Does your teacher fulfil all the criteria being put forward in the Teachers' forum as being a pre-requisite for teaching??? Nah, mine doesn't either Is your teacher perfect??? Nah, mine neither! Do you think your teacher is a good teacher and do you get good results???

Let's hear it for your teacher!

I wouldn't say my instrumental teachers are that great - they're fantastic musicians and performers but terrible teachers.

My A level music teacher is certainly fantastic though - she always goes beyond the call of duty (apparently her job description now includes patching up students who self injure after a bad day) and has been truely fantastic to me over the last 5 years. I certainly wouldnt be anywhere near where I am today if it wasn't for her (both musically and otherwise).

MM, I'm glad you have such a supportive teacher. However, I don't really feel this is the appropriate place to air psychiatric issues such as self-harm. This is just my opinion and I am far from unsympathetic about such problems, but there are hundreds of other more relevant (non-ABRSM) forums dealing with these issues.

I was using it simply as an example. I am fully aware of the fact that there are other forums around and I wasn't asking for a discussion on it - until you started one. Maybe I should have expanded a bit more on the orginal post about all the other MUSICAL things, such as coming to support students at out of school concerts, accompanying in exams, giving up her lunchtimes and time after school to help students achieve the best they possibly can etc etc. I was short of time when I wrote it though, and therefore was using one of the more extreme examples.

Typical - I get pushed out of the teachers forums, criticised for what I write in the student forums....

*Shuts up*

Sorry - I obviously misinterpreted it and read it as a rather cack-handed way of talking about your own issues, which made me rather uncomfortable - my problem. I agree that really good teachers, especially music teachers. often go above and beyond their remit in helping their pupils, partly owing to the specific relationship that develops in the one-to-one situation. Your teacher sounds pretty special.

** barges in on students forum **

I hope that when my pupils think of me in years to come, they will remember things like patience and understanding.

That's what I remember about my last piano teacher. Yes he was qualified, but that's not the first thing that springs to mind when I remember my lessons with him

My violin teacher is a trad. fiddle player but she is still absolutely amazing. As far as patience and understanding go, she deserves a medal for putting up with me on occasion.

yes...

let's hear it for forum members no. 99 and no. 275, they are both fab

EEEEP!!!!!

My piano teacher never scold me, but he has charisma. He don't have to shout to make me listen to him.

My organ teacher is the jolliest man alive. He is amazingly diplomatic - "I bet that's an E!", "I think G is always a safe bet there" etc, and he fills the room with general joviality! The other day, in his mirth provoked by realising I was taking no notice of the key signature, he patted me on the shoulder with such clarity that I fell of the organ bench!

I had three piano teachers. The first was when I was very young and I was one of his very first pupils. He had no qualifications at that time, but it was from him that I got my really solid grounding. I was probably at about Grade 3 standard when I left him - he eventually moved on to greater musical things and moved away, and I moved to my second teacher. Highly qualified, but didn't give a damn. I practised what I felt like and ignored her. So I eventually packed in lessons without an exam to my name, till many years later, having been playng on my own, I approached another teacher, highly recommended, to do Grade 8. It was at this stage that I really found a passion for music. This last teacher knew exactly when to rein me in and when to let me go my own way. He'd give his opinion without being dictatorial, and while he never gave praise which wasn't deserved, he inspired great confidence in me. I only wanted to pass, to see if I could, but he helped me towards a distinction, and then got me through a performance diploma. I had no idea before I went to him what I was capable of, and all I can say is that I hope even one of my pupils has half the respect for me that I have for him!

My piano teacher is one of the loveliest people I have ever met -I love her almost as much as I love my mother! She puts up with me even though I have rather a lot of "special" musical moments (well, she has senior moments, so we balance eac other out!) and she is letting me play lots of fun music and not making me learn them up to any particular standard while I do my GCSEs. She takes me out to great classical concerts and is always really interested in everything, not just my piano playing.

I am veering off into the personal side of wonderful music teachers again, but she was really good after my dad died and let me get back into things at my own pace (and gave me a flute, which helped to occupy me while I was off school) and she still keeps a check on me and tells me when I look tired or if she thinks I'm doing too much.

