put her in for grade 2 this June like her mother asked, it would have been a real shock.

[Seer_Green]

Sorry, by 'raw' I meant that her voice is completely untrained, exactly what I would expect from someone who has never had a single singing lesson.

In some ways, for me, that would be a bit of a relief because it's something to work with from scratch.

[AnnC]

Sorry, by 'raw' I meant that her voice is completely untrained, exactly what I would expect from someone who has never had a single singing lesson.

In some ways, for me, that would be a bit of a relief because it's something to work with from scratch.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) And it begs the question - what have the parents been paying good money for? Especially with all the other issues VerityG has pointed out. Money for old rope! They might as well have taken a ten pound note and set fire to it every week. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

[VerityG]

Sorry, by 'raw' I meant that her voice is completely untrained, exactly what I would expect from someone who has never had a single singing lesson.

In some ways, for me, that would be a bit of a relief because it's something to work with from scratch.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) And it begs the question - what have the parents been paying good money for? Especially with all the other issues VerityG has pointed out. Money for old rope! They might as well have taken a ten pound note and set fire to it every week. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

Yes, I am relieved that I do not have to undo any damage, but I'm angry that they've paid for a year's worth of lessons and have nothing to show for it other than the belief that the girl is of a grade 2 standard when she's not even grade 1! I am not looking forward to explaining this to the mother!
I am also rather concerned about this particular teacher's approach to music - that you simply go from one exam straight to the other. I'm worried that this will conflict with my teaching if the mother expects me to do the same thing, as I definitely won't. I suppose in that case it's probably better that we part ways and she finds a teacher who will, it's just a shame for the poor girl in the middle.

[Seer_Green]

I am also rather concerned about this particular teacher's approach to music - that you simply go from one exam straight to the other.

Sadly, this seems to be relatively common (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)