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Extra-curricular activities

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Original poster

Music teacher - who is right?

59 replies

Grumpyrobots · 14/03/2019 10:29

I am ready to admit it’s my fault as a mother, but would like to have an independent opinion. DC is getting ready for a grade 5 music exam. Exam is in one week, the teacher just discovered that DC does not know all scales and they have not yet played all the pieces through with accompaniment. The teacher told me off for DC lack of knowledge, saying they had to learn the scales of their own accord, that DC is not good with listening to instructions and have not made much progress on their instrument and basically going to get a pass and it’s all our fault because DC is not practicing enough at home (which is not true and they practice a lot, but often not sure what they are doing).

So I guess my question is - do DC learn scales without any instruction from teacher? Is it normal to play the piece through for the first time with accompaniment during the exam (till now only playing small bits of various pieces, never start to end). Is it normal to have a 10 minute one-off introduction to aural part of the exam because they did aural in previous grades and therefore don’t need further instruction? I am not musical and out of my depth so not sure what I should expect really.

OP posts:
BearAusten · 14/03/2019 12:07

From my own experience as a child and my dc's scales have always been used as a warm up and regularly tested. Moreover, comments and instruction were always written down in a notebook until I was into my teens. (Dc 9 written down for both instruments).

It struck a chord that your dc is upset, coming out with 'I'm stupid', this is very similar to what I would have felt and said as a child in such circumstances. To allow him to do the exam under prepared will not allow him to perform to the best of their ability, giving them a false idea of how good they are. I would definitely withdraw. I wouldn't stick with a teacher with the attitude and approach you have outlined, especially for a child under 12.

Aurals: www.e-musicmaestro.com/auraltests (It is common like Neleus said for teachers to avoid them in lessons.)

NeleusTheStatue · 14/03/2019 12:11

It's not piano, right? Actually he might just do fine next week, provided he can go through all the scales now. I know it's not ideal and he could have achieved a higher mark if he takes it later than now,, but I don't think it'll be a total nightmare. I would definitely consider postponing till next term if it was piano though.

underneaththeash · 14/03/2019 12:14

It’s actually fairly easy to re-schedule exams, you (or the teacher) just ring up the exam board. We’ve had to do it twice. I don’t see any point ever putting a child through an exam they’re likely to fail.

NeleusTheStatue · 14/03/2019 12:15

Because it may be boring for the child to keep the exam pieces.... He can take it next week to move on, enjoy lots of new pieces, then he can aim to be fully prepared for the next exam. Just a suggestion...

sugarbum · 14/03/2019 12:17

I would find another teacher.
You are paying them to teach. If they are preparing for an exam, then they need to be taught exactly what they need to know to pass that exam. This is what the teacher is for. Teaching.

How are you supposed to know what scales they need to know? Many parents have never learnt an instrument, so have no clue what their children are doing. I personally was at boarding school, so there was no backup. I learned what I was told to learn, and practiced of my own accord. The grade level is irrelevant.

Seriously, sack the teacher.

Pythonesque · 14/03/2019 12:31

I would be embarrassed to be a teacher putting a child in for an exam in this situation.

Hope you can find a better one. And be prepared to let exam grades take a back seat for a while, a new teacher may want to work differently for a bit on some things especially if scales have been neglected by the current teacher.

Comefromaway · 14/03/2019 12:48

I did piano to Grade 8 as did dh and he is now a music teacher. I have taight graded speech and drama exams and both my children have had instrumental lessons.

I would absolutely expect all exam work to be covered in class. Scales were always played at the start of the lesson and corrections given wioth regards to fingering, eveness of tone, hand position and in the later grades accents.

Similar with aural and sight reading.

I did have cause to complain about dd's first piano teacher with regards to this and he agreed to delay her exam at his own cost as he had failed to prepare her properly.

Original poster
Grumpyrobots · 14/03/2019 13:00

Thank you for you replies! Will try the aural online tests tonight!

Wow - Comefromaway our teacher would never do anything like that, you are lucky your teacher was that accommodating.

OP posts:
thirdfiddle · 14/03/2019 13:27

Sounds like teacher has dropped the ball and is trying to cover up by blaming the child. Not good. Also a bit concerned that scales were never practiced in lesson even apart from exams - there's a reason they're included and it's not just to spite students and parents! Even if they did expect child to prepare scales and aural at home, they should have made sure you and DC knew that at an early stage and checked in that things were going okay.

I think salvage what you can, make it clear to DC that it's teacher's fault the technical bits aren't ready (or claim it's your own fault if you want to be diplomatic) and just to give it their best shot. Can you book an extra lesson for playing through? Or book a different accompanist and a session to rehearse with them? I wouldn't delay, maybe cancel the exam and skip that grade. I think coming back to an exam they've already prepared for once would feel like a backwards step even if they weren't really ready the first time.

That said teacher must be doing something right to get your DC to that level at that age. What's their relationship like normally? Was doing exams teacher's idea or yours? Might they have had a bad time recently for personal reasons or anything? It's hard to see circs where I wouldn't be looking around for a new teacher though I'm afraid.

ChicCroissant · 14/03/2019 13:38

My DD has only done a couple of exams but there is a list (syllabus) that she has to cover and that includes the scales she is expected to know from memory - if you are at Grade 5 now, your DC must have done this for previous exams?

I would expect the teacher to listen to the scales. When my DD had lessons in school, we did arrange to have a pre-exam lesson outside the school if it wasn't possible to practice with the piano part (and used a CD at home). Does your DC play the whole piece through when practicing at home?