And on top of all this, she is amazingly supportive as a teacher, and she guides you in such a way that you imrpove rapidly, but without really noticing. She always makes sure that you are fully prepared for exams and competitions and stuff, and pretty much lets you have lots of freedom with what you do (at the same time as keeping you playing a balanced programme and staying on top of scales and general musicianship)

I can't really think of anything nice my flute teacher has ever done apart from telling me that she couldn't teach me any more because I had done my grade 8 and was better than her!

My flute teacher is an absolute godsend. He’s an amazing player and teacher, who's always incredibly kind, helpful and patient (he really does put up with a lot from me sometimes) and has a heck of a sense of humour to boot.

My woodwind teacher (clarinet, saxophones and flute - poor man!) is excellent. Highly critical but very, very supportive, pushing me to achieve a standard that I thought was beyond my wildest dreams just a year or two ago.

I have fantastic teachers for both saxophone and jazz. They are both very successful musicians doing a little bit of teaching to ensure some regular income. They both put everything they have into the teaching. My playing has continued to improve with their guidance. They work in qute different fields - pop/jazz-funk session work v contemporary art-style jazz, but the different styles seem to be complementary. They both give me tons of encouragement every time I try and push myself into something different, and one in particular has become a good friend too. I feel very lucky to have landed in the situation I have, and have my fingers crossed that it will continue.

All my teachers have been really good my but violin teacher is SO good! Really cool and a great friend but also very very 'strict' in the sense that, well with my other teacher's i've gotten away with not learning all my scales... (bad i know) but with my violin teacher, there's no way i would ever consider not learning every scale to complete perfection. I just without a second thought or complaint went and learnt the lot and practised them till i knew them inside out as i knew i HAD to. There's no getting away with ANYTHING But she's super nice at the same time. And she got me from grade 0 to 6 in 6 months
I'm really good friends with all my music teachers they're all super awesome and really caring and supportive of me - not just in music

Excellent thread.

I had two teachers - singing and oboe - and when I sold the oboe (nasty horrid thing ) my oboe teacher became my best friend and I see her twice as often.

My singing teacher is qualified to the hilt - in piano & I don't know what else - is a regular paid soprano at weddings an funerals and a major name in singing teaching. She has an infectious enthusiasm about singing and I've always been inspired to practice and look forward to my lessons. She's brought me from Can't Sing - Won't Sing to passing G2 & G4, & planning for G5 this summer. She organises at least one concert a year for her pupils and always greets me with a cutting or snippet of information about a course or event that I might be interested in.

first post!

My a level music teacher is good! but its my clarinet techer that drives me up the wall most of the time. because he has younger students he sort of treats you like a kid when youre doing a levels which is annoying. apparently hes the best in the area. maybe with the playing but not with me!i think hes going to get better now though one of the teachers talked to him about learning problems i have. of course being really tough gets you pratising so it sort of works!

ironically the teacher i liked the most out of all the ones ive had (ive had a total of 8 teachers. at my old school it was like the defense against the dark arts teachers in harry potter! they kept leaving!!) no one else liked him!

My teacher is fully qualified and she is smashing! She has so much patience with me and I feel that she is not only my teacher but also my friend. We usually have bit of a natter before we start as we are both Mums so can have empathy with eachother. She often goes well over my time which I feel guilty about but she tells me not to worry, she now has an alarm clock which I instigated as when we both get going on the theory the time just whizzes away from us.

She is also my son's teacher and she is excellent with him and he loves her to bits, he has been going to her since he was 5 years old and is now coming up to 11.

If there was a teachers award then I reckon my teacher should win it.!

my teacher is absolutely brilliant!

she may lose patience with me, but that's only because she is trying really hard to make me succeed. She's really passionate about music, she can play incredibly well (a phd as well) and her teaching is great.

woot!

My violin teacher until about a year ago was really good. Although he didn't have any qualifications on violin (it was his third instrument), he took me up to grade six and taught me an amazing amount of musicianship. He also introduced me to folk music and got me involved in a folk band, which I am so thankful for. I just love folk so much now and I really can't imagine not doing it. He's also become a good family friend and I see loads of him and his family still. In the end we came to an agreement that I would move on because he felt he couldn't teach up to that level.

