Is it possible to change music teacher

[Ebound]

Dear all, has any of you ever tried to change a musical instrument teacher in the middle of a term? This is in one of the boys full boarding schools. Will this be frowned upon? Thanks.

It will depend on your contract with the school/teacher.
Most schools will require half a term/term's notice; this is the same requirement, whether it's to stop lessons or to change teacher. Peripatetic music teachers are, in most cases, self employed, so your request to change teacher will leave that teacher with a gap in their timetable and a consequential loss of earnings.

Your best bet is to talk to the head of music - you may find that your current music teacher has a waiting list and is happy to slot another pupil into your child's place, but you should be prepared that this may not be the case and you'll have to give notice in the normal way or pay for lessons in lieu of notice.

Surely it will also depend on whether there are other teachers available. If piano, probably. If bassoon, probably not.

I spoke to the Director of Music at one of the big full boarding houses about what happens if there is a mismatch between a child and a music teacher and they said that it would not be a problem swapping to a different one. DD does voice and piano, so there are a large number of potential teachers available - imagine if it was the bagpipes it might be less easy.

The right fit with a teacher is incredibly important imo - fine for the odd masterclass or to learn a particular skill to have someone that isn't going to completely click, but I have seen a world of difference in progress and enjoyment when we have found the right teachers for DD.

Thanks for all the replies. His progress has definitely stalled since starting with this teacher... we should explore changing one.

Hope you get the result you want. At DD's school, it's really hard to change teacher so for some people they've had to drop the school lessons and have lessons out of school which won't work if it's boarding.