Oh no!!! Losing my teacher!!!

ShiroKuro · 2025-04-07T20:59:21+00:00

Well shoot... I knew this would happen, but I didn't think it would happen until may 2026. I don't know why yet either. I suppose I will find out on Wednesda...

pianoloverus

ShiroKuro What's the difference that you see between a coach and a teacher?

ShiroKuro

pianoloverus What's the difference that you see between a coach and a teacher?

That's a good question, and "coach" might not be the best term. For example, if someone wants to hack at the comparison by talking about coaches for high level athletes, the term might not hold up, but it's hard to find an alternative term to describe something different from a traditional teacher, so let's stick with coach for convenience sake.

Anyway...

I want someone who can help me do better that which I am already doing. This feels qualitatively different than what I looked for in my teachers 20 years ago, or even 10.

Now having said that, maybe it's just that I want someone who can see where I am now, recognize that and work with me, rather than do what they do with all their students... And so many the distinction b/w teacher and coach isn't as important....

I don't know, this all just happened like an hour ago 🙁

Sgisela

ShiroKuro I’m sorry to hear that. Hopefully you will be able to find someone else who you can work with.

rsl12

ShiroKuro Aw, sorry to hear it! I think I understand how hard it must be to find someone who will accept your musical approach and challenge you to stretch in a way that makes you comfortable.

ShiroKuro

rsl12 to find someone who will accept your musical approach and challenge you to stretch in a way that makes you comfortable.

I'm ok with a little, or even a lot of, discomfort! 😃

But yes, it's always hard to find a teacher who's a good fit, doubly so when you're not playing the traditional classical repertoire. Every time I've had to change teachers, it's been hard, first of all, just because of all the logistics. So that's always an issue. But this time, ugh, this teacher has been so great.... 🙁

A great teacher makes such a difference. 🙁

pianoloverus

I suggest asking your present teacher for a few recommendations.

twocats

Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear that 🙁

ShiroKuro

Well, I found out that my teacher isn’t leaving town, just leaving the school. I think he’ll be teaching on his own locally, though I think he feels constrained in what he’s able to say. Maybe there’s a no-competition clause in his contract? After he leaves, I still have two more lessons at the school with a different teacher, so I’ll see how those go. But I might be able to switch to taking lessons from him privately. It’s a little unclear but I think we’ll be able to talk outside of the school after next week.

In the meantime, I’m still playing in the school’s recital, which is about 2.5 weeks away (yikes) so we spent most of the lesson working on the recital pieces, and on a new piece I’ll be playing with a violinist next month.

I don’t like the feeling of uncertainty here, but it is only temporary I guess. Sigh.

keff

ShiroKuro Well, I found out that my teacher isn’t leaving town, just leaving the school.

Hopefullyt a private arrangement with your current teacher will work out well for you.

Stub

Out of the many possible scenarios, this one is probably the best you could hope for.

ShiroKuro

Update on the situation with my teacher….

I found out that it might be possible to take lessons from him in the future, but because of his scheduling issues, he can’t do lessons with me in May or June. And because of my scheduling issues, I don’t think I can do lessons according to his schedule in July. 🙁

We have really enjoyed working together and agreed to stay in touch, so that’s nice. 🙂

Anyway, point being, for now I am going to see how it goes with the new teacher (I’ll meet her next week).

And in the meantime, I found out that I might be able to take one-on-one lessons in the music school at my uni!!

I had no idea that this was an option, because the first time I looked into it, I was looking at the wrong thing.

But I found out that I can register as a non-degree seeking student, and then the uni gives a tuition benefit to employees that looks like it will be enough to cover one class per semester.

So I’ve been emailing with the head of the piano program, and it sounds like it actually might work out. This wouldn’t start until fall semester of course, but I’m super excited at the prospect.

I am also looking into taking a music theory class there. I can’t believe I didn’t know about this tuition benefit (in my defense, I’ve only been at this uni for two years).

Stay tuned for updates. 🙂

twocats

ShiroKuro And in the meantime, I found out that I might be able to take one-on-one lessons in the music school at my uni!!

Amazing!!

ShiroKuro

twocats I know!! I can’t believe I didn’t know about this. The tuition benefit is like the best kept secret!!

ShiroKuro

Well I don't know if this new teacher is going to work for me.... :/

She has a MA degree, not in piano but in voice, although she does teach a lot of piano students. That wouldn't matter if I felt like she had something to teach me... But she didn't really have anything useful to say about any of my pieces.... And in my one-hour lesson, which with my previous teacher we would sometimes only get through two pieces, three at most, she had me play through five pieces and then there were still 10 minutes left! So I pulled out something I had put aside to return to after the recital, and ... well, it wasn't super useful.

Also, she's super young, not just young but she comes off as a little bit immature ... She didn't ask me anything about myself, I mean like, how long have I been playing, that kind of thing.

I am sort of wondering if I should give it one more chance, I'm supposed to have a lesson with her next week, but I don't know... Ugh.

I am going to start music classes at the uni in the fall semester, but I'd really like to have someone to take lessons with for the summer (and as I think I said above, my teacher is traveling in May and June, so that's out, and our schedules don't match in July).

Phooey.

Sgisela

ShiroKuro Is she the only option at the current music school? I’ve always taken piano lessons from a piano teacher. I find myself scratching my head about people whose real expertise is not piano teaching piano.

ShiroKuro

Sgisela Is she the only option at the current music school?

No but she might be the only person with an opening that fits my schedule. It's not clear, but I'm going to ask the office manager...

Since the recital is on Sunday, and she will be there as well as my old teacher (which is awkward enough) I think I will wait until next week to ask about it ...

PianogrlNW

If it were me, I would move on and not take another lesson from her. It sounds like a terrible fit. If she had given you some kind of feedback, I would say try again, but under the circumstances where she had nothing to offer, I don’t see how you would learn anything from her.

ShiroKuro

PianogrlNW yeah the more I think about it, I don’t want to continue with her.

😥

twocats

ShiroKuro yeah, one failed lesson audition is enough to know! I'm sorry 🙁

Would you consider online lessons with your old teacher?

ShiroKuro

twocats re online lessons, I don’t think so. I took online lessons for maybe two years during Covid and I really disliked it. Well, actually, more to the point, I don’t think that would be an option with my teacher anyway because of his travel schedule and my work schedule. :/

But re online lessons, I would rather be in the same room with someone, so they can sit at the piano and demonstrate when needed etc.

I’ve been looking at all the teachers listed on the music school’s website. There are way more than I realized, but many of them are not primarily piano, it’s weird actually. Like their music degree is in voice or violin but they teach piano.

Maybe that’s ok for little kids (and I don’t actually know if it is) but I don’t think it will work for me.

twocats

ShiroKuro there are no openings at all with the piano professors? 🙁 I wonder if studying with a piano performance grad student is an option.