I wondered if it might be a good idea to share pupil and teacher's experiences.

This thread is for pupils to share the important things they want from a teacher,

For example, I would like my teacher to give me a lot of praise when things are done well rather than assuming I know that and only pulling me up on the negatives.

Just because I'm an adult does not mean I'm confident in my abilities.

what would yours be?

Giving me the tools to fix the problems I run into to.
Preparing me well for exams.
Both of which she does very well. Ta.

Challenging my ideas
Helping me to be more flexible in my approach to interpretation
Showing me some tricks for improvisation
Telling me it's rubbish when it is rubbish so I can sort it out!

Make sure your teaching area is clean.

I desire a teacher to tell me:

How I can imporve my interpretation of a piece of muisc.

help me improve bowing techniques. eg spiccatto.

make me go over and over a small section of a piece until is playedwell rather than just reasonably ok attempt at part of a piece. eg the last 4 lines of a piece Ifoud tricky witn spicatto semi quavers. In my lesson we spent 30 minutes of the 1 hour working on just those 4 lines.

My teachers helps me with all these things and as a rsult I think he is great at helping me imporve rapidly.

Praise and encouragement for things done well as well as practical tips for tackling the things that need working on. And taking time to work on them.

The other thing that my best teachers have had is a real enthusiasm and love for the music and the instrument. That can be so contagious. My last flute teacher really loved more modern flute music which initially I wasn't that keen on - but her enthusiasm carried me through and made me begin to appreciate it in a different way! So giving your pupils music that you really like as well as doing things that they like.

Linked to that, I like me teacher to introduce me to the wider repertoire of the instrument and to push me harder than I would push myself! And a variety of music, and reasonably good turn over of pieces to keep the freshness, and not flogging them to death, even if it means some times giving up on a piece if it really isn't working for me.

I'd better go and tidy it

My dilemma is always: clean the house OR practise the piano, naturally the house doesn't win very often.

Tell me when you cancel my lessons.
Don't call the school, and ask the secretary to come tell me I have no lesson, meaning I have to call my mother and tell her to pick me up.
Don't decide that I will walk to your house after school, instead of getting a lift with you, without telling me.
Don't do the above, especially considering you know it takes an hour, and by the time I get there my mother will have been waiting an hour.
Do call, to explain yourself.
Do offer to make up the 5 lessons, for free.
Don't be surprised when I leave you.

I take it you've now found alternative arrangement?

That pretty much covers it : I can only add that I appreciate being told when there is something I need to work on in spades. All my recent teachers have all the above qualities in spades

I agree with Dawn's first one - do continue telling me everything I need to do to improve. Please tell me if I have improved on something, or I feel like it's all futile. I can't always tell.

Sometimes give me a bit of an indication of what level I'm singing at - sometimes I get a mental block about things, because I persuade myself they're too difficult to even tackle, and all it takes is someone saying "it's not that difficult, you've sung more technically demanding songs" for me to pull myself together.
(In return, I'll try to avoid the mental blocks as much as possible).

If you're upset with me, or I'm practising ineffectively, don't just grin and bear it. Sometimes I look back and think "oh **** I've been coasting for weeks", when a telling off would've made me get back to practising properly much more quickly...

Flippin eck! RUN! I have obviously missed out on this elsewhere but...OMG!

Off the top of my head...

Do tell me when I've done something well as well as things to improve because, otherwise, it feels like I can't do anything right.

Don't look down your nose at Einaudi certain genres of music just because you don't appreciate them doesn't mean they're not beautiful.

Introduce me to different styles of music I've not seen before - it's boring to stay completely within the 'standard repertoire'.

Get me to look at pieces from a different angle and remind me that the right notes don't equal music.

Believe me when I say I can do an exam this term when you'd rather I waited a term or two longer. (I got a distinction so that proved her wrong. )

I can't really offer my teachers any advice, because they've been so wonderful, but these are the things they have done really well:

-conveying total confidence in my ability and potential
-praising what is good
-not slating what is bad, but instead providing guidance for correcting it
-persuading me to try another way of seeing things
-accepting when that other way turns out to be less successful than what I'd been doing before
-not rubbing it in when I've been painfully wrong in my opinion
-and above all, reassuring me when I have doubts or am damagingly self-critical. Without this last one, I'd not have got as far as I have, nor even half as far.

I agree with all of this. Especially points 1-3 and the last one.

My teachers are great but I am very self-critical and therefore can end up in a negative downward spiral.

