Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Need advice: My teacher is going on maternity leave

I started piano lessons 10 months ago with my teacher right off the bat. She is amazing and I don't think I could've progressed at this pace if it wasn't for her. Now, she is pregnant will be having her first baby in a month or so and I'm sure she'll be on maternity leave for a few months. My question is, is it wise to hire a different teacher for the time being? Or will that just cause issues? Of course I can just do stuff on my own but I really like having someone to guide me.

I would seek out another teacher in the interim, but if you get attached to the new teacher, you'll have trouble deciding what to do if and when your present teacher wants to resume. You might ask her for advice.

Did you ask your teacher who she recommends to teach you temporarily during her maternity leave?

She should know teachers who she would trust to teach you while she takes her leave.

For example, my teacher temporarily taught a colleague's student while she was on maternity leave because she knew that she was leaving her student in good hands and he would get quality instruction.

A R

^ AR no I haven't spoken to my teacher about it cause I feel like it's rude. I'm not really sure how to bring it up.

Did your teacher tell you that she would be taking a leave?

If she did, perhaps you could ask her what she had intended for you to keep up your piano lessons while she wasn't teaching.

Did she expect for you to have a pause in lessons?

Do you want to forgo piano lessons for the time she is away from teaching?

I do not believe it is rude to ask these questions of her if you simply ask her what she expects you to be doing during her leave. This would open up the conversation as to what type up options you might have. If you want to continue lessons TEMPORARILY with another teacher, then having her recommend a replacement for the short term would allow her to have input and also introduce you to your temporary teacher. This way any teacher she recommends knows that the lessons you are taking from them is for the short term.

Maybe others have suggestions on an approach with which you are more comfortable.

I have learned that being direct with a question I have gets the conversation going.

You could start out that you know that her maternity leave will be coming up soon and does she have any suggestions for you regarding keeping up with piano, piano lessons, whatever. You might say that you really feel you are making such good progress that you would prefer to have no gaps in instruction while she is enjoying her time with her new baby.

The topic of maternity leave is just a part of a any professional woman's life. Women physicians refer their patients to other physicians they trust when they are on maternity leave. So why not a piano teacher?

A R

I agree, I think you need to ask her. In fact, if the baby is due that soon, I'm surprised she hasn't brought it up herself. Perhaps she's not planning as much leave as you think, or I would have thought she would discuss it with students.

AR Thanks for the advice. I guess I'll just go ahead and ask her when I see her next time.

JDW, yeah that's kind of what I thought as well. But she never brought up maternity leave. But now that you guys picked my brain...the only thing I can think of is she did mention (at our first meeting) that her husband also teaches piano! Now I'm assuming that he's going to take over for the interim. But, then again, I also know his main focus is guitar and that's what he teaches mostly. So now I'm not sure if I want him to teach me =/

She may be planning only a very short break.

Perfectly fine to ask her 1. is she taking leave? and 2. for how long?

If it's only going to be a matter of a few weeks, she may be able to assign you enough to work on, on your own. But, if it's going to be longer, I think I'd definitely want to take lessons from someone. And that someone should be a person she suggests. I get the feeling that you have every intention of continuing to work with your present teacher.

This is her first baby, too, so that can be very overwhelming. My business partner just had her first and her goals and ideas on how it would work were vastly overestimated, and so a lot of accommodations are being made with regards to her teaching schedule.

Best to talk to her about it, but be prepared to be flexible afterwards as she adjusts to the addition to the family. You seem to really enjoy learning with her, and it will most likely be a temporary change.

Perhaps a few months of strumming like a rock god wouldn't be a bad thing!

Morodiene...I definitely enjoy learning from her and I'm very flexible with my schedule so I'm sure it won't be that much of a problem when the time comes.

Earlofmar...my dad taught me how to play the guitar when I was little. I actually thought of maybe taking that too. But piano and guitar might be a little too much noise for my husband. Lol

Well, I had my lesson today and I asked how long she's planning to be on leave. She's hoping for only a month. She will have her mom stay with her for a while to help out with the baby. I guess I can do without lessons for 4 weeks and just do my own thing until then.

I take lessons at a music school so when my teacher was pregnant then another teacher stepped in. I cannot remember who that was not (it was 8 years ago) but it was ok and then I got my usual teacher back after she had the baby and it was only a few months from when she had the baby to coming back

You could do - or how about seeing if a university music student can help you out til your teacher is back? They might be glad of the money and will be more flexible regarding time.

My teacher took a 4 month break for her first child near the end of my second year of lessons. I would say that it does seem to be a concern at the time but in retrospect, it was no big deal. Every teacher has their philosophy of teaching technique, and I would think it is more of a problem to take on a different teacher in between unless you are contemplating leaving your teacher. My teacher lost a few students because of her maternity leave, but most stayed, and her absence did not affected my progress now another couple years have past. If anything, my own issues with work and family affects my progress far more than my teacher's breaks. If you consider staying with this teacher for the next 2 to 3 more years, then a few months off without her is not a concern. You'll be just fine on your own; an opportunity to learn do some fun stuff that you normally would get to do, and not necessarily piano related either.

I would not want a music student teaching me as they are still STUDENTS. I would only go with a fully qualified teacher

There is no such thing as a "fully qualified" piano teacher. At least, I have never met one, and I *am* a piano teacher. I think the student idea might not be bad.

Yes, you never know. Some may be good, some not, just like regular piano teachers. They can have degrees and memberships and other qualifications, but be a bad teacher, or not a good fit for you. When I started out teaching I was not qualified by any means. But my students still learned things and improved.