Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum My Piano Teacher Leaving

So I get to my lesson today and my teacher is leaving to open her own Studio in her home city(25 mins away). I'm kinda like hum? Someone else will be teaching me...don't know who. Judging from the recital the other teachers have kids not adult students. So I'm wondering should I continue or what? UGHHH

You can't make the drive to your lessons to stay with her?

Dynamobt - I guess I could. IDK. I may talk to her about it.

If you are happy with your teacher, a half hour drive to a lesson seems worth it rather to change to an unknown teacher.

Agreed. 25 minutes isn't really that bad, but you may want to have hour lessons or at the least 45 minutes.

If not, I would be in touch with the head of the school about this change and ask if you can have a trial lessons with the new teacher before deciding. You also may be able to get info like their qualifications, if they've taught adult students before, etc.

That must be quite a shock!

Take a few deep breaths...you'll figure something out, and all will be well.

25 minutes doesn't seem at all insurmountable. I'd stick with her. In my experience, it isn't all that easy to find a good teacher who also matches your style and personality.

If you've happened upon a good match, don't throw that away just because you have to travel a bit further. I know I wouldn't, in any case.

Since I regularly drive 30 minutes to my lessons, this doesn't seem like a big obstacle.

If you have a teacher who is happy with you, and you are happy with her, just get in the car.

. Charles

Well, it's all relative...25min is not bad for me. I'd try that arrangement out first before looking to something else.

Well, given that I walk 10 minutes to my lesson driving 25 minutes there and 25 back would mean I'd be losing an hour in travel, which actually would be a big deal for me and I imagine for some others too, so I can see that may not be an ideal situation.

It depends on your schedule.

I think doing some trial lessons with other teachers is worth your time.

I never thought I'd want another teacher after my first, but my second is even better.
I hope things work out for you.

It takes me 30 minutes to drive to my teacher's studio. I'll be really sad if she moves farther away...i think that's my limit. come to think of it, i'll be sad and lost when she goes on maternity leave : /

It takes me almost an hour to get to my lessons and another one back. If the teacher is really good, I wouldn't think twice. I would be devastated if my teacher decided to move away or stop teaching...

I'd be a little careful how I approached it.

Your teacher may have a "non-compete" clause where she can't take students with when she leaves the studio.

There are often some loopholes but you don't want to get her in contract trouble with her former employer.

TimR - That did cross my mind. I'll just wait to see who will be the replacement. Change could be different and better.

I'd be lost without my teacher. I sure hope I can get in a year or two before she moves on. I'll tell you this, when that dreaded day comes nobody is assigning a new teacher to me. I will find one on my own. It's too much work and the chemistry is just too important to trust to random chance...

Of course, but certainly in your search you would consider the replacement as a possibility? They could happen to be just the right fit.

No one learns everything from one person, even if that person has a lot to learn from. Sometimes you need to hear it said by several different people in different ways for something to sink in. Also, it's very good to get a different person's perspective on what's important to learn.

I say this so that people don't think that once they find the "right" teacher for them, that it should/would/could last forever. Change is often a good thing.

I might be open to meeting the replacement if it was presented properly. But if, as seems so common today, it was treated as a commodity substitution, I would be back in my car in short order.

I feel strongly that one-on-one instruction requires a proper fit and I intend to see to it that my instructor is someone I can learn from.

But I imagine we agree for the most part. I have a real talent for finding people who are great at their job right before their ship comes in and they move on. There is no doubt in my mind that I will eventually end up with another teacher. It won't last forever.