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I would appreciate any opinions or experiences with a student having 2 piano teachers at the same time.
I am an adult middle aged student who started taking piano lessons at a music school about 4 years ago (no previous experience with any instrument). I practice regularly about 2 hours/day and have upgraded recently to a nice grand piano. The instruments at the school are OK to poor. My teacher is knowledgeable and experienced and I really enjoy working with her. Due to a recent change in my job schedule I had to shorten my lessons from 1 hour weekly to 45 minutes and it just does not seem like enough time- and it didn’t when we had an hour! Without going into boring details we cannot find another slot available at a mutually available time.
My first choice is to continue with my current teacher and supplement the lessons with a second teacher, preferably at my home where I can play on my own beloved piano.
I would continue to work on classical repertoire with my teacher and participate in Guild under her guidance, and any technique she assigns.
I would hire a second teacher to supplement the areas we spend less time on- technique outside of repertoire ( more focused attention to scales, arpeggios, relaxing my right hand ), sight reading , theory. Perhaps try popular music eventually. I would devote at least 30 minutes of my practice time to this area of study. I could manage 2 hours/ month in 30 minute lessons or 2 one hour lessons if it was in my home.
Money is not an issue. I will discuss this with my teacher but I would appreciate any thoughts/ potential positives or negatives with this idea. I believe she would agree to the situation but I am not sure if she would express all reservations. Thanks!

Is this correct: Your job circumstance has changed and your teacher cannot find a different time slot, so it's not that you are choosing shorter lessons but something like the time you get off work loses you those 15 minutes? I.e. if you chose to have less time in lessons and then wanted a second set of lessons from another teacher that wouldn't make sense.

For the part that I have quoted, there are areas such as scales, arpeggios, relaxing the hand and "technique outside of repertoire" that you would like to do with another teacher. This implies that you are not doing those things in lessons (or not much) and that the technique that you get is "technique inside repertoire". I'm guessing from experience: if the repertoire needs a certain technique, then it's covered enough for you to be able to play the piece. Your lessons involve Guild (which I think is mainly about pieces?) so essentially you are preparing pieces for the Guild exams as the focal point. (?)

If you want to be concentrating on these other areas, does your teacher know? If s/he does, but is not interested in teaching this part, then your proposal would not come as a surprise. But if she doesn't know then it might be a different reaction.

I might be reading too much between the lines. Definitely you should talk to your teacher about your plans. But if you have never talked about your actual goals, then this might be a good time to do it. If she is positive about a second teacher then maybe she has some input otherwise too.

I am an older student, not a teacher. The issue of goals came up at around that stage of my own lessons. The changes that were made happened within lessons in our case. In the beginning may end up falling into whatever routine and simply continue with it until something shakes up that routine.

It depends whether there are actually things you always wanted to cover, or whether the issue of time and shortened lessons have gotten you to think of what else you would like to learn.

I'm sure you'll find contradictory explanations between the two teachers, which does not necessarily mean either of them is wrong, they may be leading you to a common goal differently, anyway, I don't think it's a good idea, you'll get confused.

Hi keystring,
I would prefer and am use to an hour lesson but cannot make it in time due to later work hours. Another student was willing to switch slots and go earlier but they are a 45 minute lesson. Otherwise I couldn’t continue lessons with the current teacher.
I really enjoy working on repertoire with this teacher and I value the relationship. She does work on technique in and out of repertoire but a loss of 15 minutes is a big chunk of time. And I absorb things slooooowly.
I do a number of pieces for guild each year because it focuses me to work for a higher level and I like the extra feedback from another source. My goal is just to improve each year and I do. I try to be realistic about what I can achieve as I started so late- no quitting the day job! I just love the process of practicing and trying to improve and expressing myself through music.
I tried to separate the areas to make the least amount of conflict and give me extra focused practice in areas I am slower at absorbing. I think if I worked on the same repertoire with 2 teachers = not good! But extra sight reading or technical practice would enhance the other, or two heads are better than one. Or maybe not?

You definitely need to discuss this with your teacher, which you already know. That includes the concern your teacher may have of conflicting approaches which could confuse you or mess up what this teacher is teaching you. If this teacher thought it a good idea, and maybe knew someone whose approaches were compatible with her own, or some area she think would be good for you to go after - i.e. to really consult her on this.

The idea would be to have the same teacher twice over, which you say won't work. Another thought involves maximizing your time in the sense that there may be more efficient ways of practicing to get at your goals. But certainly in my 4th year of lessons I would not have found 45 minutes to be enough.

Let's hear what teachers have to say.

I have two piano teachers. One primarily for Jazz Piano and the other primarily for Classical Piano. There are overlaps in learning areas, especially in technique.

I always make sure to do assignments the way that each teacher tells me to, even if one is different from the other, or if it means doing similar things two different ways. I also don't compare/praise/criticize/complain about one teacher to the other. I'm learning a lot (pedagogically) from trying and comparing the two teachers approaches.

not at the beginning.

