Estimated reading time 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
What should I look for in a “piano teacher near me”? Most parents start by doing a web search for a “piano teacher near me” or for “piano lessons near me.” But how do you choose a teacher? Piano lessons cost a lot of money, so finding the right teacher is important. Getting it right can mean the difference between getting a good lesson experience and wasting your money. Read more to learn what you should look for in a “piano teacher near me.”
What Should I Look for in a “Piano Teacher Near Me”: What to *Not* Look For
What should I look for in a “piano teacher near me”? Choosing a virtuoso pianist to teach your child isn’t the best idea:
- Learning piano, for these teachers, came easily in childhood. This means they’ll often have problems understanding why your child struggles with something the teacher thinks should be easy. This can lead to a lack of patience.
- They never had to learn to teach themselves, so they’re often not very good at teaching others.
- In addition, sometimes these teachers will do concert tours that’ll interrupt your child’s lesson schedule. For many of them, teaching is just a gig to pay the bills before they make it big. So, their primary focus isn’t on your child.
Having spent years talking to other piano teachers, both online and in-person, I’ve seen it time and again. This type of teacher tends to blame student struggles on a lack of practice, even when the parents know their child practices.
Daniel Coyle, in The Talent Code, states:
It’s the most basic common sense: if you want your child to start a new skill, you should search out the best-trained, most John Wooden like teacher possible. Right? Not necessarily. (The Talent Code 172)
According to Coyle, there are teachers who are “talent whisperers” who can consistently get the best out of their students:
- These teachers are usually musicians who initially showed promise, but somehow failed to measure up.
- Then, they figured out what went wrong and can translate that experience into their teaching.
- Looking at a piano teacher’s education is a good start, but you’ll also need to consider the instructor’s teaching track record.
Read the next section to see what Coyle has to say about what makes a good teacher for young students.
What Should I Look for in a “Piano Teacher Near Me”: The Not So Average Neighborhood Teacher
“What should I look for in a ‘piano teacher near me’?” Coyle explains that Dr. Benjamin Bloom (in a research study) asked virtuoso pianists to rate their first piano teachers as:
- Very Good: Lots of training and well regarded.
- Better Than Average: Good training and knowledge.
- Average: A non-professional local teacher.
Sixty-two percent of the teachers received an “average” rating, and twenty-four percent received a “better than average” rating.
- Does that mean that the incipient virtuoso pianists soon left for better teachers?
- No, they averaged five to six years with their first teacher.
- “The initial teachers were largely determined by the chances of proximity and availability” (173). A piano teacher near me indeed.
Then, Coyle lists the things said about the future virtuosos’ lesson experiences:
- “She was really great with young kids.”
- “She was very kindly, very nice.”
- “She liked young people, and she was very nice, and he liked her.”
- “He was very good with kids, liked kids instinctively and had a good rapport.”
- “He was enormously patient and not very pushy.”
- “She carried a big basket of Hershey bars and gold stickers for the music and I was crazy about this lady.”
- “It was an event for me to go to my lesson” (175).
So, it turns out that the average neighborhood piano teachers weren’t so average after all. What they did well is what Coyle calls ignition:
- These piano teachers instilled a love of music.
- They “ignited” a desire to learn and play piano.
- Both of which help sustain students through the necessary practices that happen each week.
What Should I Look for in a “Piano Teacher Near Me”: What Did the Neighborhood Teachers Do Best?
Coyle then goes on to quote Bloom:
Perhaps the major quality of these teachers was that they made the initial learning very pleasant and rewarding. Much of the introduction to the field was as playful activity, and the learning at the beginning of this stage was much like a game.
These teachers gave much positive reinforcement and only rarely were critical of the child. However, they did set standards and expected the child to make progress, although this was largely done with approval and praise. (The Talent Code 176)
While the teachers endeavored to make things positive and fun, you’ll notice that they still had standards:
- Which means you should see that translating into steady progress for your child.
- If after a couple of months your child has not made good progress, it may be time to look for another teacher.
- In the next section, I have some tips on how to vet teachers.
Does your child struggle with learning music? These posts can help:
What Should I Look for in a “Piano Teacher Near Me”: So, What Do I Do?
Here are some final thoughts on, What Should I Look for in a “Piano Teacher Near Me”?
- It doesn’t matter if you get a top ranked teacher for your budding pianist.
- However, you still need to look for a quality teacher who is good at teaching kids. Not all are, regardless of education and experience.
- First, print the list of good piano teacher qualities (from the last two sections).
- Then, talk to other parents and see which piano teachers get good reviews. (Or ask for recommendations on a Facebook page that serves your local area.)
- Alternatively, if you like what you see on a particular teacher’s website, ask the teacher if you can talk to some current students.
- That way you can find out what the parents think of the teacher and compare that with the list of good piano teacher attributes.
- This will help you find a teacher who is good at working with children.
Related Posts
- Is the Suzuki Music Methodology Bad for Learning Piano?
- Making Sense of Why Treble and Bass Clef Are So Different
- D’you Want Some Music Tips and Tricks I’ve Learned Over the Years?
© 2024 Geoffrey Keith
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