Hi everyone!

Just interested. I've had two teachers so far and I'll be changing teachers again when I start university later this year!

Charlotte

Wow! An excellent three-question poll .

Although my answer is quite a boring one, since I've always had the same teacher....

Thanks ! It did take me quite a while to work out how to do it! I was really confused at first because there used to be two options: new topic and new poll and I was wondering where the poll thing had gone! Sorry, I'm rambling!

On my 3rd now. The other two both moved house (or at least that's what they told me!!!), otherwise I might still be with my first teacher.

However I'm glad circumstances forced me to change as the guy I have now is brilliant, and I hope not intending to move

I am on m,y second teacher. I go to a music school and changed teachers when my old one went on maternity leave and left the school.

For violin I started at age 4 and was still being taught by the same guy aged 18. Fourteen years!! hehe... I'm now at uni and I'm not having lessons because I'd have to commute to London every weekend and I've got better things to do (like rowing!!) so I'm just having lessons in the holidays and doing lots of practise and orchestral work and stuff now.

I've had 3 piano teachers: my parents took me away from the first one because of a lot of very silly reasons that I won't go into. The second one taught me for about 5 years to get me through Grade 8, and then said I should go to another teacher who could teach me more challenging stuff. I'm not having piano lessons at uni now either.

I've had hundreds and hundreds of singing teachers because I had lessons through school and they kept resigning. Don't think that was because of me but I can't be sure. I AM having singing lessons at uni, the choir pays for them, which is v nice. The teacher here is really good and is really pushing and criticising me, which I didn't really have before, and I think it's very good for me!!

I've had two horn teachers because the first one left his wife and kids for a lapdancer and moved away. I only really played for fun, and I guess I'll have a few lessons from my second teacher now and again just to keep me in shape.

I'm self-taught on viola, recorder, organ and guitar.

I know it's terrible that I don't have lessons at uni but to be honest it's not really worth it, I don't want to be a performer, and it's so expensive, and I'd have to travel to London. They don't really have many practical music teachers in Cambridge because there isn't any practical in the course until third year and even then it's optional.

I'm enjoying all the extra time I have, too! It allows me to play in a lot more orchestras and sing in a lot more choirs (should be doing some conducting this term too) and it meant I could take up rowing and join the college JCR... it's a lot less stress now that I can plan my own week!

Generally I've stayed with my teachers until circumstances changed.
The most recent changes were due to teachers retirement and the next teachers illness (and death).
One teacher dumped me (unfairly, honestly).
Been with my current teacher just over a year.

Same piano & guitar teacher ever since I started.

Car Expert

I've had 5 piano teachers in 6 years. I went to one who left the country after about 6 months, moved to no.2 who left after about a year, moved to no.3 who I didn't like so I left after a while, went to no.4 who was my best teacher ever and was with her for about 2 or 3 years, then we left the country, so onto no.5 teacher who is my current teacher but she is retiring at the end of this term! So I'll be onto no.6 next term...

Flute I've also had 5 teachers in 5 years for various reasons and viola I've had 2 teachers in 3 years.

First teacher age 5-7.
Moved away.
Second teacher age 7-16. Jeeeeeeez. That's a long time.

Going to boarding school this year.
Third teacher will be 16-18.
Then off to uni!

Piano - I've had for about 3 years, currently in my 4th, will have her for 5 years before I leave

Clarinet - Had one for 3 years and left because 1) Finance 2) I hated him 3) I was getting kept behind 4) I was getting sick of him turning up late or never for lessons and 5) I couldn't stand his idleness

Recorder - I've only had 2 months, but won't have her for much more than 2 years really

Flute/Viola/Bassoon - never had one I was actually teaching myself Recorder as well!

Piano - three in the Midlands, moving because of moving schools and then because the teacher moved: then moved to the south, and one further teacher there
Oboe - one in the Midlands, one down south
Recorder - self for too long, a couple of lessons only with two itinerant teachers, who then moved away, now nearly three years with my current, very good teacher
My kids - two piano teachers for both, due to one retiring

I had my first piano teacher for two or three years, then I had to change because she moved away. I've now had the teacher I have now for about 8 years. I've only ever had one trumpet/cornet teach, and I'v been learning for 5 years this easter. Soprano - I've sort of taught myself/ had advice from band (not that there's too much to learn after Bb cornet )

My first teacher was great, sadly we moved to the other side of London so we couldn't carry on having lessons with her. I didn't get on with the next one so I went to lessons that were in school. The first one was OK, the second one was horrible and the person who covered him when he went away was fantastic. The school couldn't do piano lessons anymore though so I found another one who is still teaching me. He's a great guy too.