So if I can rephrase some of this a little I'd say "There's no such thing as too much praise. Praise me when I've achieved even the smallest thing. Tell me if you think I've made good progress on a piece. Tell me if I've exceeded your expectations in the time I've had. Be honest in your praise, then I will believe it. Remember Adults like stars/stickers too But also remind me of what I've still got to do/work on and guide me in the best way to do that. That way I won't get demoralised when I feel I've a long way to go. I'll know what you think I've done well and be proud of my achievements but I'll also be happy and motivated to work on the other things."

Oh, and one more thing: adult pupils can smell a rat a mile off, usually - praise needs to be justified, and not empty, we can tell the difference .

I think I said that too

Yes! We do! Cyrilla caught onto this very early on...

Have to say this is most important thing a teacher can do:

Listen to a piece worked on by student. Tell them all the good things.Then say what an be done to make it sound better and demonstrate. Student then tries the problem sections and teacher gives advice until it is eventually correct and piece sounds much better.

Teachers: Do not tell students a piece is well played when it is littered with errors. I hate it hen teachers do that.

MOI?????

yeah, you

And if you can do all these things (apart from the stickers... I'm not bothered about those) and make me laugh as well (as you do) then you will have my never-ending loyalty.

Please don't be cross with me if you know I'm only late because my parents are late home from work, there's no bus and its 4 miles walk
Or if in school, I really CAN'T miss another English/maths/science lesson because my teachers will KILL ME if I have to go to my music lesson and I will have to change it thus causing havoc.
Give me lots of practising to do! but don't tell me off when I am trying but failing miserably...
Don't take term time holidays if you can avoid it...I know that sounds horrible but when I am away in most school holidays i could do with every lesson I can get.
Be like my lovely school peri who only missed 1 LESSON in 3.5 years because he physically couldn't drive, and even when he was running late because of exams still came in just to teach me.

Please, please tell me when there is some massive thing I am doing wrong with technique and help me to correct it rather than thinking I am happy just learning for fun and letting me coast along. This happened to me with my clarinet teacher, she didn't think she needed to tell me that there was such a thing as embouchure, and I was really devastated when I found out a few years later that what I was doing was complete rubbish. I've pretty much given up now and concentrating on singing and piano even though I loved the clarinet

some adults do, others don't: I'm afraid I wouldn't...

Dawn, I'm sorry I'd missed your bit about the empty praise - I was reading too quickly and was also tired...

Anacrusis, you say that students can tell when their teacher is telling the truth or not - and I can tell if my students want stickers or not..rest assured I would never even DREAM of trying to give you a sticker!

Sorry!

I think your PM box is full, Cyrilla. I just tried to send you a message and couldn't.

Don't despair about the clarinet. I've repaired many an average technique over the years, and my pupils have grown to love playing the clarinet again.

Don't worry anacrusis But I'll rephrase: Remember some adults like stars/stickers too.

Thing is I'm not too concerned about the actual star/sticker it's the fact that if you are given one you know you've done really well. (My teachers don't use them now and at first when I got one as an adult it was a bit of a laugh/joke but I really valued it) I guess it's the remembering to give the praise that's important. In a lesson I am often corrected on timing/fingering or even occasionally the wrong note etc. This is absolutely necessary and it should happen but unless there is regular praise too. e.g. "Good." , "Well done, that bit's correct now"; " Wow! That was beautifully played" etc or even "Great! I can tell you've really worked on that." I can feel really demoralised and only remember the bad bits when I go away. If the student can start and end on a positive it can do wonders for their sense of achievement but it is necessary to ensure this is not inflated artificially.

(Hope that makes sense )

That bit makes sense to me! A 'verbal' sticker is just as good as a real one, as far as I'm concerned

I think it's the fact that we feel good if we've been told we've done something well, whether a sticker is used as well or not.

Sorry, jenny, have now cleared a space in my inbox!

There are some things I really like about my current teacher. First, she always makes sure I know what I need to do with my technique before I get home, by asking me to do it in the lesson. She also doesn't rush things, and will wait that extra few seconds it takes to do what she wants. In regards to the music, she encourages me to work out my problems myself. (i'm doing grade 8, and I know this wouldn't work with lower grades). For example, she will tell me that bars 6 and 10 need work, but expects me to go and look and fix the problem... I'm mainly talking about notes, rhythm etc. When it comes to musicality, she goes in to a lot of detail, and makes you do it in the lesson.

I think I'm the opposite end of that spectrum...people may remember that my first profile picture was of one of Cyrilla's stickers...