My new violin teacher is completely different, but great as well. She is amazingly enthusiastic and won't let me be down in a violin lesson. On occaisions when I've come in and been upset over something or whatever, even if I'm determined not to tell her and just get on with the lesson, she knows that it won't work and it would be a waste of a lesson so always manages to get it out of me and even if we do something a bit different for that lesson, we always achieve something in the end. Also, she's completely changed my technique and got me playing a lot better and she's willing to give me advice on a career in music and applying for uni etc. She encouraged me to join the county youth orchestra and with that I haven't looked back since.

Welcome.... I love your user name!!!!!!

thanks ;D

My teacher is excellent, I've only been with her a few months but I've come on a lot since. My last teacher was excellent too, the other two not so much! My current teacher loves to hear me play, and has offered me slots in her professional concerts as she knows I want to perform. She teaches me little bits of music history with each piece we do, so that I get an all-round musical education

My piano teacher is brilliant. Just when I think that I must be a bit "dim", she says, "oh that bit is very hard, you need to break it up to learn it, it's too big to do in one go", and makes me feel confident again
She is also well qualified and keeps up to date with courses for teachers, and plays at weddings.
Bev.

My 2 teachers are great, absolutely brilliant. My flute teacher is so encouraging and great, and my violin teacher (who also teaches me piano) is fabulous - I am so lucky to have found these 2!!!!!

Absolutely love my violin teacher, and also the other violin teacher who coaches my trio. There is a particular music teacher at school who has been a great help and even inspiration to me over the last 4 years and I think she is fabulous...and I'm about to start with a hopefully brilliant piano teacher. I'm very lucky.

I've been with my teacher for just over a year now, and because i've been introduced to a whole new repertoire, i've been truly inspired, and my motivation to practice and improve my playing has gone through the roof! Present teacher has a great sense of humour and is a fantastic performer, and now we've got to know each other a bit, he knows how far I can be pushed I think! It sounds really silly, but I still get a bit nervous in lessons, as I just want to do well, which is actually a good thing I feel.

My previous teacher was great too, but more into jazz. Since discovering the classical repertoire for saxophone, I feel as though i've come alive, and that something has been switched on!

YAY!!!!

I Oboe teacher is very funny, and is a very good teacher. My violin teacher is very encouraging, but not too pushy with exams etc, and my Piano teacher is very nice.



They are all great

All My teachers (flute,piano and sining) are lovely!!

My singing teacher is amazing, very encouraging, is intrested in me and i can talk to!
My piano teacher is lovely aswell. Very talkative and tells me all about her gran children every lesson. She is very encouraging
My flute teacher is sooo funny and has got such high standards our of me taht iw ould never expect. He is amazingly talented, constantly in damand and im so lucky to have him. He even turned down the royal academy of music!!

I'll be talking about the teacher I had from years 10-13, as I really built up a relationship with her. Since uni started I've had two teachers, the first reminded me of my school one, but I only knew her for 2 months, and I've only been with my current teacher since January, with lessons every 3 weeks, so don't know him as well.

Anyway, my year 10-13 music teacher was absolutely fantastic. Although I managed to make a complete fool of myself in my first flute lesson with her, she has been supportive, encouraging, motivating and just lovely. Many a time I went into her lessons stressed, and would just end up crying, but she always was really nice about that. She brought out my love of music and expanded my repertoire, and turned me from a mediocre player into somebody half decent. She was musically highly qualified and always inspired me when she played. When due to ill health she had to stop teaching at my school, for various reasons I was the only person she kept on, and let me come and have lessons at her house, even though it would mean she would have even less time.

However, as well as being amazing when I was a pupil, she has also been a fantastic friend as I started university. I remember at the beginning I was really down, and she used to ring, text and email to make sure I was ok. I really do miss her, I haven't seen her since July and life isn't treating her too nicely. But she made me partly believe in myself, and I wouldn't be at Durham if I had not had her (would never have done so well on the performance elements which pushed my music grade up).