I had about 2 flute teachers at primary school, then moved to secondary school (years 7-9) where I mainly had one teacher but she was often ill so had 2/3 different supply teachers. However, I have had my current flute teacher for 2 years now.

I've had the same teachers for violin and piano since I started.

5 clarinet teachers, first left the area, wasn't impressed with the second, third teacher decided he would rather concentrate on piano and recommended me to teacher no. 4 who got me to grade 8. Teacher no.5 was my university tutor. I've used a lot of the styles of teaching from my last two teachers in my own teaching, I hope one day some of my pupils will cite my influence if and when they start teaching......!

For singing and violin, just one each.

For recorder, primary school class when I was younger and one teacher now.

For piano, one when I was younger and one now.

For flute, when I was younger, in the space of 2 and a bit years: one left to get married, one had a nervous breakdown, one was sacked for assaulting a pupil and the last sacked me for being useless......

Yikes!

3 violin teachers: one for a term (I gave up! Recently found out she committed suicide - presumably not because I stopped having lessons, though Very sad); one for 9 years (though she got very ill in the middle and I had various supply teachers until she came back after about 6 months); current one since last March

1 recorder teacher since last February

3 piano teachers as I kept giving up and restarting!

Poor person

First of all: triple polls, you rock

Anyway, I've only ever had one teacher right from going to some musical 'club' type thing with her when I was very ickle, through to learning piano, right through to now. During which time she's gone from being a full-time private teacher to working almost full-time in school (I'm her only remaining pupil).

I whole heartedly concur

I've 3 piano teachers so far though I've learnt for 1 year 5 months. I first learnt in a group and found the first teacher very boring. Then, I decided to take private lessons and met my second teacher. However, her working time kept changing (she taught after work) and I changed to the third one after 5 months.

I felt very fortunate to meet my third teacher (the current one who has taught me for 10 months) as he's very patient, easy-going and with much teaching experience. Wish he'll teach me at least till Grade 8 (I'm now at Grade 4)

which music school do you go to?

Well I startedf flute in year 4 and had a very good teacher. THen I went to middle school so I had to have a nother one for the next four years, she was okay, now I'm in high school so I have a knew one. But I've always had the same piano and guitar teacher.

I've had two oboe teachers, one for 2 years, then I moved school, and the current fantastic lady for 5 years, who's absolutely great.
Piano teachers ... eek.
1 - a few months, began and then never got anywhere. Left due to non-progressive reasons.
2 - brilliant lady, had her for about 6 years or so, she used to teach Courtney Pine (!) but then she moved to Cornwall, dammit, and that was really frustrating, cos she was the best music teacher there's ever been, along with my current oboe teacher, and, touch wood, my new piano teacher.
3 - really horrible cow who seemed allright at first but then tried to play power games. Only lasted a year.
4 - as above, but worse. I don't think I've met a more power-game obsessed woman apart from my evil scheming grandmothers, but she is horrible. She is a really respected person in my town, "X does so much for music!" etc, but with her pupils (or, me) she is terrible. She puts you in uncomfortable situations, she is one of those people who knows that you feel you have to be on best behaviour rather than feel relaxed, and enjoys having that power over you. I lasted a year, and was fired. Actually, that's putting it lightly. I was ejected with wrath aplenty. I did make a fair bit of progress, but you do exactly what she says, or else. I was fired posthumously because I didn't ask how her holiday was on the first lesson in september; she needs emotional grooming. In the same lesson, I was doing B minor scale full speed, got it wrong the first time. Started again. Got it wrong in the same place the second time. Made a disconsolate grunt and started again. Got it wrong the third time, slapped my knees with my hands and made a slightly prolonged and annoyed "ohhhh....". Teacher runs out of the room crying and calls in her husband to force me out of her house because she won't tolerate my volatile and violent temper (quoting). She even had a fake-tears meeting with my parents later, and her story was different from the reason she chucked me out in the first place as well!!! I was bothered obviously, but not at all now, cos I've got teacher no5 and I don't have to do her stupid concerts anymore. I reckon she'd had me on her hitlist for a long time; she does 80 pupils a week and what takes less effort, grade 7 pupil or complete beginner who won't ask why they're doing certain things.
5 - current bloke, only had about 5 months of lessons so far, but he's great, like him a lot. Hopefully I'll have him for ages to come, he's so good, down to earth, funny, etc. Seems too good to be true! He spots things that no one else ever does, which really helps on the improvement front. Happily ever after?.....

my first piano teacher i had when i was 4 or 5 till i was 6. she was mean ! but then we moved.
my next piano teacher i had when i was 6 for about two years. she got sick so i had to change to quite possibly one of the best piano teachers ever in the word!! (from when i was about 8 until i was 11), but then we had to move again - to america, where i had a new teacher until i was 12, then we had to move again. i had another new teaher. she wasnt nice at all! she had no patience. it took me two years to find another one. when i was 14 i started with my current teacher who has taken me from grade 5 to grade 8. shes lovely!

iv had 6 flute teachers, mostly due to moving and having lessons through school.

