By Dr. Joe Line
Not too long ago, a mother brought her 10-year old son for an interview to study piano with me. She said he had taken piano classes for three years at a local music school and took two more years of private piano lessons with a woman down the street who loves children. When I asked the boy to play his favorite song for me, his playing was halting and uncertain. When I asked him if he could read music, he sheepishly said, “a little.” In fact, he couldn’t read music at all.
This story is not unusual; I’ve seen it many times during my 45 years of teaching. Parents often spend thousands of dollars for piano lessons with teachers who know very little about how to teach young children to play the piano. In the hands of a skilled teacher, this same 10-year old boy could have learned in 5 months what it took him 5 years to learn, and at far less cost.
Because piano playing requires a high level of skill, parents should look for a professional piano teacher who is “student-centered.” That means the instructor knows how to assess each student’s specific needs and can adapt their teaching style to suit those needs. They have empathy, tremendous patience, a positive attitude, and the ability to push and challenge the student when necessary. A Music Academy of Texas will help your kids hone their talents and have fun while learning different kinds of instruments.
The most effective way to find a good professional teacher is to attend a recital or a lesson by the prospective teacher’s students. It’s the best way I know to experience the style of the teacher’s piano studio and to see how they relate to students and families. Observe whether the students are being encouraged to play expressively or if their playing is just ordinary and unemotional. Notice whether they are assigned pieces that seem either too easy or too difficult and, if the child is 7 years or older, if they are being taught to read music.
Take time to talk to the teacher about their past teaching experience and the number and age range of the students they teach. Keep in mind that young and beginning students should be learning a wide variety of music styles because, until the student learns to read musical signs and symbols and to navigate the keyboard with relative ease, their ability to read and play most jazz, rock and pop pieces will be limited.
If your child shows a keen interest in music and has said several times, without prompting from you, that they would like to learn to play the piano, then it is probably a good time to begin looking for a good professional piano teacher.
To find out more about instruction with Dr. Joe
please call 954-298-5014