What do you look for in a music teacher?

[NavyWifeandMommy]

I have three to pick from. One seems to be the popular fun teacher and will teach you whatever song you want to play and is good with children. Another is willing to go into music theory and history along with teaching you all the scales and songs. The third is a person that no one seems to know about and that's the $45 for 3 lessons a month.

Do we ask each instructor for a mini 15 minute lesson/interview to see if they are a fit? Do we sign up for a month with teacher A, then B and finally C to see which teacher is a good fit? Would the one with many students be so busy that it's just a rushed lessons or would the teacher who has a few be better because he/she has more to give because they dont have 15 other children?

Next year the program I am using will discuss history of music and my youngers will learn the basics so a review for oldest. We have read about Mozart and Beetoven (ya its spelled wrong) I have shown my daughter the notes but I am better at just doing it than explaining it. I played woodwind instruments so piano is a new area for me but we have a full size (not weighted keys) keyboard to do daily practice with.

Thanks for any advice on picking a teacher. Also thanks for the replies on the how much to pay.

[snickelfritz]

How old are your kids?

 

I love our teacher. She's competent ( music degree in her instrument and teaches elementary music.). But I love her because she's awesome with the kids. She's encouraging and kind. She gives lots of leeway when it's time to pick a Christmas or recital song. The kids do learn the songs in the book and some songs to play as a group, but she's flexible on individual ones.

 

I like your trial lesson idea. My piano teacher when I was young was good, but very temperamental. I refused to do that to my children.

[StephanieZ]

I'd ask for a full 'trial lesson' (30 min for a young child, up to 60+ for an advanced student) with each potential teacher. I'd also ask to observe one or more students at a similar level as your kids.

 

Then pick based on rapport with your kid.

 

I'd not focus on the teacher's approach to history or theory if you feel you can cover those topics.

[plain jane]

I would definitely ask for a trial lesson and see how the teacher does with your children. They can have the best credentials but if they're not a good fit for your child, it can make for miserable lessons. The teacher's temperament can go a long way to making the whole experience enjoyable or miserable.

 

I'd also look for someone who is going to challenge your child. Some teachers don't push kids enough and the kids are capable of so much more if only the teacher would ask that of them. I'm not saying music lessons should be a challenge, just that the teacher should have some sort of expectation for the lessons/child. I've heard this from a few friends now- how the teacher is fantastic yadda yadda, but the child wasn't progressing because the teacher lacked the ability to progress forward. The lessons were fun but when you pay so much for instruction, sometimes it's nice to get more than just "fun" out of a lesson, kwim?

 

That said, I'd also look for a teacher that matches with your teaching philosophy and that they've had a few years teaching kids your child's age. Some people are very talented musicians but horrible with children. :glare:

[Michelle in MO]

I have three to pick from. One seems to be the popular fun teacher and will teach you whatever song you want to play and is good with children. Another is willing to go into music theory and history along with teaching you all the scales and songs. The third is a person that no one seems to know about and that's the $45 for 3 lessons a month.

 

Do we ask each instructor for a mini 15 minute lesson/interview to see if they are a fit? Do we sign up for a month with teacher A, then B and finally C to see which teacher is a good fit? Would the one with many students be so busy that it's just a rushed lessons or would the teacher who has a few be better because he/she has more to give because they dont have 15 other children?

 

Next year the program I am using will discuss history of music and my youngers will learn the basics so a review for oldest. We have read about Mozart and Beetoven (ya its spelled wrong) I have shown my daughter the notes but I am better at just doing it than explaining it. I played woodwind instruments so piano is a new area for me but we have a full size (not weighted keys) keyboard to do daily practice with.

Thanks for any advice on picking a teacher. Also thanks for the replies on the how much to pay.

 

 

You might ask yourself first--what are my goals in this area? What are my children interested in at this point in time? If they are young, their goals could change.

 

I like the suggestion of asking each teacher to give a trial lesson of perhaps 30 minutes each. I think having a good rapport with the children is essential. However, I personally also like a teacher who can teach music theory; if you can teach the history, then that might be a bit of an "overlap" in instruction with the second teacher. I also think learning some scales is important, as you will find scales repeated in a number of different pieces, plus there are certain repetitions, i.e., an Alberti bass, and a familiarity with scales and repetitions is helpful if you or your children are interested in classical music at all.

 

My goals or list may not be the same as yours, but this is what I would look at (not in any particular order, either):

 

1.) Rapport with children

2.) Musical knowledge

3.) Cost of lessons (this may be a factor for some, but I'm of the opinion that if you have two instructors, one of whom is clearly better than the other but charges more, then I would choose the better teacher.)

4.) Music theory instruction, either through a separate theory book or incorporated into the lesson

5.) Classical instruction (this was important for me)

6.) Recital pieces should be memorized

 

This is off the top of my head and reflects my own biases. Overall, I think an interview and a sample lesson would be an excellent idea and might help you match up your own goals with the right teacher.

[mooooom]

when I was 6. And that was a looong time ago. I stopped lessons because of it - although I doubt I ever expressed the reason to my mother or I'm sure she would have looked for another teacher.

 

We've had several guitar teachers for my son, who started playing last year at the age of 15, and the first thing I always looked at was their personalities. I usually ask for recommendations from our online homeschool community as well.

 

The reason we've had so many teachers in 1.5 years. The first one taught at a school and chose not to come back the next year (he always complained to my son, A - telling him he was his only student that practiced). Then we had a college student home for the summer - he discovered that A hadn't learned the names of any notes or chords (he could play them - just didn't know their names - he's my kid who still hasn't memorized his math facts - he just isn't good at that kind of stuff). A was not happy about having to learn the names of notes, but he managed, and the teacher was only a few years onlder than him and they had a nice rapport. He went back to school and I asked for recommendations online and found a really good teacher. He is older, can teach anything (A wanted to learn classical) and he talks to him as well as teaches him - they chit chat about gigs the guy has played, teachers he's had, etc.

 

I think a good teacher will make an effort to make "friends" with his students, because if they can understand their personalities, their likes and dislikes, they can teach more efficiently and instill a love (or at least fondness) for the experience and inspire them to practice and keep playing. Maybe for a serious, self driven student it would be different though.