I've had four piano teachers.

The first one taught me for one year, but then because apparently she was underpaid by the music center where I initially took lessons, she quit the center and I got assigned a new teacher.

My next teacher was a very good one. She helped me up to about grade 6/7ish in the Royal Conservatory of Music grades in three years. But then I moved away.

Next, I really wanted to take lessons from a highly recommended teacher in my new community, but that teacher had a waiting list and couldn't take me. So, I went to the music center again. This teacher was rather bad - I did not progress at all. She completely underestimated my ability even though I brought grade 7 RCM books to my classes (which is roughly around grade 5 ABRSM), and yet she still made me play from "beginner" books with songs I could sight read.

Luckily, two months later, summer came. At the end of summer, the teacher I had wanted accepted me from her waiting list. So here I am now, after four years, with that same teacher.

Well my teaching has been pretty pathetic i have had 7 different woodwind teachers in 5 1/2 years!!! 2 singing teachers in 5 years and 2 piano teachers in 4 years!
It's because my school hasn't many people taht do music in it so they send teh student teachers taht come for a year! It is really annoying, but i have just got private lessons this year and i can kepp the same teacher!! YAY!

<3...

ever since i started, ive had the same teacher, but six months ago he took a stroke. i had a student who is at a music college over summer, but i have been carrying on by myself for around 4 months now. my teacher is in a care home and has lost everything in his left side. I still go and see him, but i think its time to move on now. i feel so guilty, because he really believes he can get better and teach again. he is only allowed a keyboard in his romm, so i have to tape myself on my own piano and give him the tape. its really difficult.

I lasted only 6 lessons with my first teacher. Nice person but no idea how to teach - I needed structure, practical learning and a bit of pressure and got none of this. Am now on my second teacher and she's fantastic. As long as I don't move back home to Australia (Aussie living in the UK for the past 4 years) I will not change teachers.

I've had three teachers for piano - one when I was young, then my current teacher, then a brief switch to another before deciding to stick with my current one. I've had the same one for bassoon and clarinet and only one for double bass.

This is my first coment yay but yea, i had my first viola teacher for 3 almost 4 years and then i decided i didn't have enough time to continue with my music and everything else so i had to leave! it was sad but just recently i decided to take viola back up and i have a different teacher and he's still really nice! I also just started piano and theory! its really exciting to learn new instruments!

I play the oboe and cello and have had one teacher for each. I have had my cello teacher for 3 months because thats how long I have been playing. lol. He is really great and because I have lessons at school I will probably stick with him until I leave (not for at least 3 years or 5 if I go to sixth form)
I have been taught by my oboe teacher for 2 and a half years; since I started playing but I went through a period of really disliking him and wanting to change teachers because I found that he just critisised me so much, about things that are completly irrelevant to the way I play my oboe, that I left several lessons crying. Luckily since then the girl I was sharing lessons with left and he started being much more friendly, so I will probably carry on with him as well.

I had my first violin teacher for 1 year before he moved away to Austria (i think)
Then i had my next teacher for about 2 years
I then moved schools (primary to secondary) and had to change teacher
I've had her ever scince (2 1/2 yrs so far)

Just 2 teachers for me. I had a peri violin teacher for about 6 months when I was in my last year of school, and then had to stop having lessons because I left school to go to uni.

I've had my oboe teacher since April last year, and she has persuaded me to have violin lessons with her too, so I started having violin lessons again in November

I've been told that learning with more than one teacher is better because each teacher has his (her) good point and bad point...
however I 'm only having one teacher, since I started learning.

I've had six so far! The first 4 were all peris, and when I had my lessons in school I didn't have a teacher for longer than a year I don't think, maybe one lasted for 2 years? Can't remember. Then I went to the teacher I had before the one I've got now, I was with him for a few years and then he had to stop teaching because he had arm and neck problems or something, and now I'm with my current teacher, but as I'm moving half-way accross the country in August, I'll be onto teacher no.7 by September. And then I wonder how it took me 5 years to get to grade 2!

i've had two teaches for the flute, and one for the piano, i started piano when i was 6 and i've had the same teacher every since, but when i finished junior school i changed flute teacher (to my piano one) because it was easier to have a double lesson. i was with my first flute teacher for about 1 and a half years.

All my teachers have been school-based so obviously it was up to the school and the music service to sort all that out!

