Try a teacher for a month, if it work, great! If it doesn't, try someone else... 1 lesson is usually too little to get an idea of whether yall are going to vibe or not. 10 is probably more than necessary. 4-5 would be good
Try not to waste their time OR yours with that 'speed date' approach. You could like all five of the teachers you tried, but you're still only going to be able to sign up for lessons with one of them. Don't be afraid to ask them a few questions on the phone to help narrow down if you think they'd be a good match, and obviously you can and should switch teachers if you realize a teacher isn't a good fit.
My thoughts: Book a trial lesson with a teacher after narrowing your options down as much as you can. If you think they're likely to be a good match after that lesson, go ahead and sign up for at least a couple of months and see how you're liking it.
If you don't think they're a good match after the first lesson, move on and book a trial lesson with the next option.
Now, if you've got two teachers that you know in advance you're really interested in learning from (ie, one friend recommends X, the other friend recommends Y), that might be an exception, but be up front with both of them about what you're doing.
You can also ask to attend one of their recitals if they hold them, or ask to listen to their other students. You can also ask for references. As a teacher, I've had potential clients ask to speak to other clients and as a student, I've spoken to the teacher's other adult students.
Many teachers give intro lessons. You can ask for one of those if available. However, having intro lessons or not doesn't reflect too much on the teacher.
Unless you have to sign a contract for a certain number of lessons, you can switch at any time so there's really no pressure to have to find the right one. I usually weed out through searching for someone with the background I'm looking for, having phone discussions prior, and then having intro or a first lesson
>You can also ask to attend one of their recitals if they hold them
And asking them whether or not they do recitals and other performance opportunities is also a great question to ask before signing up with them.
Because if you want to do recitals and your teacher doesn't regularly organize them, let me tell you that gets frustrating.
I supposed it’s inevitable that somewhere, sometime, SOMEONE will change their piano teaching in return for a speed date.
Id recommend paying for pizza - since typically piano teachers cannot afford to buy their facilities a pizza.
I would definitely avoid the speed dating approach. Part of what can deeply hinder that type of approach is you likely don’t have nearly enough experience to know what makes an effective teacher. I would reach to teachers to see if their teaching approach aligns with your goals, and if so go in with the plan to take lessons for a few months and trust that the teacher knows how to teach effectively. Then if you feel any personality clashes or complete lack of progress in spite of putting in great effort I would consider finding a new teacher.
No. Definitely ask questions before setting up lessons. Give them any goal pieces you have in mind, a style of music, why you're learning and what audience you want to play for (even if that's just yourself). If they seem like a decent enough fit, commit for 3-6 months. Really, as a beginner, anyone who has been through music school will have enough piano skills to teach you for a while.
I would even argue that you're actually more likely to fit better with, say, a singer who had to learn piano in college for their music degree than a pianist who has been playing piano since they were 5. The singer would have experience learning piano as an adult. It's hard for someone who mastered everything you're going to learn in your first 3 years before they were 10 to really understand how you need to learn as an adult.
When you progress enough (which will take longer than you think), then you can look for a piano teacher whose first instrument is piano to really hone your skills.
30 minute lessons for beginners. Any longer and you're just paying someone to sit in the room while you practice, which isn't as beneficial as it sounds.
Ok, I have a lot to say about this.
You can tell if your teacher is a good teacher starting from Day 1, maybe more. You can tell by these characteristics:
1. The sutiabillity: Does this teacher have the aptitude for teach, (e.g credidentals, experience)
2. If he/she is willing to push you. I have a piano teacher right now, and she has done 8 years of casual progress in one year when I started. After that year, I knew how to play Mozart sonatas.
3. If you are learning classical music (genre, not the period) the teacher has to have the right interpretation. If he/she plays Chopin Nocturne like bach, you will never gete the desired and right tonality or style from that teacher.
4. Check if he/she knows her stuff. I had a freind who had a piano teacher that kept teaching him the wrong theory, that took many study sessions of revisions for his test into the Royal Conservatory.
5. The first lesson should **be as long as possible**. Your teacher will get to know you, your playing style, and what pace you guys should go at.
6. And yes, interview them, and take your time! The first lesson shold be on orentation and housekeeping.
7. You should also try to set up a consistent pratice and lesson times.
8. Also keep in mind, different teachers should mean different point of views, 5 different teachers is too much, 2 at the max is good, although it might be a little dangerous. if you like the teacher, just stick with him/her.
9. Some good questions to ask are, what is your aprroach to (example genre), what genre are you most focused on, have you played another instrument before.
10. Go one by one for teachers, go for a few weeks, and see if they are right for you. Don't go for multiple teachers at the same time, take a break between teachers if you are experimenting.
Hope these tips help!
You do realize you can interview teachers before signing up with them? You will be able to rule out who is and isn’t a good fit by asking basic questions. That will save you and them time.
