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

This thread is for teachers to share the important things they wan/expect from their pupils. For example: Please read the letters I send you. Do not phone me in the holidays as I will get miffed - I need my holiday too.


What would yours be?

If at all possible, don't phone me before 9 in the morning and after 10 at night (it would also be nice if you could avoid weekends). Working from home doesn't necessarily mean I am working ALL the time and that I am permanently available. I have working hours, too (usually Mo - Fr from 12 to 8pm), and you don't phone your hairdresser at 10.30pm on a Sunday, do you?

Apart from that, just the usual: Be on time, pay on time, practise between lessons, don't try to haggle about T&Cs, and we'll be best friends. Simple really

Thankyou Mezzo for being the first real contributer. This is exactly the kind o thing I meant. I hope these two thread s can be mutually beneficail

Practise

Talk to me

Eat, sleep and wash adequately before your lesson

Turn up and leave on time

Bring all your music to every lesson

Learn another instrument, play in a band, go to concerts, read some books, show an interest!

This needs some thought! I have 26 pupils which number I imagine is somewhere in the mid range, and by and large they are a super lot. Unlike Mezzo I have never had any phone calls at unreasonable hours, but I don't mind in the least if they want to ring me at weekends.

Yes, a few things irk me - so I shall have a think and post another reply shortly.

Please switch off your phone.

& Don't chew gum. (Yes, even adults.)

I largely agree with Oldromola - most of mine are great. I don't mind phone calls at the weekend either, and would much rather they kept in touch if there's something they need to discuss, rather than not bother.

SueHM made some good points too.

OK - well - please read your letters and please comment! Feedback is always always welcome.

Come on time and not halfway through the previous lesson.

Please, if you go home between school and your lesson, wash the paint / mud / lunch off before you come!

Tell me if lessons are ( or aren't) providing what you want. I guess that last one for adults.

Do your best - I can ask no more.

Don't let yourself down by forgetting music/reeds/instrument etc.

If there's anything you want to try in a lesson, let me know, and we'll try to absorb that into the lesson.

That phoning the teacher think is an interesting one. You feel you ought to phone during "office hours" but don't want to interrupt someone else's lesson. I tend to text, so it can be picked up when convenient, but I have had texts from three music teachers at nearly midnight, and not in response to texts from me!

(Sorry if it's a bit off topic)

let's say it this way: if i say you can reach me between 9 am and 10pm during the week, that's already 13 hrs each day, 65 hrs a week - i think this should suffice. even my working hours sum up to 40, so i am already giving an extra 25 hrs. of availability. i don't know of many other businesses that do so. the music teaching business seldom needs to be on-call for emergencies

bigger businesses have a receptionist during office hours, you don't always get to talk to the person you need to talk to straightaway. my receptionist is the answering machine when i work, and i phone back asap. that shouldn't, imho, be a reason to purposefully avoid to phone during the teacher's working hours and phone during their time off.

is it really so weird that some music teachers also have a private life when they don't want to think about work?

i sort of solved this problem by giving all my students a different ringtone, and yes, i let them bounce to the answering machine if they phone too early/late

Oh yes.


Yes again. So rude.

The first one is perfect Barry...something I agree with wholeheartedly!

As a pianist and singer I always find the idea of forgetting your instrument when going to your lesson really amusing!!! Shouldn't really...it is a bit tricky to forget to bring your voice...



Yes, it is probably a bit of a culture clash really! Musicians tend towards staying up that bit later and getting up that bit later. Similarly to teachers texting you at midnight, I have had parents ring at 8:30 or 9am, when I am not really alive yet

My tuppence worth:
Be ready for your lesson (music out or accessible, chair in the room etc)
Smile! It makes life that bit easier.
As Barry says, all I ask is that you try...you will be astounded at the results if you do! (You might even enjoy yourself!)

It is always possible to lose it, though!

Yup, I've done that one alright.

Bit harder to lose a piano though. I did try for a few years as a teenager, but with little success.

, and I'll always try to be cheerful in return, even if I'm feeling a bit rubbish...

Answer truthfully the question I ask. Don't try to read my mind and give the answer you think I want to hear. Actually knowing what is going through your head is soooooo useful; that is why I ask about it.

Typical scenario. "Would you like to finish of this piece, or would you prefer to move on to a new one?"

The truthful answer helps such a lot.

