Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum Does a teacher have the right to criticize another teacher?

If a teacher sees a student doing something wrong (posture, bad fingering, etc), should he or she say something?

My friend has had his teacher criticized by another teacher (who has never met the teacher, only heard of him). The "advice" was un-solicitated. The other teacher heard him play and started criticizing. He then preached about how the first teacher was not teaching the fundamentals that he should, etc...

Well, my friend is confused now because he liked his first teacher and really thought of him as an expert. Now, he's wondering if he should switch to the new teacher...who seems to know so much. So does a teacher have the right to criticize another teacher?

No. It's highly unprofessional. Perhaps the current teacher is choosing to work on other skills at this time. If it is a huge concern, the student should raise the question with the current teacher.

Yes, the student's welfare is paramount.

Well, does he literally have the right, of course he does. But it certainly makes him look like a sleazeball. I wouldn't go to study with a teacher who did that.

This would at most entitle the critic to attempt to teach the student something, not to badmouth the student's current teacher. (Unless current teacher is a convicted criminal etc.)

I wouldn't hesitate to say a student was being taught poorly if tension issues were being left unaddressed.

It depends on the situation. If I'm judging a contest or evaluating the student for an exam, of course it's my job to say something.

But if the situation is unsolicited, then it's best to keep my big mouth shut. I've had other teachers and even non-teachers criticize me, so I'm used to the territory.

You know what my philosophy is on tension, but there are other "schools" of piano-playing out there (I mean, way, way out there). Is it really my place to criticize other schools of piano-playing? Of course I have my strong opinions, but I'd rather keep them to myself and my students and my students' parents.

If asked? Or without being asked?

There'd be a conversation like:

"You've got a lot of tension there in your wrist. What does your teacher say about that?"

"Nothing"

"That's not good."

You're happy when other teachers (of varying quality) do the same with your students then?

Well it wouldn't happen would it:

"You've got a lot of tension there in your wrist. What does your teacher say about that?"

"A lot."

"That's good."

Why the need for ridiculous assumptions? Other teachers are going to focus on their own pet topics, not on yours.

Pet topic!??

Instead of "That's not good," try saying, "You might want to discuss that with your teacher" or "Perhaps at your next lesson you can ask your teacher about that."

But I wouldn't even start such a conversation.

No, I might add "Are you sure?" before the "That's no good."

Imagine a car leaving the garage after a service billowing smoke. "What does your mechanic say about that?" "Nothing" - you really gonna suggest they go back for a little chat?

Your post essentially assumed that no person anywhere is going to find anything to criticize in any of your students (which is quite different from actually finding anything wrong). Even if you were some sort of idealized perfect teacher, stupid-and-opinionated teachers (of which there is certainly no shortage) would find loads of things to (wrongly) criticize, including introducing your students to all the misguided notions that you (rightly) never think to mention.

Eradicating unnecessary tension is hardly '[my] pet topic'! - which was my point.

Eradicating unnecessary tension is also my "pet topic," but I don't go around telling other people that their technique is "wrong"!!

There's this kid who wins competitions left and right in Southern California, who plays with the tensest shoulders imaginable. I know of his teacher, but I'm not friends with her, so I keep my mouth shut. Maybe if I'm friends with the kid's teacher, then I'd go straight to the teacher and mention something. I don't want to make it look like the teacher has missed something. Who knows? Maybe the teacher has spent years correcting this shoulder problem, but the problem is beyond fixing? And if he's playing well, maybe it's not that big a problem!

I can't see the point in saying anything to teachers who allow poor technique. They're often as not the cause of the problem.