Posted by Gillian on May 19, 1999 at 20:27:25:
Arrrgh! I just found out today that I am moving to a new city this fall!
So...this means a new cello teacher in my near future! I'm upset, because
I dearly love the person I am studying with now!
But... life - and cello - must go on.
I already know and like a few professional cellists in my hometown-to-be,
since I go there for a summer music camp.
I want to start talking with some of them about lessons starting with the
new school year. I've found all my previous music teachers just by luck,
and have wound up with some very bad experiences. (Remember me telling about
my teacher who screamed and threw pencils into the wall??) To avoid that
kind of thing, and make the transition from one teacher to another smoothly,
I'm thinking about setting up some appointments for interviews...I can do that
while my Mom is house hunting!
The trouble is, I'm pretty shy, and I've never done this kind of thing before!
I feel uncomfortable calling up a teacher, or having my Mother call up a teacher,
talking about lessons, asking to meet with them to see if they meet
my standards, then leaving if they don't! *grin*
So...what do you folks think about selecting teachers?
How does one decide if the teacher-student chemistry is right? How can
I determine if a cellist is a good player/teacher if I currently live too
far away to know them well or hear them play often?
I know some teachers _require_ a meeting/audition/interview thing before they
will take on a student...so if anybody here does this, I would be interested
to hear what you usually go over or talk about with a prospective new student.
And how can I, as the student, use the interview to my advantage? What are
good questions to ask? What should the teacher ask me about?
And honestly..why am I so afraid of approaching a new teacher, and how can
I get over it? *lol*
I know that's a lot of questions, but I always feel like I get good
and intellegent responses and advice here. Thanks, guys. :)
- Gilly