# Finding a good piano teacher?



## Dustin

Can anyone advise me on a good way to find a qualified and competent piano teacher? Maybe the people taking lessons can comment or if there are any teachers here, advice would be helpful. I have one I found at http://www.sugarlandpianostudio.com , but I wonder if there are other ways to find good teachers before just jumping in on the first I find. These teachers here have monthly rates of 30 min lesson per week=$124, 45 min=$186, 1 hour $248. The couple teaching at this site seem to be pretty qualified with a ton of accomplishments and appearances with big orchestras.

I have been playing on and off for about 4 years and about the most advanced thing I can play is maple leaf rag pretty well at near-standard tempo.


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## Krummhorn

There are a couple of sources you might check out:

Music Teacher List (USA)
Piano Teachers Directory

Those are in the US.

You might also check with your local Community College or University. Some professors at those institutions also take on students privately. Some institutions also offer group classes for nominal fees.

The classical organ class I took in college was a group of people ... and we were given proper training both as a class and individually and were always encouraged to perform publically from time to time.


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## Dustin

Thanks I'll check those out!


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## Stephanie Martin

I would second that advice about seeking out a college level teacher. You can usually find the email address for the various music professors on the college's website. If you email them, they can generally forward the email to their piano students even if they themselves are unable to teach you. Otherwise, I would try googling music stores in your city. When you find a store that provides piano lessons, ask the owner or receptionist if they have any piano teachers that can teach advanced students. Explain your ability and see if any of their teachers match your skill set. Also ask if they teach on an acoustic piano or a keyboard. It is sometimes rare to find advanced level teachers who operate out of a music store, but on the other hand you might get lucky and find a very challenging teacher that way. Good luck!


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## PetrB

My first teacher, at age six, obviously took on beginning children -- as in raw beginner. Years later I realized he had a master's of piano and performance from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest... and that I got a truly superb and highly advantageous start.

Currently, in a large city in the states, a grad student in piano performance (includes pedagogy) routinely commands $60 for a one-hour lesson.

If you can afford it, I would not short change yourself because you are a slightly advanced beginner or intermediate. (I'm guessing you should initially start with the half-hour slot, and will probably quickly progress to wanting and needing the forty-five minute length lessons.)

I would go for one of that couple not only with the creds, but the professional performance track record.

I would hope that those teaching still offer that first lesson / meeting as gratis -- to determine if you both want to work with each other -- prior your having to commit to one or more months. Depending upon the size of the burg in your area, that couple may take any and all, beginner to advanced. If they have enough clientele and are still actively playing engagements, they only take more advanced students; if that is the case they should / likely will, have a number of qualified teachers to whom they can refer you.

If you have been playing on your own, are primarily self-taught, that is even better reason to get the best quality teacher, because there is a good possibility there will be a fair amount for them to initially correct. _Do not be surprised or discouraged if any teacher directs you to beginning material, as if you are starting for the first time._ That move is about the best way to eradicate old bad habits, as well as progress more quickly (if they start you there, expect that the first phase will go pretty quickly on to the next.)

Apart from many of its aspects, learning to play piano can readily be likened to learning how to be a gymnast -- intensely physical, and needing someone who has trained and had much performance practice. Those are the ones who do you the least damage, overlook almost nothing, and under whom your chances of progressing are optimal.

P.s. Unless a music store catered primarily to the classical music community (there are _very few_ left who do), I would never inquire there for a piano teacher.


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## DavidA

Sviatoslav Richter, when asked if he took pupils, said, "Good heavens no! I need someone to teach me!"


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## DavidA

On a serious note, it does depend on where you're at. If you are beginning there are many good teachers who can get you through the basic grades at a reasonable cost. Bear in mind that someone being a brilliant pianist does not necessarily qualify them to be a good teacher. But as a rule your teacher will need to play better than you to get you on. Good teachers are the ones who hand gifted pupils on when they have taught them all they can.


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## Marschallin Blair

DavidA said:


> Sviatoslav Richter, when asked if he took pupils, said, "Good heavens no! I need someone to teach me!"


