piano teachers - how to find a good one

[thewomanwhothoughtshewasahat]

I'd like to start dd (6) with piano lessons - what do I need to look for in a piano teacher - is there a recognised qualification I should ask for? and - just in case - anyone know a good one in or around Kingston? also what's the standard cost? and is it possible/horribly expensive to get one to do it at our house?

If you look under education I had a similar thread recently. I think it will cost more in Surrey, though.

thanks flack - I did a search and was amzed that nothing came up - will have a look

just remembered that music shops are a good place to start. our local one has a list with all manner of strange acronyms. ARCM? LRAM? GRSM?LGSM? at a wild guess we're looking at graduates of the royal school of music, and something or other of the royal college of music but after that am a bit stumped

I'd go and have a chat in a couple of music shops
that's how we found dd's fab cello teacher

You can have music lessons at school (you pay for them) organised by Surrey CC - I don't know the exact name of the service, but I know parents who do this at our school. Have a look on the Surrey CC website.

technically we're not in surrey. our school do violin and cello lessons but I really want to start with piano

it's obviously a matter of personal choice but personally I wouldn't worry too much about the qualifications and try and find someone on the basis of a personal recommendation. we started our girls on horrendously expensive piano lessons via a music school and they hated them - the teachers wanted to teach talented committed teenagers not beginner 7 year olds and had no idea how to enthuse or even engage with them. When we asked to change teachers the music school director kept explaining to me what a talented concert pianist I had teaching my children - which might have been OK had I been expecting end of year concerts with the RPO but for a bit of strawberry fair and chopsticks really wasn't necessary.

We now have a really nice teacher who comes to our house. He will only teach piano up to grade 3 - he's primarily a guitar teacher - but he's brilliant with my daughter, she enjoys her lesson and she's happy to do the practice. The fact that he's a fraction of the cost and flexible with holidays is also a bonus.

Do you have any friends/neighbours whose children learn? we found ours via someone at my husband's work.

I do agree - being an amazing concert pianist doesn;t make you a good teacher. A friend plays in the local orchestra so I 'll ask her

you could also contact the music department of a university or college. They may well have students who teach beginners and the staff would be able to recommend someone

This is the thread .

You're more likely to get someone flexible and a bit cheaper if you go to a university or music college, as the students will often teach outside college hours and won't be as pricy. Get a personal recommendation if you can, always best.

If not possible, a music shop is a good place to start as they usually have registers of teachers. Qualifications are of course reassuring, but there are also many great teachers without letters after their names, so don't be put off. Ask how many pupils they have and how long they have been teaching, much more important than a shiny certificate.

Get the teacher to meet with your dd and see how they get on. Ask how they structure their lessons, do they have lots of "play" learning, colouring in etc or is it straight from a step by step book? This keeps it interesting for younger learners. Ask them how they plan to keep the lessons fun!

Ask what their approach is to the grading exams - I would be wary of teachers who are too exam orientated and want to notch up the certificates as fast as possible as it suggests they don't leave much time in between for actually enjoying the instrument. But do also ask how other pupils are doing, how well they do in exams etc.

Ask what their own preferences are - classical/jazz/contemporary/blues/improvisation etc etc and get them to play for you. If they seem to really enjoy themselves when they play their enthusiasm will rub off on your child.

Ask if they have other pupils in the area and do they ever arrange for them to play together, go to concerts, play their own mini concerts for parents etc.

Good luck, hope you find a good one and hope your dd enjoys herself!

thanks kitbit - that's all really useful. and thanks for the link flack. I've found a couple of lists. musicteachers.co.uk is quite good - obviously they're not recommendations cos people pay to put their name up there - but for the ones who've bothered to fill the form in you get more of a feel than by just looking at the yellow pages (which left me totally stumped). So I've picked out a couple who sound good and will get on the phone next week.