...to think that I could actually teach piano?

[MollyLollyPop]

I played Piano from around the age of 7 until I was 13, after which I continued to play at high school, in a band and learning new songs for leisure. I still do, but no where near as much as I used to or would like to.

A month ago I started teaching DS what I knew. Just 15 to 20 mins a couple of times a week or when he asks, letting him tinker the rest of the time. He is picking it up quite quickly, including a little terminology (staccato, legato) although what he is learning is basic (from some old "pre-practice" books of mine). He had a couple of friends over and played for them. One of the Mums breezily commented that she would pay me to teach her DD, asked why I wasn't already teaching.

I've thought it through and it is something I would like to explore doing. The only problem is I have no idea where to start or whether there are any courses I need to take. I have the skills and the knowledge but what else do I need to set up as a tutor?

If it makes any difference, I am nearly 30. Is it too late? AIBU thinking that I could do this at all?

You don't need any qualifications to tutor piano privately from your own home. You will need public liability insurance though, which you can get with a musicians Union or ISM membership.
If you've got students such as your dd's friend who are prepared to learn with you, then its entirety up to you.
Private teaching usually works on a word of mouth basis and if you do a good job you might build up lots of students. Teaching beginners on any instrument is often harder than more advanced students though, because you're going to have to get their technique right...
Having said that, there are some appalling piano teachers out there.

Newlife- I think parents want their children to grade as it's the only way they have to evidence their child is progressing, and thus they're getting a return on their investment. I'm not saying that's the right attitude, but I think it is absolutely seen in these terms.
The 'market' for extra-curricular provision is huge now, and the OP will be in competition not just with other piano instructors, but all the sports, literacy, drama, etc etc that are being targeted at children now.
It's a cutthroat business.
Very, very few parents seem to send their children to classes just for fun.

TheBaleful

Yes, I totally agree and my dd has done/ is doing grades, but there are many different approaches to learning which I was trying to point out.

Some parents want their children to learn an instrument, go through the grades and use it as a way into scholarships, or for their future cv.
There are many that fall into this market. In this case I agree with all the pp who talk about teaching diplomas and qualified teachers etc.

There are some children who aren't pushed by parents though and want to do it for themselves and don't see grade 8 as a means to an end, and some parents too.
There are older people who clam up at the thought of taking a grade and want lessons for fun, for their own hobby. They want to progress but would leave the teacher rather than have to take an exam.

There are many other markets in between the two, and I thought the OP was getting a hard time from people who perhaps believe there are only one type of pupil, their own market.

Not the case that you need a diploma to enter pupils for exams. I enter my DC under my own parent registration. I taught piano to my 2 up to grade 4 before getting a proper teacher. I also teach them violin which is my real instrument. They now have grade 5 certificates which is more than I do. DD1 self-taught grade 5 theory and I am in the process of getting her to teach DD2.

I think potential as a teacher would depend more on where you live, attitudes of parents and competition from other teachers than your qualifications tbh.

Are you me, OP? I asked the same question a couple of years back and got pretty much the same response. I'm teaching now, (a bit), and I would very much like to continue, as I bloody LOVE it!

You don't have to have any qualifications to teach piano. But it sounds like you're keen to progress. I started teaching friends (adults) for favours a while back, thinking I would never make it into a career. I've got a couple of grade 8s now and on the way to two diplomas. So I'm nearly there.

I think you need to be up front, though, and think carefully before you market yourself. I don't necessarily believe that beginners are easier to teach than more advanced pupils; to my mind, at least, Grade 1 requires a vast set of skills!

In my neck of the woods (city, with lots of teachers) the "done thing" is to get yourself a mentor/teacher to take you through the teaching pedagogy of the syllabus you're going to offer. Shadowing another teacher is also a great idea (for aspiring and existing teachers).

Personally I believe Grade 8 is a must as it opens doors to other things eg you can't do a Diploma without Grade 8 (to my knowledge).

A better option in my view is the Epta teaching course which comes highly recommended and actually teaches you to teach. It's expensive though. It's not accredited as such (yet) but is respected in the piano teaching world.

The Abrsm also run a course called Being an Effective Teacher which is online and open to all-comers. I'm not sure if it's still going (shame if not, as the CTAbrsm is now discontinued).

There's a lovely web-based resource called Curious Piano Teachers which you can join. There's tons of stuff on there, particularly for teaching beginners.

This won't be a popular reply but I don't think teaching the piano is something to piss around with for fun if you expect to teach seriously. I would be expecting a teacher with much higher standards and that's something that isn't picked up with a few piano exams in later life. Too much has already been lost in terms of musicality and critically, technique. You should already have a background and knowledge about grading and teaching structures because this is basic. Sadly I find really good quality piano teachers few and far between with many only teaching to Grade 5. Utter waste of time.

