Music lessons are an investment in a child’s future, and, they are expensive, with good reason. Qualified musicians spend a lot of time (as much as 20,000 hours to master an instrument, as opposed to the pre-conceived 10,000 hours) and money obtaining professional qualifications. Unfortunately, unqualified persons take advantage of this expense, and non-musical parents’ in-expertise. There is, unfortunately, a plethora of unqualified teachers. The good news is, is that there is a good number of qualified teachers to match.
Signs a teacher is qualified:
1) Likes teaching and gets along well with your child.
2) Has professional standing—a degree (in the instrument they are teaching)* (more on this later), professional membership with MTNA (Music Teacher National Association and local chapters) or Guild (Piano Guild), perhaps a certification (these are NCTM, ABRSM testing certified), etc.
3) Has plans for an active studio, or has an active studio. Good teachers provide a plethora of events for their students including some or all of these:
A) theory tests, usually given by the state or area, which test students written understanding of music, which is integral,
B) sight-reading contests, where students are given new music and asked to perform,
C) concerts for students to play in, including playing at retirement homes or community centers, studio recitals, themed recitals, etc.
D) Royal Conservatory Tests—Known by acronyms such as ABRSM, RCM—highly difficult tests that require students perform and are tested on designated pieces in all styles, technique (scales, chords, etc), aural skills (hearing musical patterns), theory. It’s a comprehensive, albeit, elite program, for those who are serious about music study and is very competitive. It is one of the few comprehensive curricula in the United States, currently, and a teacher who can successfully teach a student this curriculum, and provide support pieces with #3, is a successful teacher indeed. It is important to note that some excellent teachers refuse to teach this curriculum because of its inflexibility.
E) Ensemble Recitals
F) Festivals based on various repertoire or periods of repertoire; ie Pop/Rock/Jazz, Classical, Sonatina, Romantic, Contemporary, Improvisation, Baroque, Fugue, etc. Usually these are non-competitive, and students play for someone other than the primary teacher, who gives comments on the students’ performance.
4) Is a stickler for good technique and posture.
5) At one time, some performing on their instrument. Many teachers do not play anymore, with the demands of a full studio, family, or other practical matters. However, the capacity to play at an advanced level, and therefore, to be able to guide students to that level, is paramount. “Advanced level” means collegiate level repertoire—concertos, sonatas. If you aren’t sure, ask. “Fur Elise” and Bach “Prelude in C major” or Debussy “Clair de Lune” are lovely pieces, but reachable for most people by early high school, which means teachers who are teaching and have only played at or below this level are not qualified. It is roughly the equivalent of a public school teacher without a high school diploma.
6) A curriculum that can be tailored to each student. Students with the same “method book” and curriculum plan regardless of ability, age, likes and dislikes, is a recipe for disaster. (Books like Piano Adventures, Suzuki, Bastien, Music Tree, Premier Piano Course, are a sample of educational materials called “method books”. They are tools, and are best used with beginning students along with other materials. Good teachers utilize a variety of these.)
a. With this, “page by page” teaching. If a student is simply moving in a book, page by page, without any recital pieces, theory books, flashcards, scales, chords, aural skills exercises, that is a warning sign. Those books are designed for the average piano student, but no student is THE average student. Here’s a good example of what I mean by this: every student in this teacher’s care has the same method book series, and is assigned two pieces per week, and takes a 30 minute private lesson. Also, if students are ONLY polishing recital pieces, that is a warning sign as well.
Signs a teacher may not be a qualified:
1) For piano students in particular--Students read music by note-name on the staff in intermediate and advanced repertoire (middle school/ high school). “Every Good Boy Does Fine” and similar sayings are something that parents are accustomed to hearing, but it isn’t the best way to find notes, especially on the piano. It is akin to sounding out words with letters in middle school. At this point, (assuming a 7-9 age start time) students should have an intuitive grasp of up and down, interval spacing, chords, and phrase structure, just as students in late elementary and middle school have developed words and grammar.
2) Bad posture in a majority of students. For piano, this is most easily seen with bench height and position from keyboard. Too close means students cannot use their arm to play keys in front of the body, and too low tightly gripping the piano like a t-rex. Incorrect posture can lead to carpal tunnel, sprains, strains in extreme cases. Try typing for an hour with the seat on the chair as low as possible, and you will see what I mean.
3) Lacking a degree on the instrument they are teaching. This stems from a belief amongst non-musicians that good musicians play multiple instruments. This is not necessarily true. Once one instrument is learned, it is easier to learn another, much like a language. However, advanced level training is different, and few people reach advanced training on more than one instrument. Trained classical musicians specialize on one instrument, and it’s associated group—for instance, pianists study piano, but might do organ or harpsichord. Wind players may play all woodwind or all brass instruments, particularly in Broadway pits where this is actually a neat way that composers are helping compensate musicians in light of a rising trend of shrinking pit sizes. However, most trained musicians don’t specialize or claim to have a specialty on instruments on multiple types of instruments, because musicians know that this means they aren’t very good at any one instrument.
Vocalists are a possible exception to this, as many of the more successful ones study piano almost as seriously as they study voice, simply because one cannot physically practice voice as much as is needed to be at an advanced level in music. Vocalists of this caliber typically will have tested out of class piano in college, but took private lessons on the side throughout college and before their collegiate career.
Piano contains a specific problem with qualifications in particular. Piano students are one of the few stable jobs in music, and therefore, many musicians find themselves teaching piano, perhaps at the expense of well-meaning families who don’t know much better than to look for a music degree. In college, most musicians are required to take piano in college, for a variety of reasons. However, this is typically only 2 years of group piano, and maybe some private lessons. The reason for this is because keyboards are the only real practical way that musicians can learn and understand theory, and, particularly music education majors, might need to play things for their students in their particular program. It does not qualify someone to teach classical piano privately, as students will at best, be at an early intermediate (middle school) piano level after those two years. Participation does NOT qualify anyone to teach piano privately. I can’t state this enough, as many teachers take advantage of “I studied piano in college and I have a music degree.” Do some digging. Class piano does not address important things like posture, arm weight, technique, (see above) because they are given in a group to students on keyboards. The repertoire is designed to be easily played, further lending to students thinking they are more qualified on the keyboard than they actually are. The bottom line: piano majors spend 3-4 hours a day practicing, plus many hours in various ensembles or accompanying. Kids in group piano probably only play the piano 1 hour a week, which is in that class/lesson.
Furthermore, vocal and instrumental (non-piano) students are often allowed to play their recitals (45-60 minutes worth of music) with the music. Pianists and most vocalists are required to memorize all of their repertoire; the caveat being that the pianist is the only instrument of any that is solely responsible for what is happening on the stage during their recital (vocalists usually have a pianist on stage with them) which makes that a very different experience, and way more pressure on a recital.