I finally managed to speak to the flute teacher who got me through my A Level recital this evening... after getting a message from her which included the comment "I love teaching at diploma level" I wanted to call back sooner rather than later to let her know that she might be slightly overestimating me... Her response when i said "I'm not at diploma level at the moment, for sure..." - "Oh, you will be!" hehe. Got to love inspiring and encouraging teachers. Especially after experiencing the exact opposite at school! Well, watch this space... she is an amazing teacher. Anyone else had this sort of experience, on any instrument?? I am a little scared, but there's no doubt about the quality of teaching I will receive, and I'm ready to work hard... we shall see!

Oh that's great! When are you going to have a lesson with her?

as soon as possible! (LOL)

I don't have any transport at the moment (can't afford to buy a car let along run one! buses are not fun...)... but my mum is planning to buy a new car, and she has said that she will let me borrow it to have a lesson once or twice a month

are teachers like that really so rare or have I just been unfortunate for most of my musical life? I was so fortunate to have lessons with her during my A Levels...

you sound sooo excited lol

I AM!

<--------overcome (what a cool smilie!)

heehee! you'll have to get practising!

I managed... *thinks*... about 2 hours today?? Maybe a little more, maybe a little less. I wanna be good! (NOW! lol...)

very good, im impressed!lol

QUOTE (sarah-flute @ Jan 21 2005, 08:22 PM)

I finally managed to speak to the flute teacher who got me through my A Level recital this evening... after getting a message from her which included the comment "I love teaching at diploma level" I wanted to call back sooner rather than later to let her know that she might be slightly overestimating me... Her response when i said "I'm not at diploma level at the moment, for sure..." - "Oh, you will be!" hehe. Got to love inspiring and encouraging teachers. Especially after experiencing the exact opposite at school! Well, watch this space... she is an amazing teacher. Anyone else had this sort of experience, on any instrument?? I am a little scared, but there's no doubt about the quality of teaching I will receive, and I'm ready to work hard... we shall see!

Yeah... similar experience...! When the music teacher at my school asked me about grade 5, my peri teacher said "oh no no no. Grade 6 would be a better one to go for!" Then when I got to college I told him this, and he said, "Yes, I think we'll go for grade 6 this year and 8 next year" (!!)

hee hee Helen, have fun learning all those scales!!

QUOTE (clarinetlover @ Jan 21 2005, 10:08 PM)

hee hee Helen, have fun learning all those scales!!

Oh joy of joys *curses the lack of a sarcastic smily on here*

QUOTE (Subatomic_Star @ Jan 21 2005, 10:09 PM)

QUOTE (clarinetlover @ Jan 21 2005, 10:08 PM) hee hee Helen, have fun learning all those scales!! Oh joy of joys *curses the lack of a sarcastic smily on here*

now now!!

QUOTE (clarinetlover @ Jan 21 2005, 10:11 PM)

QUOTE (Subatomic_Star @ Jan 21 2005, 10:09 PM) QUOTE (clarinetlover @ Jan 21 2005, 10:08 PM) hee hee Helen, have fun learning all those scales!! Oh joy of joys *curses the lack of a sarcastic smily on here* now now!!

so get off here and start practising!

QUOTE (clarinetlover @ Jan 21 2005, 10:19 PM)

so get off here and start practising!

says you! May I draw your attention to your 3500 something posts?

QUOTE (clarinetlover @ Jan 21 2005, 08:54 PM)

very good, im impressed!lol

*bows* you're so kind

Helen - kinda glad it ain't just me! 'sa bit scary...

my flute teacher is quite nice, but very strict, and she always makes me feel quite bad about my playing, really. but then I started doing associated board and I'm now taking grade 6, so I can't be as bad as I thought. that's the good thing about abrsm, it tells you what level you're at!

QUOTE

she always makes me feel quite bad about my playing

I wouldnt be haveing lessons with her

QUOTE (july @ Jan 22 2005, 01:35 PM)

my flute teacher is quite nice, but very strict, and she always makes me feel quite bad about my playing, really.

Although she gives you criticism, is it constructive criticism telling you how to improve?

I would find it really hard to keep motivated if I were just criticised all the time. my piano teacher is very good at getting the balance... he always praises what is right before he points out anything that I need to work on, and he has a sense of humour when I mess up. whereas my piano teacher when I was 10-13ish would just continually point out all my mistakes and tell me I should be doing better. constructive criticism must always be balanced by praise of the good stuff, otherwise you end up feeling useless (spoken from experience)

I think there are just a few real gems of a teacher around, and I think I have one of them. You just don't know whether you have had a bad teacher until you meet an amazing one! Wanted to post on this the other night but stupid flood control was being stupid.

*nod*... I've been unfortunate so many times with music teachers... the thought that I might actually have two good ones *AT THE SAME TIME*... how cool would that be??

I have got two very good teachers. they are some of the best in my area

I dont know... teachers pointing out your mistakes are sometimes useful so you can set yourself 'targets'. When I auditioned for the flute choir I'm in now, my teacher said, "Oh you won't get in, there's only three spaces for the whole of Birmingham". So, I wanted to show her I could do it, and I got in. Although if she had been like that for the whole 5 years she taught me, it would have seriously knocked my confidence.

oh yes - you can't have teachers who don't point out what's wrong or you'd never improve - it just needs to be balanced. no one can go on forever without a single encouragement - it's incredibly demoralising

QUOTE (sarah-flute @ Jan 22 2005, 09:40 PM)

no one can go on forever without a single encouragement - it's incredibly demoralising

Yes, and you can't go without constructive criticism as well, or you you would never improve! But its the balance really!

oh yes - no doubt, indeed! I guess I have just never suffered from an overcomplimentary teacher... (are there such things??? I've never met one... ) so I am more aware of the danger the other way!