I also find good quality piano teachers very hard to find. I would want significant evidence that you are experienced and know what you are doing before I would part with any cash, including work above grade 5.

A lot of people I know who play the piano also do things that aren't really 'right' and their understanding and interpretation of certain things are also not entirely correct. Are you good at theory, sight reading etc? Don't forget that for grades that all comes as a package, as do other elements required in the grades (which are quite different depending on which board you go with).

Would you be teaching on your own piano? I would also expect you to have a decent one, and I would prefer it to be an acoustic. I know too many people with so many bad habits and a bad ear because they've never played on a half decent instrument

ABRSM website says their teaching diploma is suitable for 'aspiring teachers' so I took it to mean that you didn't have to be teaching currently. But I'm just someone who is interested in it, not someone who works in the field or anything, so if I've misunderstood, I'm happy to be corrected.

Another one I just read.

"You have to be registered with a board to enter pupils for an exam",.

You may need to open an account so you can view results and enter pupils but you don't have to be registered. Otherwise all my dh private pupils who are entered by the LA, their certificates won't be worth anything

I also think it may be a mistake to market just to parents for their children.

There are lots of people who used to play who would like to return and this leaves yourself able to take pupils during the day. You are pretty limited in many ways if you teach children.
The hours for a start, they are at school, or you need to give up your weekend.

It's lovely to have no pressure from parents turning up with the next grade book when you haven't consolidated the previous grade
Lots of people play for fun, I'd market this and keep out of the pushy parent market, honestly.
Besides, with the experience of appealing to different markets you aren't restricted to a particular syllabus and your pupils working on set pieces for months.

My dh isn't a music teacher, but teaches iyswim and the range of pupils and abilities is lovely to see, and once you get established and a name as the person to go to, you can teach who you like and sack who you no longer want to teach.
The trick for anybody who teaches is to find the students who you'd teach for nothing if you didn't need the money.

ABRSM website says their teaching diploma is suitable for 'aspiring teachers' so I took it to mean that you didn't have to be teaching currently.

I think the point here is that you have to have some pupils in order to do the teaching diploma because part of the actual diploma is based on being able to discuss your practical teaching, so in a sense your pupils can be guinea pigs - but, you know, if you're teaching them useful skills, then you are teaching! It doesn't mean you have to have a really established practice with pupils going back over time; it just means that you have to sign up a few pupils so that you have some practical teaching experience to discuss and write about. I'm a little hazy on the details, but that's the basic idea. For Trinity, I think, you also have to video some lessons.

It sounds as though you enjoy playing music and may have a talent to communicate that to children. You might want to consider offering informal lessons/ sessions that are a fun introduction to playing music rather than/ as well as becoming an accredited piano teacher over time

This is something I would want to do after getting up to grade 8 and taking any qualifications needed to teach competently.

In that case yes, go for it!

"It doesn't mean you have to have a really established practice with pupils going back over time; it just means that you have to sign up a few pupils so that you have some practical teaching experience to discuss and write about."

Yes, that's what I did for mine (didn't do the Trinity one but exam had similar requirements) - had two beginners.

I'm struggling to find a piano teacher for my DDs ...like gold dust around here! And I just want them to learn for pleasure really, not interested in grades etc. I think I'd snatch your hand off!
DD1 (15) has a real ear for music - can play things like the Harry Potter theme music on the piano just by ear. She was messing around on a piano in school and a fellow pupil (very musical) asked her how long she had been learning for and when she said she'd never had a lesson refused to believe she wasn't joking....
Anyway after a struggle I did find a teacher and they seemed quite laid back...didn't insist on grades, is in a band that seems quite fun, friendly and easy going on the phone, etc. We were on her waiting list for 9+ months.
We went for our pre start meeting....it was like an interview.
She insists her pupils do 2.5 hrs practice a week (or it is boring for her ) and gives them a months trial before we have to sign a contract... in passing I mentioned that DD1 has ADHD.
She emailed me a few days latter refusing to teach her (would teach DD2) as she had no experience teaching a child with 'special learning needs' ...wouldn't even give her a trial lesson, even when I explained that DD1's main problem is concentration and for 30 mins when interested she should be fine. Needless to say, even without the obvious family tension it would cause, no way is DD2 going to go to her.

Me too, leedy. I think the problem with these teaching diplomas is that they require you to actually have pupils in order for you to discuss aspects of teaching in light of your experiences. Which is ok if you have the confidence and skills to teach without prior experience. I think the Epta course is probably better for actually teaching you to teach.

I think all the Boards now require video'd lessons (eek!). For my Diploma (Rockschool) I had to video myself playing a piece, too. And then video myself talking about how I'd teach it. Yikes.

OP do you know of any local teachers you can "shadow" or otherwise discuss piano teaching with?