What is it about the prep for this exam that is different to the others? It does sound like a change of teacher would be beneficial tbh!

Original poster
Grumpyrobots · 14/03/2019 13:39

I felt that teacher never really liked DC, mostly speaks about them in negative terms. We knew about scales and DC was practicing at home, but during the last lesson the teacher asked DC to play a few scales, apparently they were all wrong and DC was told off for being lazy and not practicing enough at home. DC was crying and saying mummy, I swear I do my best, I must be stupid, I just can’t get it right :(

OP posts:
mamakoukla · 14/03/2019 13:55

There has been a ton of useful advice on the thread. From what you have written Grumpyrobots, it sounds that the teacher’s standards and expectations have changed as DC progressed through the grades with the teacher. If DC is not prepared I would reschedule or alternatively speak with DC to help them understand possible outcomes and see what DC’s wishes are. I can’t judge how much work needs to be done or DC’s character and outlook. But do think about the route forward from this and if this teacher is the best option. I expect a teacher to cover all aspects of the exam if they claim they prepare students for exams. We had one teacher, who I realized too late, had failed to do any aural, sight reading etc (20 % of final mark). We luckily had two weeks and were able to help DC out. It was first music exam and would have been a discouraging experience probably scraping a pass instead of the first class honours achieved. We eventually left the music school as they didn’t apologize, brushed it off with stories of other students with similar experience, and went on about the teacher’s abilities as a performer. We paid for teaching.

mamakoukla · 14/03/2019 14:00

That doesn’t sound good. Mistakes need to be corrected but not in that way. It is a bad message for anybody let alone a child. Teaching can be frustrating and I understand teaching music - so many students all at different stages, levels of enthusiasm etc - is a tough job but the teacher’s approach is not likely to encourage and draw the best out of your DC.

NeleusTheStatue · 14/03/2019 14:04

went on about the teacher’s abilities as a performer. We paid for teaching
So spot on! Performers and teachers require different skills.

FashionFoodLaughs · 14/03/2019 14:12

Wow your child is so advanced to be doing grade 5 in Primary! I teach piano and voice and would never enter a pupil until they knew all their scales and pieces with the lead up to the examination being used for polishing, aural and testing. In my opinion the only time this would be acceptable is if I was teaching someone like a university student who was picking up piano as a separate instrument and wanted to do the exam quickly, certainly not a child who would need very specific guidance and help. As others have said, perhaps book some extra lessons, perhaps a professional accompanist and practise some aural tests on line. Hopefully you will have a pass to celebrate. X

Comefromaway · 14/03/2019 14:36

I guess the fact that both dh and I have music degrees and dh teaches his specialism in further/higher education and the teacher although paid direct by us was working through dd's school so he did not want to risk a formal complaint to the school. I had also questioned at the time of entry whether or not dd was ready for the exam (the letter came via school just before the christmas holidays with a short deadline.

We had been quite hands off as we didn't want to interfere (dh has taught piano but its his second instrument and we know it can be awkward teaching the child of a fellow musician) and he was at the time lodging away from home during the week, but the teacher had not attempted to teach her any of the scales or aural and she was playing her pieces by ear/memory rather than reading the music despite having had 6 months of lessons from me to determine whether she really wanted to do it before starting formal lessons.

eaglefeathers · 14/03/2019 14:47

As a music teacher I would withdraw. I’ve had to withdraw pupils before it’s not a big deal. I would also perhaps not change teacher until after this exam is done and give the teacher a massive kick up the backside.
Find out about the syllabus and sort it all out between yourself your dc and the teacher. After this exam I would almost definitely find a new teacher but your dc will have to adapt to the new method of teaching that’s all.

eaglefeathers · 14/03/2019 14:48

Ps definitely music teacher created this situation and I wouldn’t be happy!

thirdfiddle · 14/03/2019 16:14

As a parent I don't think I could go back to this teacher. Whatever else might be going on they've just knocked 10 points off exam score by destroying DC's confidence. I wouldn't risk a repeat of that next week. IF you know an accompanist who can inject some positivity I might soldier on and get the exam out of the way, if DC wants to, otherwise probably ditch teacher and exam. Teacher is doing more harm than good currently.

atlastifoundit · 14/03/2019 17:20

This teacher is causing your dc to lose confidence in their ability. They must be doing well to be mid-primary and taking grade 5, but a setback like this could really put them off. Agree with others about postponing the exam.
Sometimes I think that if you spend a long time with one teacher, both they and the pupil become too set in each other's ways and a change is necessary. An upset child and an irritated teacher is not a good mix.
My experience isn't with music but with dance, but I think it is a similar situation.

4strings · 15/03/2019 12:51

Please change teacher. My first piano teacher was a bit like that and always compared me unfavourably to my best friend who he also taught (and who admittedly was better than me —because she practiced— )

Original poster
Grumpyrobots · 15/03/2019 15:16

I am looking for a new teacher, I think re-reading this thread helped me to make my mind up...

OP posts:
Eroica · 19/03/2019 15:53

I would certainly expect the teacher to have covered the expected scales- fingering is very important for scales, not just the actual notes!
A child cannot really learn those by themself. It's really not a reasonable expectation.
Have they also covered all the other aural stuff? (Classical, baroque, romantic, 20th century periods of music and their features?)

nordicwannabe · 31/03/2019 08:45

If you feel the teacher is negative and has never liked DC then that in itself is enough reason to change teacher!

Lwg87 · 07/04/2019 22:08

I’m confused - you say you stay for the lesson? Are no scales done? Didn’t you think it a bit odd - by grade 5 you know it’s a requirement. I’m not having a go - just genuinely confused