Re: Harp Teacher

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

At the risk of provoking flames, there are some things jumping out at me right away. No teacher should be getting up to answer the phone in the middle of a lesson unless there are unusual circumstances, which they should explain. And they should never short-change you on your lesson time. If something arises to make this necessary, then that time should be made up. As for rhythm-training, I believe this to be essential. It is hard enough for a young person to acclimatize to ensemble work, without having to learn to count on the spot! I agree also that it is counter-productive to try to learn too many new pieces all at once. It is much better to learn a lot of technique at the beginning, with a couple of pieces to make it fun. On top of that, no teacher should be bad-mouthing colleagues or former students or complaining about things. You are not paying him so that he can sound off. Can you imagine going back to a hairdresser who did that? If you wish to continue your association with him, it would be a good idea to talk to him about these things. If you can find a more professional teacher, that would be preferable. After nine months, there should be noticeable progress.