That's a lovely story Nicki, I remember what a wrench it was for you to leave your old teacher. I hope your new teacher will turn out to be someone who you can build a good relationship with, even if it's of a different nature.

Writing that out has made me really miss my old teacher now.

Well, the 2 I've had have both been good - especially performance wise, highly qualified, nice. But I've not connected with them in the same way, I'm not sure why. Maybe I've not known them for long. The second one, it is definitely because I see them every 2 or 3 weeks. Even though at the end of 10-13 teacher I was seeing her every 2 weeks, I had been seeing her every week for 2.5 years.

She always put every faith in my flute playing, and even though I still think I am complete rubbish, it's nice that someone believed in me, and put her time and effort to make sure I developed as a player.

You mentioned that she'd had ill health and maybe she is not feeling up to keeping in touch just at moment, but she must have thought the world of you to keep you as a student when she was parting company with all the others, and she must be very proud of you

Is there any way you can find out from anyone else if she's OK?

Well, I have a few ways of contacting her direct, and I did ask someone else and they hadn't heard from her either.

I don't know...I still don't see what she saw in my playing to be honest

I think that fortnightly (or less frequent) lessons do make a difference.
I've been having fortnightly lessons rather than weekly for the last 2 years and it somehow seems to have changed the relationship (though it is probably all in my imagination). I find it harder to relax and play well but I do see that it makes some sense in that I have time in a fortnight to have done enough work to get feedback on.

Yes! I am getting better, but at the moment I get so nervous before a lesson. I think it is because it's more of an event, and so I am expected to have progressed in some way, even if I think my practice has been going terribly. When I had weekly lessons October-Jan, it was expensive, but worth it, and I could really see my progress. I think going fortnightly or longer, I feel more like a client to someone, rather than it being more friendly.

I also find that it makes me feel like I'm living in some alternative time zone.
Now there are only 2 weeks in a month instead of the usual 4!
And if (when) I have one of those lessons where I don't think things went too well there is too much time to the next one.

Yes, exactly! Or if I am not getting something (like my double tonguing isn't progressing) it takes me even longer to do something because I have to wait for a lesson, when we then go through it.

Phew!
That makes me feel less like I'm being toatally irrational...... or at least that if I am then I'm not the only one.

He was the one who suggested fortnightly *shrug*

The thing is, in the lesson he works me really hard, and if it was every week then I'd make so much more progress, even if I had not as much time to practice.

It was the same with me.
After my grade 8 my teacher thought it would be better this way.

Well with my first teacher at uni, I had weekly. But I really can't afford £28 a week for lessons.

Ouch! that is a bit expensive.
Mine is £20.

When I was twelve years old I had an absolutely super class music teacher at my grammar school. She left and was replaced by another excellent and really inspiring teacher. This second teacher was followed by the worst teacher I have ever met in any subject. She never marked our harmony exercises, saying it was more important for us to do them than for her to mark them. She spent most of the lessons relating stories of her daughter's success as a harpist.

When I went to College of Education I found that the first teacher was there as Head of Music - which I didn't know when I applied. She continued to help and inspire me and also supported me through a very difficult
personal crisis.

I still write to this teacher every Christmas and I think of her with great affection. As I said, I was 12 when I met her. Last week I was politely told that being now over the official age for retirement, I will have to give up some of my teaching. That says something for a teacher who has "accompanied" me for a very long time.

A pupil gave me a little book of sayings for teachers. One of them is "I touch the future - I teach." It's an awsome responsibility, but my teachers did touch the future - and since I teach, they are still doing so.

Wow - these stories are so inspiring.

Put your habds together for kevin weaver, my violin teacher. Got form a novice grade 5 to top of grade 6 in one term, no exam though.

Pretty good. By this reckoning I will bve an accomplished grade 8 in a year. Woot, then I can join one of those grade 8+ orchestras rather than intermediate ones.

And £27 beats the £34 my last teacher charged for an hour.

Sbhoa - it's supposed to be £30 an hour, but get a discount because I am not a music student

Isn't it normally the music students who get the discounts though?