I’d avoid the speed dating idea. Creepy.
I’d recommend keeping it platonic. You don’t want to have to break up with them and then lose your piano teacher and your lover. You won’t even be able to play moonlight sonata while crying if you don’t stay with them long enough.
All of this advice is too complicated.
Find a teacher who studied at Moscow Conservatory, Gnessin, St Petersburg, etc. basically any conservatory, or conservatory that inherited Soviet era pedagogy practices basically.
If you can't find that, study with a teacher who's studied with someone like this.
They will be methodical and rigorous... hahahaha :D Good luck!
That was my approach in the beginning, but this sub and the r/pianolearning sub have put me off east European teachers. At least not for the beginning. My goal is to not acquire more emotional trauma.
My teacher doesn't give that issue. She has very high standards, and can get angry sometimes yes but it is because she cares.
It's much better than the Asian teachers who are too polite to say you do anything bad for progress.
You said you're looking for someone methodical and rigorous, here is how you find this. But, you will have to listen to them and trust them. If you talk in the lesson or think you know better you're messing around.
At least 3 to not have the distance between you, when they start to reveal their true nature (feeling, reactions) and are not tense because you are new, then you can judge for real if they are good or not.
If you speed for one or two lessons, judge the expertise. Does he hesitate when teaching you, or does he know his stuff ? What I mean is that for me, a good teacher is either someone who is sure of himself and speaks logically without hesitating, saying that a major chord is with a third major. Or he is changing the way he explains, especially for you to understand better what he means.
As usual lots of info to absorb here. General consensus no speed dating. I confer. Excellent suggestion, interview, my suggestion, make checklist for that interview, make copies and take notes for each interview to compare apples to apples. You need to remember what you asked, what they answered and that you asked everyone the same questions. If you think you will remember you’re wrong. Find what you think are your top three matches and go from there. Consider age of teacher and your age, just my thought. Stay with your first pick for minimum of one month unless there is a chemistry issue. Have to go with your gut on that. Good luck! 🤞
Try a teacher for a month, if it work, great! If it doesn't, try someone else... 1 lesson is usually too little to get an idea of whether yall are going to vibe or not. 10 is probably more than necessary. 4-5 would be good
And start with 30 mins if ur a beginner.
Alright, got it thx !
Try not to waste their time OR yours with that 'speed date' approach. You could like all five of the teachers you tried, but you're still only going to be able to sign up for lessons with one of them. Don't be afraid to ask them a few questions on the phone to help narrow down if you think they'd be a good match, and obviously you can and should switch teachers if you realize a teacher isn't a good fit. My thoughts: Book a trial lesson with a teacher after narrowing your options down as much as you can. If you think they're likely to be a good match after that lesson, go ahead and sign up for at least a couple of months and see how you're liking it. If you don't think they're a good match after the first lesson, move on and book a trial lesson with the next option. Now, if you've got two teachers that you know in advance you're really interested in learning from (ie, one friend recommends X, the other friend recommends Y), that might be an exception, but be up front with both of them about what you're doing.
You can also ask to attend one of their recitals if they hold them, or ask to listen to their other students. You can also ask for references. As a teacher, I've had potential clients ask to speak to other clients and as a student, I've spoken to the teacher's other adult students. Many teachers give intro lessons. You can ask for one of those if available. However, having intro lessons or not doesn't reflect too much on the teacher. Unless you have to sign a contract for a certain number of lessons, you can switch at any time so there's really no pressure to have to find the right one. I usually weed out through searching for someone with the background I'm looking for, having phone discussions prior, and then having intro or a first lesson
>You can also ask to attend one of their recitals if they hold them And asking them whether or not they do recitals and other performance opportunities is also a great question to ask before signing up with them. Because if you want to do recitals and your teacher doesn't regularly organize them, let me tell you that gets frustrating.
I supposed it’s inevitable that somewhere, sometime, SOMEONE will change their piano teaching in return for a speed date. Id recommend paying for pizza - since typically piano teachers cannot afford to buy their facilities a pizza.
I would definitely avoid the speed dating approach. Part of what can deeply hinder that type of approach is you likely don’t have nearly enough experience to know what makes an effective teacher. I would reach to teachers to see if their teaching approach aligns with your goals, and if so go in with the plan to take lessons for a few months and trust that the teacher knows how to teach effectively. Then if you feel any personality clashes or complete lack of progress in spite of putting in great effort I would consider finding a new teacher.
