Just a few thoughts- what are the goals/reasons for studying cello? I hear you when you raise concerns about staying with th program if she takes a break, which suggests you hope this is a long-term activity? Does your DD?
I think you need to explore with the orchestra teacher your concerns as noted above, but also discuss strategies for motivation and practice if you and DD both want to continue. We have found the school music teachers to be good allies, and they have a lot of experience with this issue, so it wouldn't hurt to ask.
In our program, yes, kids can get kicked out, but there is usually a lot of communication and working together (or not) before things get to that point. As a previous poster noted, if she is truly keeping up, she may not see practice as useful, and this may require some explicit explanations, or interventions.
When our kids were in the early stages of learning instruments, we ended up adding private lessons, in a large part to help with motivation and practicing. The private teacher provided individual attention, which could help with perfectionist issues, but also was able to assign music and exercises that were more challenging and more interesting than what was being learned at school. The school group lessons serve a purpose, but are by design limited in what they accomplish.
The rapport with and encouragement of a professional musician has been invaluable, as well, though I will say it is important to find the right fit. One of my kids still doesn't practice regularly, goes through spurts, but the teacher gets this about him and works with him- there are times when they focus more on theory, or musicality, or spend more time talking about music in general. For our DS, this is ideal, but obviously would depend on the kid and her/your goals.
Last edited by cricket3; 01/25/16 04:33 AM.
