 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Cholé
Date: 2000-02-29 20:31
Hi,
I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I'm 16 and ABRSM grade 6 on clarinet, I've been playing 6 years and play for my County in an orchestra and a band.
In January I swapped clarinet teachers because my old teacher was known to be less than great but more importantly he put me in for an exam I wasn't ready for, which I passed just. He was obsessed with exams and the last exam 20 people took a variety of grades, only four passed, me being the only grade higher than 2 that made it. Because he never gave me much advice on technique and was CONSTANTLY praising my every note (literally), I assumed everything was OK.
I can do nothing right for my new teacher and come home from most lessons in tears because every week there's something new wrong. I apparently hold my clarinet wrong, use the wrong fingerings, don't count properly and have inconsistent tuning and more. I know that's why I swapped, to sort it out but the constant criticism and no recognition for my efforts is really pulling me down. I practise for at least an hour everyday, play in school 4 lunches a week, for 2 and a half hours on Tuesday evenings and all day Sunday so it's not as if I'm not trying. I've always been a nervous person but now in my lessons I get so tense I can barely move my fingers and am always worrying. I used to love playing but now I worry so much my practices seem like a chore. My Mum spoke to her and it was better for a week but after that it went back to how it had been before.
Also she's friends with the band woodwind tutor who previously thought me a good player and has told her all my shortcomings so my chance of promotion when we re-chair in April is now non-existant.
I know she is a good teacher and doing what she believes is best but feel she could be more sensitive because after 6 years of playing it is not easy to be told you are doing everything wrong and sometimes I feel I should just quit. I can't swap teachers because all the 'good' teachers in my area are full and there are few in the first place.
If anyone has any comments or advice I'd really appreciate it.
Thanks,
Cholé
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Author: Cholé
Date: 2000-02-29 20:32
Also she told my parents my Selmer Signet 100 was inadequate so we spent all my savings and my Dad's inheritance money on a Buffet RC.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-02-29 22:40
She is wrong to discuss the details with your band director, especially when it could influence the band director's placement decisions. It is her job to teach you and help you overcome any bad habits you may have had. However, perhaps your band director is confident enough to use his/her own judgement in placing the people.
Some people just aren't very sensitive or just have a poor approach. So try to maintain a good attitude. When you are home practicing and do something better than you have done it before *PRAISE YOURSELF*. Say it out loud "Chloe, you have really improved that passage" or "Chloe, that pianisso C was really sweet."
It can be painful if there are several things that need correcting although a good teacher will only tackle *one* at a time.
Was the teacher aware of the hardship it would be for your family to make this type of investment? Many teachers are not. They assume if you can afford lessons that you can afford the better equipment. This is a bad assumption.
Will a better horn make you a better player or speed your progress? Maybe and maybe not. The most important things in becoming a great player are motivation, practice, and proper training. Equipment is secondary.
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Author: Dee
Date: 2000-02-29 22:52
Chole, sorry I got your name wrong. I didn't pay close enough attention when I read it.
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Author: Bob Gardner
Date: 2000-03-01 01:46
Chole:
hang in there. Many people including teacher have poor people skills.. That not your fault--Why they teach is beyond me. Heck they could dig ditchs and act the same way.
If youbelieve in your heart that you are doing the right thing then go for it.
Tell your band leader that you want to audition for what every you want to do, and let the chips fall where they may.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2000-03-01 01:55
Just remember that "chairs" don't mean all that much in the long run. My son was 1st chair freshman year HS at a small HS, 1st chair at Blue Lake Intl. Band, then last chair starting his soph. year at Interlochen, 5th-6th chair in his Junior Year, co-principal in his senior, and is now a frosh at Cleveland Inst. of Music, where he's playing mostly 2nd currently (some Eb and bass, too). If he would have worried a lot about chairs in the soph. year he might have given up the clarinet - and I <i>personally</i> think it would have been a loss :^)
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Author: col
Date: 2000-03-01 11:08
Just a really small point but if your are really finding it hard to play at your lessons , ie nerves etc then you should a new teacher as you will really start to loathe lessons, as for changing things u should try really hard to do that. I know it can be hard to change after numerous years but the changes are probably essential and will have to be made sometime - better sooner than later
good luck
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Author: Graham Elliott
Date: 2000-03-01 12:23
I must say that I find your description of your new teacher a very disturbing one. It is not easy to read even the detailed sort of description you have given and easily put yourself in the shoes of the teacher, so my judgement may seem harsh. But as Dee says, a teacher who thinks everything about your playing is wrong should not be suggesting you part with Buffett RC type money until and unless those things are fixed. The more brutal (cruel to be kind) type teachers I have encountered would be more likely to suggest you sell your clarinet and give up rather than invest more at this stage (I stress that is NOT what I am saying).
Reading between the lines, with experience of music teacher "politics" it would not surprise me if your new teacher has an attitude towards your old teacher and all his/her pupils. Although this can often be justified, and you suggest that it is, it is also an excuse for bitter and jealous conduct by such a teacher, who can harbour residual frustrations at teaching on the same patch as the "imposter teacher".