When you are at a competent level where most of the learning is really being done yourself, then yes, having different view points is great.

There is also the idea of networking. If you want to win competitions , get into schools ..... take lessons with teachers that do these things. Yes it is somewhat two faced but you will learn something, and even if you don't , the fact that they see your face makes you more likely to succeed. Plenty of studies to back that up.

The only caveat is that your "main" teacher if you have one is aware and ok with it. There is nothing like a classical musicians scorn. They can be juvenile beyond what is humanly possible. I am talking about 50 year professionals holding on to grudges because they view their students as prizes and once you cross them or even decide to change teacher for a fresh outlook, they will purposefully make your professional entry as hard as they can. The classical world is really bad in that manner.

Why can't you have 2 lessons per week with the same teacher? I second the idea that you should talk to your current teacher about this before proceeding to look for one. She may even be able to suggest some good teachers to you.

I think having two instructors is not a good idea. You'll most likely receive different (and potentially conflicting) perspectives on everything from technique to repertoire. Plus, your learning objectives will be scattered all over the map (learning A with one instructor, B with the other) and you may not be moving forward in a clear direction.

Just an example - when I returned to studying piano post college, I interviewed three prospective professors with D.M.A.s. I interviewed one professor whose main objective was to make me proficient in Taubman technique; however, the other two thought I already had solid technique.

This search for a second teacher seems motivated by fear. Oh, no, my lesson time is shortened to 45 minutes!

It would be different if you wanted a teacher to work with you on jazz or something your current teacher cannot do.

Why can't you work on theory and sightreading, scales and arpeggios, and telling your right hand to relax...all at home on your own? I don't see any reason an admittedly slow adult like yourself would be making so much progress that you need more than a 45 minute weekly lesson.

OTOH, if you simply like having someone give you the extra attention and since you can afford it, no harm done having 2 teachers.

The problem is always the world "classical". The Classical period in music is the music written from about 1750 through to 1800 or a bit past. The world "classical" is otherwise meaningless.

The group of musicians you are referring to are cut-throat, but the nastiness comes from the nature of competition, not the style of music.

Having two teachers is destructive if two teachers are teaching the same thing and have different ideas as to how to achieve them.

If two different teachers are working in different areas, that can work quite well.

If you have a great deal of trust in the teacher you have, you should tell the teacher what you have in mind. Remember that learning scales, just to use one example, is not just a matter or learning to play scales. There is the *technique* of playing them, and if a second teacher advises using a different technical approach to playing the same scales that you are already using with the first teacher, in music, there will be big problems.

And that just scratches the surface...

Morodiene: My teacher currently works at the music school only 1 night/wk and has her own studio. Since I was assigned to her as an employee of the school I can only see her on the days she is there per school policy, and cannot see her in her own studio. I am planning to speak with her as I stated in the original post.

Anne: you are right, lessons do seem rushed now. I am usually working on 3-4 mid intermediate pieces in different stages of completion. We have not had time to go over each piece of repertoire in the last few visits. Not sure that will have any negative effect, just perhaps a slower pace of completion. Have you had any experience sharing a student, or is it generally just not done?

As for self teaching, I suppose I could, but do better when I can ask questions and get feedback. I am considering learning some popular music in addition to classical.

You need more time with the current teacher in order to go over each piece that has already been assigned. Having a second teacher would not solve this problem.

The school policy says you can't see the teacher in her private studio? I'd guess that as long as you take your scheduled lesson at the school, you could supplement (paid separately) by seeing your teacher in her private studio. The school does not need to be involved or even informed about that decision IMO.

I don't have experience being a second teacher, but I teach beginners, and it hasn't come up. I did briefly study with two teachers since one taught jazz and offered me a free lesson (which got me to start). I only practice an hour daily, and for me it was a bit too much to keep up with both.

And she will not break her agreement to the school that teachers not take students away from the school or see them off premises in their private studios and I respect that she is honoring her agreement. Really, it would have been better if I had found a teacher privately in their own studio from the start! But I did not, it has worked so far, and they have provided me with a quality teacher! However the restrictiveness of the situation does cause issues due to changes in my job schedule.

I missed that sentence. If you have a good instrument at home, that would certainly be a problem.

i think we all understand when using the term classical what it entails. The romantic period was not part of the classical period but if are going to make such distinctions when using it as vernacular, well you are going to lose alot of people.

Perhaps the better term is academic. The academic , government subsidized arena of "classical" music is full of individuals that have never worked in the commercial world and have no concept of how to be professional. What seems to permeate is this completely childish work ethos further marred by people that tend to lack competence due to a system that does not weed them out. In other fields, you could call it the old boys club. In classical music, it is the little baby please grow up club.

What arenas of classical music is subsidized by the government???

What does it mean to be professional?

It may be time for a new teacher who is available for the amount of time you want. Wouldn't hurt to check out your options.

Or say you have an identical twin (with a name rhyming with yours...Ann/Fran...Eddie/Freddie) who is interested in taking lessons at your teacher's private studio. Then put on a wig and hope the disguise works.