The big switch

As I welcome many of Jessica Sherer's students to my studio, I feel compelled to write about the very real, very difficult transition that is switching to a new music teacher. Our teachers are very important to us. They inspire us, help us with our problems (often both personal and musical), and provide insight into our playing and our lives.

I had a new flute teacher every two years of my development, from when I began lessons at age 11 to the end of my graduate degree. It was like clockwork! In total, I have had six teachers. Every time I moved on to another teacher (and I never left a studio because I didn't like my teacher - it was always some other circumstance), I felt a mixture of excitement and fear. What new things would I learn? Would they like me? Would they think I was good? Would they change me? Would they make me play things I didn't like?

Some transitions were easier than others. But in the end, I felt I always learned more by switching instead of staying with the same person for many years. Not only did I hear a lot of differing opinions, I learned how to learn from different people.

One teacher in particular was very difficult for me to get used to. He talked a lot, he talked very fast, and told me in one of our first lessons that I didn't know what I was doing.

Didn't know what I was doing? Excuse me? I'd been playing for more than ten years!

I was convinced he thought I was going nowhere. He was incredibly tough on me, and I ended up playing exercises that I used to think were easy v e r y s l o w l y.
He contradicted everything a previous teacher told me. He even made a backhanded comment about one of my old, beloved teachers that I took to be an insult! We pretty much didn't get along for the first year. But I couldn't deny that my playing was changing, and for the better.
The second year, somehow, we came to an understanding -- we even began to like each other! Now we still talk on the phone, and I ask his advice on many topics. He literally revolutionized my flute playing in so many ways, and I owe winning several auditions to his guidance.

What I described is probably the worst that can happen, but it turned out okay. Having had so many experiences with new teachers, I try in my own teaching to make the transition as easy as possible. I don't usually switch old etudes or warm-up plans right away. I try to work within the previous teacher's framework for a while and gradually ease the student into the work plan I have for them. I never disrespect old teachers - they are often my own friends and colleagues!

Different is exactly that - different. Some teachers work better for certain learners, and we need to make decisions accordingly. For Jessica's students, I welcome you, and I'm excited to get to know you!