I’m a professional musician OP, currently working with one of the top 5 orchestras in the world.
I’ve gone from being a 5 year old learning the recorder, through all the learning stages, music degree, performing, competing at international level, teaching kids and adults and everything in between. So this is all coming from my personal experience and professional opinion after years of learning, teaching and doing music.
To answer your most recent question, there is no such thing as a ‘qualified’ music teacher, unless you’re looking for a specific qualification yourself. A performance diploma sits right above Grade 8, and it’s (meant to be an) equivalent to the 1st year at conservatoire, so Level 4.
There are great and awful teachers with diplomas and degrees. There are great and awful teachers without them. There are people who just teach from what they can play, others have gone to conservatoire / done music at uni and are much more qualified on paper, which sometimes translates into practical teaching skills, and sometimes it doesn’t. They do normally have an incredibly higher standard of playing, and many will have taken pedagogy courses during their studies.
Now to the crux of the matter. Does your son know how to read music? Just basic stuff?
10 is not old to start learning an instrument. One of my best friends who is a principal player with the BBC Symphony Orchestra started at 12 and had graduated with honours from Juilliard 10 years later.
You can start music at any age, BUT you don’t teach a four year old the same way you teach a ten year old. The expectations and methods used will be different. At the age of 10 I would expect a student to very quickly learn some music theory because it will be very difficult to explain the technicalities of the instrument and pieces/exercises he’s trying to learn, if he doesn’t know the theory.
If your son can’t read music and hasn’t started doing theory, 90% of what the teacher says will sound like Japanese to him. Music is a foreign language. If I want to write poetry or read novels in Japanese, I first need to learn the characters and how to form words with them.
So it is not surprising that he isn’t very interested, it’s very possible he simply doesn’t understand what she’s asking of him. Of course, a good teacher would tell you this in advance, or would make sure s/he introduces theory concepts in the piano lesson itself. Regularly.
He needs a proper instrument to practise on. And he needs to practise it regularly. If he’s not keen on regular practice, that’s usually a clear sign that maybe formal music learning isn’t for him. This doesn’t mean ruling music out of his life by the way.
The violin is NOT easier than the piano. They are both complex instruments but an extra level of detail, precision and ‘natural ear’ is required for the violin. Because you need to learn how to actually make a note sound. On the piano you just press a key and there it is, perfectly in tune and everything.
Take the violin and bow to the teacher. Let her assess if they’re adequate or not. If she says they’re not good, trust her.
The amount of parents that used to send me links from this manufacturer in Tajikistan with cheap instruments, or photos of their grandma’s old instrument in the attic… If you want your child to learn an instrument, they need to practise on a proper one regularly. The instrument I play has a start value - for a beginner - of £10k. We couldn’t afford one for years so I would practise every lunchtime at school. When I got a bit older I’d also stay for another hour after school.
He might like the violin more than the piano, but if he still doesn’t know where an F# is on the stave, what 6/8 means or what the little numbers on top of the notes are, it will still sound like Japanese.
At 10 I would also expect focus and concentration, unless there are special needs. I had an 11 year old once who was more interested in chatting to me about her upcoming school trip than getting some playing done in the lesson. I gave her mother a similar message as the one you received (albeit in person). Don’t get me wrong, I chat to my students all the time about their schools and friends, but it’s 2-3 mins tops. A lesson is not for chatting.
I am personally not a fan of group lessons either, unless they’re very young. They don’t learn the same way, it goes much slower when there is another child there, because they will have different needs and abilities. Does she offer individual lessons? At least 30 mins a week is what I would recommend. Look into young musicians from a local music college if there is one nearby, as they’re often much more enthusiastic and flexible in teaching methods and techniques.
In short, music is a wonderful hobby and something all kids should be exposed to. But taking regular lessons in one requires dedication, patience, and lots and lots of work. Both on the instrument and off it. There should be respect and enthusiasm towards the teacher, and honesty from both sides if things aren’t quite working out. Your son’s teacher seems honest and caring, so that’s a good start.