As a piano teacher I’m often asked how to find the best school of music for a particular student. This can be a tough question to answer, because a good teacher-student match is a tricky thing to get right. But it’s an especially tough challenge for a prospective student who is forced to make a decision based on little or no information about how the music world and music teacher world operates.
If you are looking for a long-term approach to music instruction (and if you are truly interested in gaining skill you should be!), then it is definitely worth your while to give some thought to the instructor who would best suit your needs. Doing this means that first you should think about yourself: your temperament and goals . . . things such as: How hard to I want to work? How much time can I put into consistent practice? What are my long term musical aspirations? Do I take criticism well or too harshly?
Knowing the answers to these questions will let you find the school of music that’s right for you.You will need to find not only a good personality match, but someone who is great at explaining new concepts, good at putting himself or herself in your shoes, and who is also a skilled musician. Doing this isn’t easy if you don’t have a particularly good reference point. What piano teachers are actually good? Is this person actually skilled or am I just not inexperienced? These sort of questions can be hard for the novice to answer.
If you find that you are at a loss when selecting the right teacher, you might consider two rescources I have designed for potential students. The first is a very short article on things to look for when searching for a school of music in Austin. The second is a much more thorough guide on how to find a music teacher.
I hope you find both of these sites at least a little bit helpful. If you have any questions on a selecting an instructor, please don’t hesitate to contact me through the main page of this site.
Happy music making!