You are an experienced person who has status in your music community. What you describe is wrecking your enjoyment. "No pain, No gain" rarely if ever applies in amatuer music making. I am going to suggest that you fire your teacher. Continue to practice, but ease off. The hours you are doing are currently high and I doubt these are being profitably spent. Perhaps go for a period without a teacher. You are old enough to think about clarinet playing for yourself for a while. Read some clarinet books and magazines, read this board, buy some CDs from all kinds of players, learn to enjoy the company of your lovely new instrument, and chill out. Unless you think this will destroy your credibility in the local music community, or will disappoint your supportive parents, that is the approach I would advocate. This is not "giving up". It is taking an alternative more confident line of action.
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Author: Lelia
Date: 2000-03-01 14:17
You're in an especially rough situation right now, having to adjust from one extreme to another -- from a teacher who over-praised everything to a teacher who's at the extreme end of the "tough love" spectrum and makes you feel as if you can't do anything right. With either kind of teacher, it's terribly difficult to assess how you're really doing. I agree with Dee that you will have to learn to judge yourself instead of relying on outside confirmation.
You mention that this new teacher pressured you to buy a professional clarinet. That can be a backhanded form of praise: The teacher thought you could benefit from a fine clarinet.
I'm curious how you found out that your teacher criticized you to your band's woodwind instructor? Did your teacher tell you, did the woodwind instructor tell you, or did you find out from someone else? If the teacher told you, she may have done so to apply more pressure on you to excell. It's another indication that she's insensitive to how you learn best, but it may have been well-meant. If the woodwind instructor told you, it may have been a friendly warning to you that your teacher talks behind your back -- and it may mean the opposite of what you feared. If the woodwind teacher has dealt with your private teacher before, and knows her personality faults, the woodwind instructor may be highly sympathetic to what you're going through, and may have no intention of letting this situation hurt you in seat jumps.
You mention that your mother talked to the instructor about changing her ways. Have *you* talked to the teacher? When do you start crying? In the lesson or after you leave? If you've been holding it all in until you leave, quit doing that. Cry in the lesson, or even walk out of a lesson. Make a statement! It's embarrassing to burst into tears in front of the teacher, but you need to *show* her that she's hurting you and that this is a serious problem. Otherwise, she may think that an overprotective mother is overreacting or exaggerating. You need to deal with the teacher yourself. If crying in front of her is just too much, try setting your clarinet down and saying, "We need to talk about some things." Then talk. I don't mean yell and scream and throw a tantrum, of course -- I just mean express to her exactly what you expressed to us most eloquently in your message. You communicate well. Use that skill and do some negotiating. If she's so free with information about what you do wrong, then she should be equally free with information about what you do right.
I agree with Graham Elliott (I think it was) who suspects that your new teacher has got an agenda to undermine your former teacher. In your spot I would ask her straight out what she thinks of your former teacher. Get it out in the open. If the teacher can vent on that subject or if she at least realizes you've seen beneath the surface, she may realize she's taking something out on you that's not your fault and that leaving you stuck in the middle of her problem is unfair.
Maybe the teacher really doesn't know that she says things in such a negative way. Quote her back to herself and ask her point-blank if she really thinks you're lazy or a bad student. Don't try to guess what she means. Make her explain it. Don't be afraid of what she might say. You're already imagining the worst. Knowing, one way or the other, will take some of the burden off of you so that at least you know where you stand. You need to know whether you should quit studying with this b.... witch, or whether she's just got a weird way of "encouraging" you to try harder. Maybe you can learn to pick out the nuggets of information from the pile of diatribe and learn from her despite her charming (not!) approach.
When I was in school, I did my best work for teachers who pushed me and made me push back. Teachers who let me get away with coasting didn't inspire me. Teachers who pressured me earned my respect and made me want to earn their respect. But I think it's wise to draw the line at putting up with a teacher who's outright abusive. You don't need that. Better to take some time off from lessons until you can find a teacher whose teaching style matches your learning style better, if this woman does feel as negatively toward you as you think.
Throughout life, you'll run into people like her and you'll have to deal with them somehow. This situation can turn into a good, positive learning experience. Just remember it's up to *you* whether or not you want to play the clarinet. She can't make you quit.
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Author: Sara
Date: 2000-03-02 01:50
I agree with the walk out thing 100%. At the beginning of the school year I took a breajk from my normal teacher and decide to try ou this one teacher who, how should we say this, well anyone who is anybody, theoretically, that playes clarinet in my community takes lessons from this chic. Anyways, this teacher nknew me already because some of her students told her about me, and to say the least she had a very negative attitude about my playing before she even heard me. Well the first lesson she criticized everyhting, and I thought well if all the goo players can take this so can I. WEll the second lesson, right offtthe bat she started yelling and carrying on about my poor techniquew and then near the end she slapped my knee and thats when I started crying and walked out, I just counld't take the nonconstructive critizcism any more. Just look at it this way, your hiring her to help you with something you love, and if she's not helping quite and finds someone who can. Remember credidentials aren't everything.
Sara
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