My 7th grade daughter plays bassoon. Her teacher is about to give birth to her 1st baby. We asked what she planned to do about lessons after her child was born. She said babies sleep so much so it shouldn’t be an issue, and if the baby needed to be held, she would just hold it while giving the lesson.
Does this sound a little odd to any of you? For some reason, I don’t relish the prospect of paying full prices for private musc lessons to a teacher who may well be distracted by her young infant.
I understand that we could just wait and see how things turn out. But, she will be taking some time off from teaching when the baby is born, and we won’t even be able to evaluate things until after that break. The alternative would be just getting a new teacher now.
I agree that having the baby around the way you described it would often be a big distraction during the lesson.
To make the most progress during lessons (and during practicing) a person should be very focused on the task. And the instructor won’t do as well if she is concerned about the brand new baby in her arms. (She also won’t be able to pick up her own instrument to demonstrate something).
Also, different teachers will have different strengths. One might be better at getting a good tone and working on reeds, and another might be better at teaching rhythms and musicality. Your daughter might become a more well-rounded musician by having an instructor with different insights.
I personally wouldn’t take lessons from someone who had a bunch of kids roaming around screaming and yelling. Studios are sound proof for a reason in music stores. The teacher is being very unprofessional and should really find a daycare for her child or start doing travelling lessons like I used to do since I didn’t have any teaching space in my last apartment.
I taught private guitar lessons throughout college. The students who worked out the best were those who had a quiet space where I could teach. The ones that had siblings that would roam around and wreak havoc were the ones that invariably learned the slowest and were most likely to quit taking lessons or give up the instrument. I would definately find a different teacher now unless she changes her mind and has a daycare or something like that for her child to be put in during her “work” hours.
Oh, I should have added. Taking time off every now and then shouldn’t be considered a problem. It would suck if one didn’t get vacation or maternity leave type of time when one needs it. To impose one’s child into a learning environment isn’t proper. I hope that wasn’t too repetitive.
I’d look for a new teacher too… though I wonder whether the problem is less the present teacher’s professionalism and more her unrealistic ideas about babies.
I predict she tries the “hold it while giving the lesson” thing for a few months, then slaps her own self upside the head, saying, “What in the heck was I THINKING?”
My daughter just picked up bassoon a couple of months ago at the request of her bandleader. She took 4 lessons from one teacher before going to band camp.
She never really clicked with him, tho she did make considerable progress, so after camp, we started with this new woman. Tho my daughter really likes this woman, we are not sure we are impressed with her teaching methods and professionalism. It has only been a few lessons, and we were cutting her considerable slack due to her pregnancy. But each lesson goes by and there’s another few bucks spent, and we are asking whether our daughter was taught as much as we expect.
This is my youngest of 3, and all 3 play instruments, so we have a bit of experience with music teachers. It can be tough to find the one who is right for a particular student. And at early stages, it can take a while to figure if things are working out.
My kid really likes this woman, but I’m not paying private lesson rates for my kid to have a friend!
There is only one baby who would be sleeping all the time, as apposed to the above. I wouldn’t want a bunch of kids either, but a small baby who sleeps and a professional music teacher, I don’t see a problem.