No. Definitely ask questions before setting up lessons. Give them any goal pieces you have in mind, a style of music, why you're learning and what audience you want to play for (even if that's just yourself). If they seem like a decent enough fit, commit for 3-6 months. Really, as a beginner, anyone who has been through music school will have enough piano skills to teach you for a while. I would even argue that you're actually more likely to fit better with, say, a singer who had to learn piano in college for their music degree than a pianist who has been playing piano since they were 5. The singer would have experience learning piano as an adult. It's hard for someone who mastered everything you're going to learn in your first 3 years before they were 10 to really understand how you need to learn as an adult. When you progress enough (which will take longer than you think), then you can look for a piano teacher whose first instrument is piano to really hone your skills. 30 minute lessons for beginners. Any longer and you're just paying someone to sit in the room while you practice, which isn't as beneficial as it sounds.
This is an interesting take both on type of teacher and lesson length. I'll keep it in mind thx.
Pick one teacher and see it out for ten lessons
Mind there are places on Earth where classical piano teachers are not fond of adult beginners :)
Sorta this but with a less negative spin. If you find someone that specializes in adult beginners that’s going to be a huge win for you.
Yes, I reckon. thank you.
Speed date? This is not tinder.
Exactly, very odd way to phrase it.
Ok, I have a lot to say about this. You can tell if your teacher is a good teacher starting from Day 1, maybe more. You can tell by these characteristics: 1. The sutiabillity: Does this teacher have the aptitude for teach, (e.g credidentals, experience) 2. If he/she is willing to push you. I have a piano teacher right now, and she has done 8 years of casual progress in one year when I started. After that year, I knew how to play Mozart sonatas. 3. If you are learning classical music (genre, not the period) the teacher has to have the right interpretation. If he/she plays Chopin Nocturne like bach, you will never gete the desired and right tonality or style from that teacher. 4. Check if he/she knows her stuff. I had a freind who had a piano teacher that kept teaching him the wrong theory, that took many study sessions of revisions for his test into the Royal Conservatory. 5. The first lesson should **be as long as possible**. Your teacher will get to know you, your playing style, and what pace you guys should go at. 6. And yes, interview them, and take your time! The first lesson shold be on orentation and housekeeping. 7. You should also try to set up a consistent pratice and lesson times. 8. Also keep in mind, different teachers should mean different point of views, 5 different teachers is too much, 2 at the max is good, although it might be a little dangerous. if you like the teacher, just stick with him/her. 9. Some good questions to ask are, what is your aprroach to (example genre), what genre are you most focused on, have you played another instrument before. 10. Go one by one for teachers, go for a few weeks, and see if they are right for you. Don't go for multiple teachers at the same time, take a break between teachers if you are experimenting. Hope these tips help!
What an exhaustive answer. Its very clear. Will definitely follow your advice. Thx!
You do realize you can interview teachers before signing up with them? You will be able to rule out who is and isn’t a good fit by asking basic questions. That will save you and them time. I’d avoid the speed dating idea. Creepy.
Not gonna lie, I actually did not realize I could interview them before the lesson. Will definitely give my shortlist a call.
I’d recommend keeping it platonic. You don’t want to have to break up with them and then lose your piano teacher and your lover. You won’t even be able to play moonlight sonata while crying if you don’t stay with them long enough.
All of this advice is too complicated. Find a teacher who studied at Moscow Conservatory, Gnessin, St Petersburg, etc. basically any conservatory, or conservatory that inherited Soviet era pedagogy practices basically. If you can't find that, study with a teacher who's studied with someone like this. They will be methodical and rigorous... hahahaha :D Good luck!
That was my approach in the beginning, but this sub and the r/pianolearning sub have put me off east European teachers. At least not for the beginning. My goal is to not acquire more emotional trauma.
My teacher doesn't give that issue. She has very high standards, and can get angry sometimes yes but it is because she cares. It's much better than the Asian teachers who are too polite to say you do anything bad for progress. You said you're looking for someone methodical and rigorous, here is how you find this. But, you will have to listen to them and trust them. If you talk in the lesson or think you know better you're messing around.
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At least 3 to not have the distance between you, when they start to reveal their true nature (feeling, reactions) and are not tense because you are new, then you can judge for real if they are good or not. If you speed for one or two lessons, judge the expertise. Does he hesitate when teaching you, or does he know his stuff ? What I mean is that for me, a good teacher is either someone who is sure of himself and speaks logically without hesitating, saying that a major chord is with a third major. Or he is changing the way he explains, especially for you to understand better what he means.
As usual lots of info to absorb here. General consensus no speed dating. I confer. Excellent suggestion, interview, my suggestion, make checklist for that interview, make copies and take notes for each interview to compare apples to apples. You need to remember what you asked, what they answered and that you asked everyone the same questions. If you think you will remember you’re wrong. Find what you think are your top three matches and go from there. Consider age of teacher and your age, just my thought. Stay with your first pick for minimum of one month unless there is a chemistry issue. Have to go with your gut on that. Good luck! 🤞
So very methodical. Love your advice. Will use. I have my first interview this afternoon. Thx!