I wouldn't ring ANYONE, music teacher or otherwise after 9pm, or before about 9.30 am. I think you have misunderstood me. I was just saying that calling between 4pm and 8pm I would assume that the teacher would be busy and wouldn't want to hear from me. I tend to wait until after 8pm and text.

I used to work part time doing the books for a preschool playgroup which was run by a committee of parents. My hours were officially 5 hrs per week, paid at very little above the minimum wage. The committee were doing it in their spare time though and would phone at 1pm on a Sunday, just as we were sitting down to a family roast, so I have every sympathy with the don't phone at unreasonable hours argument.

Hi andante,

I wasn't having a go at you, merely picking your post to explain why, IMO, the student shouldn't feel reluctant to phone during "lesson time". It's really no problem. Sometimes I'll be able to answer because nobody's in, sometimes I won't. I usually set my ringer volume on "low" when I am teaching, so it really doesn't disturb me at all. I'd rather have students phoning during my working hours and leaving a message on my answering machine than having them phone me when I'm relaxing in the bath after a long day

Everyone's different however, so that's really just my point of view ...

If you don't understand something, please ask! It will become fairly obvious quite quickly that you didn't actually follow what I said, and I would far, far rather you asked than looked slightly confused but insisted that you got it! Not understanding something I've said just means that I need to think of another way to explain it so that it works for you, which is part of my job.
Similarly, please think about what I've just said for a few seconds before trying it, just to make sure you've got it straight in your head before trying to apply it.

I'm sorry I do that a lot. I will work on it.

and building on that one:
when we are working on a new song, please listen first! i am not playing it on the piano/sing it for you to join in straightaway. you don't have to prove you already know it, and you don't get points for guesswork. you do score for paying attention though.

Yes - I find it quite frustrating when a pupil turns up with only one of the pieces they were meant to be doing, claiming they hadn't had time to work on the other one. In a way, I suppose, that is their perogative, but I like to at least see how the other one is going and maybe give them some help if they are struggling.

Some people take quite a bit of persuading for this (kids, especially), and seem amazed that they have the choice to say they don't like it!

Me too

Often you can see this in their faces. I will then follow my "Do you know what I mean?" and their half a nod with "You don't really, so you?!" and a big smile

Really agree with that one - it's such a natural response to plunge in and "try again" and it's great to be enthusiastic, but try to prepare mentally first so that you can remember while you're playing to try in a new way rather than letting the hands fall back into their old habits...

Hmm, what else:

DO tell me if you liked a particular piece/thing we did/the lessons in general - we like praise too! And it's helpful to have feedback both ways, so similarly let me know if you're finding something hard to understand/don't like a certain style/don't see why something is important - then I can help you understand/adjust what we do to make sure you're still learning and still having fun!

Don't get cross/offended if you cancel a lesson and I can't reschedule it - if it was a dance/sport/language class where you'd signed up for a term, you'd just accept that missing a lesson = losing the cost of it. Rescheduling a cancelled lesson can be troublesome and it's only worth it if you appreciate it.

DO ask questions - anything you like (that's about music!) - no question is too silly if it helps you learn

PLEASE please DO practise - I know there are lots of other demands on your time, but even 10 minutes here and there makes such a difference.

Don't forget that learning should be fun - if it's not, something's not right, so work with me to fix it...

I tend to use "Are you sure?" "Really sure?", "Really, really sure?" at which point I usually get an embarrassed giggle and a "well, umm..." with a slightly shifty look.

Why is that necessary? And how do you decide which one?

(I confess I once suggested "What's the best other instrument for a recorder player to learn?" to the editor of The Recorder Magazine as a subject for Peter Bowman's "A Question of..." column. No idea if it will ever be taken up!)

I'm not a teacher but it would probably help with general musicianship skills etc. As long as the pupil can manage to keep up both/all instruments.
I have no idea how to decide which one specifically. What the pupil likes the sound of, wants to play, gets suggested by original teacher... Also if you have single-line instrument pupils (eg flute) then, if they want to go on to GCSE/further music, piano might help with harmony, and reading the other clef.

I think the nice thing about learning another instrument is you really see clearly how it is to be a pupil, and I find that invaluable in my own teaching

I completely agree with that!

Please don't expect a lesson to be made up because you are gone to a party.

Please ring if you are not coming for your lesson.

Please wash your hands before your lesson.

Please practise all year round, not just the month before the exam.

Please don't expect the teacher to pass the exam for you, you actually have to do some work as well.

Please learn the lines and spaces!!!!!

Just getting a few things off my chest.