QUOTE

the thought that I might actually have two good ones *AT THE SAME TIME*... how cool would that be

Hehehe!

Out of my flute and piano/theory/keyboard (same person) teachers, I'd say that my flute teacher has got the balance just right, she'll compliment me but also tell me where I could improve. My piano/theory/keyboard teacher, was less complimentary; I could have always done something better, and although in a blue moon he did make some nice comments, most of it was how to improve. I don't think he expected me to get 91% in my theory. Although thinking about it, he was a nice man and maybe he just didn't realise how he was teaching.

well, the good thing about having a strict flute teacher is that I really practise and have got further in the three and a half years that I've been playing the flute than I might have got otherwise. on the other hand, I don't look forward going to flute lessons like I aught to, and I've thought of finding another teacher for quite a while... I can never get round to making up my mind, though , because she is a good teacher in the sense of making progress.

hmmm... yeah.

I guess it depends how well you cope with it... I know it would have disheartened me by that stage! but you seem to be coping really well... also depends whether there are any other good teachers that are likely to be able to take you on...

QUOTE (sarah-flute @ Jan 23 2005, 04:41 PM)

but you seem to be coping really well...

yeah, it's all a question of how you look at it. I discovered ages ago that I'm really playing the flute for myself, because I love playing and want to be good one day. so I try to take my flute teacher's comments as fuel for practising and getting better. does that make sense?

yep totally! good for you to be able to use negative feedback positively so much... (if THAT makes sense...)

When I get negative criticism for anything, it makes me want to improve something, but it gets to the point where you just think "Is there anything actually good about what I'm doing?"

QUOTE

the good thing about having a strict flute teacher is that I really practise and have got further in the three and a half years

It can be a bit of a balancing act - what would floor one pupil has the effect of gently prodding another ! Everyone's different, and for teachers the knack is often working out the right balance for each one.

I agree that if it all comes across as negative it's just demoralising.

Maggie

QUOTE (maggiemay @ Jan 23 2005, 04:58 PM)

QUOTE the good thing about having a strict flute teacher is that I really practise and have got further in the three and a half years It can be a bit of a balancing act - what would floor one pupil has the effect of gently prodding another !

ahhh it wouldn't let me post for a minute because of "flood control" and lo! Maggie has said what I was about to say, except she put it much more eloquently! because yes, it depends so much on the student's reaction to compliments/criticism. I would be demoralised more quickly than most, I think, just because of my experiences with music teachers at school... other thrive on the criticisim. One thing that is important, I think, is to be always honest - because for instance praising something that wasn't so good just for the sake of having something to praise would make a student who's on the ball stop trusting your comments, and a student who was happy to accept compliments might just think "oh, I'm wonderful!"

that's one thing my piano teacher is really good at. he has always (thus far) found something praiseworthy, but doesn't neglect to tell me where I can improve... and I know from experience in other things (he's a friend as well as my teacher) that he absolutely will not give praise if he doesn't think it's due (ouch! sometimes, lol!) so when he says something is good I can trust that he does genuinely mean it.

I'm just imagining
"your notes were all wrong and the rhythm was all wrong,
but your hand position was wonderful !!



Maggie

awwww... lol... better than just saying the notes and rhythm were wrong though!

my old piano teacher when I was a teenager never ever used to tell me what I had done right - only ever the things that were wrong. REALLY demoralising.

Then there are the times when there is a pause while your teacher has to really search for the positive thing to say....

One of the best compliments i ever got in a lesson was 'Sorry, I forgot to turn the page for you because I got carried away listening to you.'

hey wow what a great compliment to be paid! nearest I've come to that was a literature essay at uni - think it was English - when my tutor said "It's quite long, isn't it?" at which point my heart sank, till she added, "Though I didn't notice that while I was reading it" - at which point she became my all-time favourite tutor

QUOTE (sbhoa @ Jan 24 2005, 12:13 PM)

One of the best compliments i ever got in a lesson was 'Sorry, I forgot to turn the page for you because I got carried away listening to you.'

Yeah, my teacher did that. I got to th end of the page, and there was this big pause and she looked up and said "Oh yes, page turn... sorry!"

lol I've had years of that so I've just taught myself to turn pages now... difficult when there's no rests!!

QUOTE (Subatomic_Star @ Jan 24 2005, 01:10 PM)

QUOTE (sbhoa @ Jan 24 2005, 12:13 PM) One of the best compliments i ever got in a lesson was 'Sorry, I forgot to turn the page for you because I got carried away listening to you.' Yeah, my teacher did that. I got to th end of the page, and there was this big pause and she looked up and said "Oh yes, page turn... sorry!"

heh! now there's a compliment!

@@@@

QUOTE (Rhapsodin @ Jan 24 2005, 04:09 PM)

QUOTE (sarah-flute @ Jan 23 2005, 04:53 PM) yep totally! good for you to be able to use negative feedback positively so much... (if THAT makes sense...) Sorry, are you talking the control engineering negative feedback here?

duuurrrrrrrrr..... wut?