- Please don't write on my scale books in pen. I might want to hand them down to someone else some time!

- Please don't schedule another lesson immediately after mine, as when the other pupil turns up early, there is an awkward rush to get out the door. If the lesson started late through no fault of my own, I think I can be forgiven for being a little miffed.

- Please don't be too "nice", and don't be afraid of giving me a bit of a telling off for not doing stuff (potential embarassment is a good motivator), but if you do decide to do this, cut me some slack when I've genuinely had a difficult week.

Same here. Good grief, do these pupils want blood....

This one is a little tricky I think...there are only a few hours in the day when a music teacher can work (when everyone is finished at school/work) so leaving gaps between every lesson would probably lose you a lesson or two worth of earnings every day! If (hopefully when!) I have a base to work from at home I will certainly book lessons back to back; you need to make a living!

However, everyone ought to get their full lesson, unless they arrived late themselves. Early people can wait outside/in the car or in the hallway if necessary.

Completely understandable, but surely most teachers would appreciate 5 or 10 mins break after a lesson to prepare for the next? I find that if the other pupil turns up before the end of my lesson, it's offputting and just seems to draw the lesson to a conclusion anyway. Others may not feel this way, however.

If a teacher is running late for whatever reason, there's no easy way of making up those 5-10 minutes if lessons are back to back. They can be promised for another week but are easily forgotten, or thrown out the window when the next lesson is back to back as well. *shrug* Maybe I'm just being picky.

When I ask how to do something please don't say
'You just do it, it will come with time'
This may in a lot of ways be true but doesn't help me much and was something that did actually make me cry out of frustration.
'How do I learn to do it?'

I agree with you. The biggest problem for me is that if the first pupil of the day arrives late (held up at school for some reason) then it's hard to keep my timing on track for the rest of the session. Because of this, I now allow time between a couple of lessons each day, so that I can catch up. I'm not good at keeping to exactly 30 or 45 mins anyway, so this gives me a bit of leeway. The difference to my state of mind is amazing!

I'd appreciate it, but not at the expense of teaching only three pupils instead of four in my three hour after-school slot. I have a full timetable as it is. My pupils tend not to arrive early, or if they do, are expected to wait quietly in the next room. And I always finish lessons on time.

Held up at scool? You mean detention?

If I'm late, I take it on the chin and finish on time anyway. I can't believe that people have the cheek to still expect their full hour/half-hour (or to pay less) if they are tardy. It's nice if it can work both ways


Nice to see you have them well-trained!

That's very reasonable.

It sounds a bit like that! But I've always, right from the start, started and finished on time, so that the pupils know I do that and know I won't begin early if they are early, or go on after the lesson ends even if they arrive late.

Yep - that's the long and short of it - breaks would be nice, but when time is limited...

Me too - and I think it's an essential part of running back to back lessons.

I've tried having breaks, and at the moment it is OK, but as soon as I can shuffle people around and slot more pupils in, I will.

I did try a teacher quite some time ago when I previously had the idea of going back to piano and got the impression on several occasions that she couldn't get me out the door quick enough (she obviously had quite a lot of other things going on), so didn't bother going back.

I think being strict with your lesson timings is fine, but be careful of making students feel too rushed (ie: winding down 5-10 mins before the end). It's odd when you feel like you're a bit of an inconvenience.

Maybe then any discomfort you have felt in the past is more to do with the teacher than the scheduling! If you have a hectic person, things will feel hectic; if you have someone who is calm and in control of their day, you will know it!

As far preparation, anything that needs doing should be done BEFORE you start your day's work. Leaving it till 10 mins before student X arrives at the door will inevitably lead to exciting moments like discovering that book/drum or whatever you need has gone walkabout and your lesson is dead before it begins!

I can't imagine having lots of break would work for me, but then if I had children I might feel differently. Even then though I would think that it would be easier to get as much work done as possible before taking a proper break for dinner or whatever.

i always schedule 15 min. breaks between lessons and feel so much more relaxed because if it. only downside is that some students are aware of it and try to squeeze out extra lesson time by arriving early AND trying to stay longer, which is just plain rude. i recently even had to tell a student i needed the loo before the next student arrives (only way to get rid of her without getting impolite!), and she seemed almost offended. breaks between lessons are usually not there to make up lesson time, but to give me a chance to grab water or go to the loo.
if people take advantage of scheduled breaks, then i'm afraid i HAVE to make them feel like an inconvenience at some point.
thankfully it doesn't happen too often ...