I am having the most awful time with my current flute teacher at the university I'm attending. I applied to transfer to
Indiana for an art major with a music minor so I could attempt to audition for their music program again sometime next year. The thing is, though, that I've never had a lesson with Robertello. I've met him and I had a good feeling about it and I've heard nothing but good things about him. Would it be better to just take the risk and go there if i am accepted (and can afford it...because not only is it expenssive for out of state but I live 726 miles away and traveling costs are expenssive too) or should I stay out of school for a year. I'm looking around for teachers in Boston and NYC and I think maybe I should hold out in case I find a teacher I click with here. Would it be better to take a year off and try to work back up to auditioning quality playing (because my teacher has basically ruined my playing), while taking lessons with serious players in boston or nyc and possibly then audition for a school that one of those teachers actually works at? I'd just like to see every perspective of this issue that I can.
I have the rest of this semester and the summer to try and find a teacher I actually click with and decide what I'm going to do. I just don't want to waste anymore time by listening to everyone tell me it's okay to not play well because I am a freshman. That outlook will get me nowhere in life and so will staying where I am now.

I don't know how well I can really speak to the music major questions because I am an amateur, and did not study music at university.

I would say that it would be an excellent idea to be sure of a teacher/program before you spend a lot of money and time transferring. Can you apply for the transfer and then not do it if you find a better alternative?

What do you ultimately want to do with your flute playing? Obviously staying where you are is not taking anything in the right direction, but where you go now would be best addressed if you have a clear idea of what your plans for the future are.

(I have noooo idea what your plans are. But my best friend is a really outstanding flute player, with degrees from high school, conservatory AND grad school(fancy ones), and has played on tour in Europe. She is happy teaching a bit of flute but for a living teaches K-5th grade music in a poorer grade school.)

the most logical thing to do, if you can afford to, is to come take some lessons with those teachers you are interested in, or try to attend a summer workshop where they will teach, my festival in Vermont will have two of the best teachers in NYC, Gary Schocker and Michael Parloff, over a 4 day period, and there are others as well...message me if you want more info on teachers here in NYC I may know...

My teacher here is just pulling me in a direction that i absolutely do not want to go in. We have talked about it extensively. Towards the beginning of the year I thought it would be a good idea to make my goals clear so that I could progress in a way that would satisfy me...because that's what I'm here for right? I made a compilation of recordings and told her exactly what I liked about each one and her only response was that she would never allow me to play like the people in those recordings. So everything is a battle. That is the situation in a nutshell and she is the only teacher here. I'm only here because I foolishly only applied to three schools last year and I didn't get into the music department of one, didn't get in academically to the other...so here I am. That part of it is entirely my fault.
But I wonder if taking a year off of actual academic schooling might hurt me more than help me. It seems to be one of only a few options since it's much too late to be auditioning and any audition I did would not sound good anyway.

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I also talked to another student here and she had all the same problems I'm having and she said that she tried to fight for the ability to bypass our teacher for another teacher elsewhere and still get the lesson credits to stay in the music program without wanting to rip her hair out, but they didn't let her. I could fight that fight again, but I just don't think that they would allow it. I'm just a freshman after all...what do I know. That's how they see it. I could, however, put together a presentation on why there should be more than one teacher available for flute, but none of the other studios here have more than one teacher either. This just isn't a university that puts their priorities too much in this department.

I can't figure out the quote box. The first paragraph is quoting Alienne

If someone has already had this sort of trouble with lessons, you might put forth a formal request to the head of the music department to have lessons with an alternative teacher.

This process is unlikely to get you the results you want specifically (getting lessons with a alternate flute professor), but it will go toward the eventual discovery (one would hope) of the music department that there are some problems with their flute professor. If more people DO speak up, you might be helpling someone elso down the road with the same problem you're having now.

Q:What exactly were your musical selections and what exactly did she find wrong with them? We really need to know at least a few specifics before we can make a real determination. After all, some of those players might really be doing things that are bad for your technique, or doing it for effect despite being properly trained.

Been there and done that.

Here is my 2 cents of advice. I believe most people who take time off from college rarely ever go back. So I do not recommend it.

I transferred and I am glad I did but it did add to the length of time and money in getting things done. Some schools require you retake certain courses so that they know that you know what they want you to know when you go into the next level class (there are two basic music systems in the United States).

The first college I went to was really good in all areas exccept my instrument. I was told by professionals I knew not to let my private teacher at the college change anything about my playing. And it was a good thing too because he didn't know how to play and I should have been teaching him. He minored in music and wasn't very good at all. I ended up transferring out my freshman year and went to the junior college to wait to go to the school I should have gone to in the beginning. And when I went there I did have to retake some classes. But I must say it was worth the extra time for the education I got out of it. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT.

Do not waste your time trying to fight for another teacher where you are now. Schools sometimes have contracts with certain teachers guaranteeing that teacher gets the students - don't get mixed up in the politics of it - it is not worth the trouble.

Get on with your life. Find where you want to go. The teacher you mentioned earlier - call him or her and go have a meeting and/or lesson. Take your recordings and see what s/he says about how the sound. Pay him or her for his or her time and send him a thank you note for meeting with you afterward.

If you like the lesson you have and s/he listens to the style you want to play and agrees then go there and put up with what you are taught. If s/he doesn't like the style you want then do not go there. Regardless of how much that lessons costs you, it might save you thousands and thousands of dollars or it make you feel better about your final decision.

I do not think enough people make the proper investment in what they are striving for. This applies to their time and money. You don't purchase the first flute you see - you try several out. It takes time and gas to get there. You sometimes pay several people shipping costs until you find the right flute. Same thing with college.

There is my 2 cents.