Whereas the young Horowitz feigned total boredom in his piano classes to show how he absolutely couldn't learn anything at all from anyone's mistakes.


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## DavidA

Marschallin Blair said:


> Whereas the young Horowitz feigned total boredom in his piano classes to show how he absolutely couldn't learn anything at all from anyone's mistakes.


Byron Janis, who had lessons with Horowitz, said the great man never played the piano during a lesson. Of course, he heard him play plenty as he was staying at Horowitz's home, but never during a lesson.


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## Marschallin Blair

DavidA said:


> Byron Janis, who had lessons with Horowitz, said the great man never played the piano during a lesson. Of course, he heard him play plenty as he was staying at Horowitz's home, but never during a lesson.


So you read Plaskin's book too. _;D_


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## PetrB

DavidA said:


> Byron Janis, who had lessons with Horowitz, said the great man never played the piano during a lesson. Of course, he heard him play plenty as he was staying at Horowitz's home, but never during a lesson.


It is considered, usually, not necessary to play, and more, you do not want a student 'imitating how you play,' but to tell them 'how to play,' a basic difference. Once in a blue moon, and usually in what used to be a standard teaching studio with two pianos (grands) in them, the teacher might play a line, or part of a line, along with the student, and in the same register -- in order to better guide them in phrasing, for example.

Teachers need to know the student _is making the interpretation on their own, not merely mimicking. Too, it is a weakness when confronted with a new score to 'need to hear how it goes,' lol._

But playing for the student more than rarely is tantamount to telling them to just go listen to a recording!


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## DavidA

Marschallin Blair said:


> So you read Plaskin's book too. _;D_


No I heard Janis say it in interview, I think.


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## Varick

PetrB said:


> It is considered, usually, not necessary to play, and more, you do not want a student 'imitating how you play,' but to tell them 'how to play,' a basic difference. Once in a blue moon, and usually in what used to be a standard teaching studio with two pianos (grands) in them, the teacher might play a line, or part of a line, along with the student, and in the same register -- in order to better guide them in phrasing, for example.
> 
> Teachers need to know the student _is making the interpretation on their own, not merely mimicking. Too, it is a weakness when confronted with a new score to 'need to hear how it goes,' lol._
> 
> *But playing for the student more than rarely is tantamount to telling them to just go listen to a recording!*


Well then let me ask you a question: When you were younger and your teacher was giving you a new piece of music to learn that you were unfamiliar with, didn't you want to know how it went? What it sounded like? Although I was classically trained, I never "listened" to classical music for pleasure until I was in college, so I was more often than not, unfamiliar with the pieces my teacher gave me to learn. If he didn't perform them first, I would have had no idea how the melody went.

On typing this post, I am coming to the realization that this possibly has to do with my poor sight reading skills and how my teacher understood that weakness. I have no idea if he did this to other students. I just figured every student heard their teacher perform a piece before they started learning it so they have a basic concept of what the piece is, and how it goes.

I've always had the philosophy (and still do), that one should be familiar with any piece they are learning, learn it to the best of their ability, THEN make it their own. Once the notes are learned, the technique is mastered, the tempo correct, THEN you add your *own* personal color, rubato, and phrasing, internalizing the piece. But I've always felt one needed some kind of familiarity with the piece before (or during) the learning stage.

V


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## adamks

No doubt, online courses are good but they drain a lot of money out of your pocket. There is also no guarantee that you can stay motivated to complete the course. If you are passionate about learning then my advice is to join some reputed music school in your area. I too learned piano lessons under the guidance of a piano teacher and it really helped me to take myself to the next level of learning.


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## Pugg

adamks said:


> No doubt, online courses are good but they drain a lot of money out of your pocket. There is also no guarantee that you can stay motivated to complete the course. If you are passionate about learning then my advice is to join some reputed music school in your area. I too learned under the guidance of a piano teacher and it really helped me to take myself to the next level of learning.


O.P was asking this 4 years ago :lol:


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