A child builds a connection with a piano teacher that is often more intense than that with a school teacher, because it is a one-on-one relationship.

When a family relocates to another town or the piano teacher moves away, it can be a traumatic experience for the child. When I interview a parent and child in this situation, I tell them my own story: When I was l0 years old, my piano teacher, with whom I had studied for two years, moved away. I cried alot because I loved my teacher, I loved her piano, and I even loved the way her house smelled. When my mother took me to a different piano teacher, I was scared. The new teacher did not know ME. But while the transition was rough- going at first, the new teacher helped me adjust by letting me keep working on the pieces I had been studying with my old teacher. Later she introduced her own concepts in technique, interpretation, and repertoire. And before long, I realized that she, too, was a good teacher!

After I tell my personal story, I encourage my transfer students to keep in touch with their former teachers — to let them know the new pieces they are working on, how the practicing is going, etc. It's not only good for the student, but good for the former teacher — we love to hear from our students who have moved away or graduated!

 

web site by allen l. hubby http://www.interport.net/~hubby