Issues with piano teacher - advice needed

[Notcontent]

My dd is at grade 5 level. We had to change teachers about a year ago as our old teacher left.

New teacher is very good I think but we are having some issues. The first issue is that the lessons are 1 hour long, which is good, but I think the teacher wastes a lot of time - chatting, etc. The lessons are very expensive so this frustrates me!

The other issue is that she can be very critical and doesn’t seem to understand that this approach backfires with dd.

But she knows her stuff and dd got a distinction in her last exam. What would you do?

Results say it all! It surprises me that you say she's both strict and yet chatty. Maybe the strictness is somewhat eased by the chattiness, and in the end works well for your DD on a personality level.
I rate strict piano teachers highly. My first teacher was nice, and I got 106 and 110 in grades 1 and 2. Then I moved to a strict and scary teacher and I got high distinctions for grades 3,4 and 5! I wish I'd stayed on but by then I was doing school exams and didn't feel I could give the time. At 40 (odd) I am now searching to see if my strict teacher is still young enough to still be alive and working!

What does your DD think?

I have had chatty teachers (one piano and one horse riding, horse one was also harsh) and I felt they wasted a lot of time. After a time I switched to different teachers and IT WAS SO MUCH BETTER.

Honestly just switch until you find a better fit. Your DD might get good results but if it's not enjoyable anymore then she might just want to quit all together.

It’s tricky... I don’t think dd really likes the teacher. Dd has an exam in two months time, so realistically I think we need to stick with this teacher and then consider our options...

How old is your dd?

Dd is 12.

I don't think a teacher needs to be strict if your child has self-discipline. My children's piano teacher is not at all strict, but she has no need to be, as they do exactly what she tells them, and more importantly they practise! The one that does exams gets very high distinctions every time.
That said though, there's no chatting- lessons cost a fortune, and chatting wastes everyone's time.

Overly critical is not the same as strict. Strict is fine, but most children need to hear "well done" and have their effort and progress praised.

By the time you get to this age and grade private music tuition you really need to have personalities that gel between pupil / teacher for it to work. My DD1 gets on brilliantly with her teacher. She chats a lot and is also pretty picky / strict. My DD2 and the same teacher did not get on so well because my DD2 has a completely different personality to her sister.

If you are not happy with the teacher, the time of the lesson, and the money and your DD is complaining to you about the chatting / pickiness then you probably should look to move on.