What to look for in a piano tutor when searching for one?

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What are the traits of a good piano teacher – is a question everyone asks before scrolling through many advertisements and websites while searching for one. Finding a person who will spend many 1 on 1 hours with your children, not only teaching but also interacting, takes lots of responsibility because no one wants their children to have a bad time in the classroom in any way – is their lesson curriculum or even their personality!

Therefore, for this month’s blog post, we would like to share with you some of the most significant characteristics that might help you find a teacher who will equally teach your child to play piano and provide a pleasant environment.

1. Excpetations of piano lessons

The first question that you should address when finding a piano tutor is which kind of outcome you would like to get from piano lessons – would you like to be a part of Carnegie Hall with all the great pianists, create your own song, or would you like to have a quality hobby for your free time?

As the answers to this question are diverse, so are the teachers and their approaches. Because this question hasn’t been thought about, there are so many examples where a conflict situation was created on both sides – many students dropped out of the lessons because students weren’t interested enough in the subject, they couldn’t meet the teacher’s expectations, or students wanted to develop different skills than the teacher had offered. The student’s needs haven’t matched the teacher’s qualities!

So, to be sure you have made the right choice when searching for a piano tutor, here are some answers to the question – what would you expect from learning piano – that can help you along the way:

  • I want to get introduced to classical music and the basics of music theory (note reading, chords, composing)
  • Develop the piano technique to a high level
  • Meet all basics traits of piano playing so I can learn how to play my favorite songs
  • Learn how to play popular songs on piano
  • Develop my creative abilities
  • I want to learn how to play piano, so I can connect with music on a better level

For example, if your child wishes to create their own songs, a teacher who pursues strict lessons filled out with many technical exercises might not be the best fit! That kind of piano teacher will focus on developing the best technique and not on the creative side of the piano lessons. So, listen to your child and carefully consider all teacher’s services because, after all, you want your child to have a meaningful experience that will develop the qualities they want to have!

Because of that, San Ramon Academy of Music has chosen diverse teachers with different backgrounds and experiences – we have pianists who performed some of the most difficult repertoires in popular classical music institutions, but also highly creative artists who wrote lots of their songs and musician’s who are great in all different music genres. All of them have a high educational degree but with different qualities that can meet all student’s needs!

2. Personality

Even though this one isn’t a common one in other blogs, we believe that a good student-teacher relationship in 1 on 1 piano lessons can be a great motivation for their learning. As the teachers are giving their best to understand and support their students in the best way possible, there are also some cases in which the tutor’s characteristics aren’t appealing in the right way to them. Even in some cases, that might be a stumbling block of their music development which isn’t easily explainable! After all, we are humans, and sometimes, without a scientific reason, we can’t click with others! So, try to look also at their personality characteristics – are they complementary to your child’s? For example, if they are bubbly by nature, a serious teacher might scare them away from learning the piano!

3. What does the teacher offer besides 1 on 1 piano lessons?

Learning how to play an instrument should be about more than just completing your homework from class to class. With that approach, this creative skill can easily be overshadowed by practicing it without a goal, and the students will only partially connect with all the things the music world offers!

So, the questions you should ask are:
– are there any other additional activities that would intrigue your children to learn more?
– are there any exams? 
– do they hold music recitals?

For example, at San Ramon Academy of Music, we hold many diverse recitals during the year where our students can show their love and all of the efforts they have put in! To have an opportunity to play a song in front of their family and friends and meet new people who share the same interests as them is a fulfilling event to remember! And because of that, we gladly organize a recital whenever we have an opportunity to do so!

Also, many students are driven by a big goal – is it to master a hard song they love or to pass a challenging exam. For example, in the music world, there are plenty of certified institutions where you can enroll for the examination of your skills, like ABRSM or RCM. Preparation for them requires teachers to adjust their lesson material to the requirements that exams demand, and because of that, our piano teachers are always updated with all the terms, so they can meet your children’s ambitions!

Conclusion

As you can conclude from this blog post, music lessons can offer you a wonderful enrichment for your child and a wide variety of different qualities. So, before you enroll for the trial lesson, carefully consider all the traits of the teachers as well as your child’s, so this creative journey can be one of the very interesting educational experiences they have! Here is a short recap of the most important questions that you should know about your piano teacher:

  • What kind of education do they have
  • What kind of previous experience do they have 
  • Are their teaching skills equally good as their education 
  • Will their lesson curriculum match your goals and expectations 
  • Is their teaching approach outgoing and engaging
  • Whether their personality fits your child’s 
  • Do they offer any additional activities

If you are ready for your piano journey, we would love to welcome you on this journey with our lessons! Click on the type of lessons you need on the link below!

Individual Lessons

Group Lessons

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