As I plan on leaving my current students to move to Mississippi with my husband, I have been taking the time to compile a list of teachers to help my students find a new instructor. This is a difficult time for me as I will miss my students and wish I could continue with them. I know I will start a new studio in MS and am looking forward to that opportunity. In the meantime it will be rewarding for me to help my students transition to a new instructor and comforting to know they are in good hands. I have personally talked with a number of teachers and created a list of things about their studios so that my students (with my help) can make an informed decision regarding with whom they would like to study. I have found that there are unique things about each teacher that I really like, and that it will be hard to recommend who is “best” because they are so different and beneficial in their own ways. Nonetheless I will do my best to recommend the teacher(s) I think my students will learn best under and will hopefully enjoy the most. If you are considering switching teachers either out of necessity or desire I would like to provide a few things for consideration to help you in the process.

First of all, I would like to say that there are many good teachers out there, and many teachers who you do not want to study with. Here are some things I look for when assessing if a teacher is someone I would recommend:

1. Does the teacher have a passion for teaching? There are a lot of good musicians out there, who only teach because they need the extra money. They may know how to play wonderfully, but if they don’t have a heart and a passion for instructing you don’t want to study with them. You will learn more from someone less accomplished, but who is dedicated to the art of teaching. Better yet, find someone accomplished who also loves to teach!
2. What does the teacher place an emphasis on in lessons? In my opinion, a good teacher should be focused on technique, musicality, the basics of music theory (including learning to read music) and creating a love for the instrument. Most teachers have different ways of going about these things and may have “specialty” areas that they focus on. This is fine. You won’t find someone who “has it all.” However, if you find a teacher who doesn’t seem to correct bad posture, hand position, or bow hold, or who only concentrates on whether the student is having a good time or not you probably want to find a teacher with a little more constructive criticism to their teaching.
3. Is the teacher a good fit for the student? There are many great teachers out there, but not every teacher is right for every student. Just like we gravitate toward certain people to be friends with, so students gravitate toward one teacher more than another. This is not to say that if a student isn’t good friends with their teacher the teacher is not a good fit. However, if the student likes their instrument, but hates going to lessons each week and is not progressing because they don’t like their teacher, it would probably be a good idea to find another teacher. The teacher you are currently with might be a great teacher, but they might just not be good for your child.

Once you have determined that you have a good teacher on your hands you’re going to want to ask some questions before committing to lessons. Obvious questions are their availability for lesson days and times, their location and their fees and policies regarding payment. You will also want to ask about their cancellation and rescheduling policies. In addition here are some things to consider asking;

• What age/level students do you prefer to work with?
• Do you teach year round and do you have any current plans on moving out of the area within the next year?
• Do you offer recitals or performance opportunities for your students? Do you have any polices regarding these?
• Do you have any practice requirements for your students?
• What method of teaching do you use, or what’s your style of teaching?
• Will my child learn to read music?  How soon?
• Can we observe a lesson or come for a trial lesson before committing?

These are just suggestions and you may find all of these important to ask, just a few, or even add some of your own. My goal is just to give you a start and to help you figure out what’s important to you in the teacher you choose.

Emily Williams is the creator of Strategic Strings: An Online Course for Violin and Viola Teachers

Tags: children, choose, instruction, lesson, music, quality, select, teacher

29th May 2010 Music Lessons 1 comment

Digg it StumbleUpon Facebook Twitter del.icio.us Google Yahoo!

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 29th, 2010 at 1:26 pm and is filed under Music Lessons. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.