I started off with Mr M, who was effectively the borough's brass legend...until he stopped working for the music service and went out of borough to work at a grammar school. He lasted about half a year (which is odd because it seemed longer) but had been at the school for a long time previously.

We then had a week or two with Mr D, who I still know (a lot of music service teachers are also associated with the music school/organisation I go to). Dunno what happened to him - perhaps a short term filler???

Then came Mr K, who lasted about a year and a half before disappearing when called on by another borough and leaving the music service to use a lot of short-term contract teachers. He was followed (I think, the order from here on is a bit fuzzy) by Ms P, who went off to work on a cruise ship after a couple of terms, and then Ms M (she was quite strict and didn't sugar her words - everyone else hated her, but she was pretty good and got me good results which she never saw because she left as well after a term...). Then there was Ms C, followed swiftly after about a term by Mr E. I then left the school and moved onto high school where I've had Mr Q ever since. Whee.

That makes it eight teachers so far! And - although this generally isn't a problem - only two of them have been horn players, strangely enough. Anyone else end up having teachers that aren't specific to your instrument?

I have my piano teacher to teach me flute, but she can play the flute, just not as well as i can...

I am on to my 5th teacher in 4 years. I stopped learning of my first teacher (after 6 months) because she was a bad teacher. My second and third teachers moved away( both after about 10 weeks). Then I stopped learning off my fourth teacher (after 2 years) because she couldn't teach me anymore beacuse I was getting into higher grades. Today I just found my fifth teacher!!!

Apparently, adults respond to me in the way they respond to Marmite, unfortunately the majority of my teachers have responded in the negative way. I thrive on praise and motivation as well as a very personal relationship with a teacher. I have 3 at the moment who I ADORE and wouldn't change for the world. I have little or no respect for teachers who have a lack of imagination, motivation or inspiration.

I had my first teacher for about 2 years, but she retired then and went to my current teacher who I have been with for about 5 years.

My old teacher died last year

NM

Wow I swore I had posted here... nevermind!

Violin- First teacher aged 7-11 through primary. Then I had a different teacher aged 11-14, but she moved so I had yet another one which I have had for a while now.

Piano- Same!

Singing- Same!

hehe.

Heh, I just answered that poll wrongly...forgot one of my teachers...I've had four for singing (including the current one) and two for piano. Only the one for organ, though I'd like to switch...it's just too difficult to do it outside of school.

My first two singing teachers were just plain pants. "I didn't get on with the teacher" doesn't cover it. "I'd like to flush the teacher's head in the toilet" comes closer. Six years with the first and two with the second and *both* taught me lousy technique, wrecked my voice and blamed it on a lack of talent when I couldn't sing any more. Third teacher was lovely but just didn't know enough to fix me up after all the messing about the first two had done, which brings me to my current teacher, who's wonderful and sorting me out one step at a time. I hope the buck stops here.

As for piano, my first teacher was also the aforementioned first singing teacher, which says it all, really. I should have jumped ship years earlier.

I've now had the grand total of 7 instrumental teachers, will be 8 in September! I've just had to change flute teacher and will have to unfortunately change again in September! 3 flute teachers in 2 years can anyone beat that?!

- Oboemeister

What an outrageous story! This woman sounds bonkers! I wonder how she would have coped with a couple of my pupils? I have one boy who used to practically attack himself every time he made a mistake - or throw himself on the sofa in despair and berate himself for 'not being talented'. It's been a long, hard struggle to build up his self-esteem to a point where he actually got through Grade 1 and got a merit (he came out of the exam crying because he thought he'd failed). Or what about my girl pupil who used to scowl and say she 'hated' every piece I gaver her to play - from Baroque to classical, folk to jazz and blues to pop. She left for another teacher but now wants to come back! Help! Perhaps I should send her to this woman...

I only ever had one violin teacher, from 6-16 - and have been self-taught since. Somebody said they thought it a good idea to change teachers from time to time - I have to disagree and think the idea has taken root in this country but without much wisdom behind it. I met a fantastic prize-winning Italian cellist yesterday who told me in Italy they mostly stay with one teacher until college level, and it's perceived to be the best way. She can't understand why it's thought to be a good idea here to change teachers as a matter of principle.

I'm well aware that if you learn in schools with peris you have no choice - peris come and go, and you change schools, so there's no avoiding it. I've had pupils who've had 8 teachers - several a year in some cases - and their usually (though not always) shows it.

If you have a really good teacher, I think it's best to stick with them until college level if you can. You can always encounter other teaching styles by going on workshops etc, and if you encounter a teacher you'd really prefer, then go for it. But I don't like the idea of a parent deliberately finding a new teacher for their child, against the wishes of the child, if the child is progressing well - there's just no real need.

Violinia