The Requirements of a Piano Teacher

August 24th, 2009

I took piano lessons for 10 years with the same piano teacher. While it’s usually a great investment to start taking piano lessons with a teacher, you should be sure that the teacher you are choosing satisfies all of the following criteria.

1. Generally, your piano teacher should have studied music and/or piano throughout university, or through conservatory training and examination. He or she must know the instrument well in order to know how to use it as a teaching tool.

2. If you are a beginner, you should choose the most qualified teacher. It’s very important for beginner piano players to establish a solid foundation in regards to technical skills and musicality. If a teacher is not qualified enough to communicate and teach proper technique from the early stages of learning, it becomes very difficult to break bad habits developed by students in order to correct their technical abilities.

3. Ideally, the teacher should have both a background in performance and a pedagogical (teaching). A teacher with performance experience would only understand what it takes to play the instrument well, while a teacher with pedagogical training would only know hot to teach beginners (especially young children).

4. The environment you are being taught in also plays an important role. Basically, you should be free from distractions and other noises.

5. The teacher that you choose should be flexible and must understand the individual needs and goals of each different student. Teaching methods vary greatly between certain students, whether their goal is to become a concert performer or another’s goal is to play improvisational jazz pieces just for fun.

6. Your piano teacher should offer performance opportunities, such as end-of-year recitals, or the chances to participate in local festivals, competitions, and of course conservatory examinations. The ability to play in front of an audience is an integral part of studying music.

7. The teacher should have a well-rounded teaching strategy and should include teaching all aspects of music, including theory, technique, and musicality. Music is not just an ability to play a song well; it is a form of art. It takes a person with great artistry to understand and to teach complete musicality.

8. As a rule, the price of the piano lessons should not dictate your decision on choosing a piano teacher. A teacher with the best qualifications and experience would most likely not be cheap, but you would be getting quality teaching methods for your time and money spent.

Elise’s Musical Tip For The Day:

Piano teachers are great, but they’re not for everyone. In fact, in today’s day and age, technology is starting to really take its place in music. There are several multimedia piano lessons and courses that you can learn on your own, saving you time and money from a weekly piano lesson. Read my review here if you are interested in finding the very best multimedia piano course that is being offered on the market today.

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