Whether you are looking for a piano teacher, a singing coach, a guitar teacher or any music teacher for that matter, finding a good and qualified instructor may not be the easiest thing to do. So why is it important to find a good teacher?
Well, you see, if you at the beginner level, then you must start off on the correct footing, don t you agree? If you are an intermediate musician or singer, it is even more important that you need a teacher who really knows his/hers stuff, right? So the question boils down to this are you really getting the right information when looking for a good music teacher?
The problem is compounded even further because since the music teaching industry is largely unregulated, music teachers need not necessary to have any degrees, diplomas or certificates in order to set up teaching classes. On the other hand, many good teachers do not even have any paper qualifications, but are simply very talented teachers. I personally know quite a number of these talented self taught teachers.
You must understand that a good music teacher may not be the best player of an instrument or singer. If you watched 2008 Olympics in Beijing, you will know that prolific swimmer, Michael Phelps coach can t swim faster than Mike, but he is still a coach to the fastest swimmer in the world, isn t he? So, whether a teacher can play the musical instrument well or can sing well is only just one of many indicators of being a good teacher.
Now let s just say that you are an absolute beginner music student, so what can you do? Well, you can start off by using your own personal contacts. You may have a friend or a relative who is taking music lessons or have taken music lessons before and may be able to recommend you a good teacher.
Music stores and shops often provide music lessons and you can check with them for good recommendations or even just search for a teacher using the internet. You see, it is very easy to find a music teacher this way, however can you count on these sources to provide you with the correct information?
Let s just say that you have short listed some teachers teaching in your vicinity and before you interview them, these are some of the questions you may like to ask.
What teaching qualifications do you have? Are these qualifications recognized? How long have you been teaching? How many other students do you have? Can you give me the phone numbers of two or three of your students?
Yes, these questions may seem rude and upfront, but you are the one paying good money for quality teachers. Furthermore, as a new student, you will have absolutely no idea whether your potential teacher actually know their stuff well enough.
Now, if you are an intermediate music student, you probably need to rely more on word of mouth recommendations to get the suitable music teacher at your level to take you to another level of your music education. As an intermediate student, you would probably have played professionally or have been mingling in the musician circuit, so you would probably have a couple of good contacts.
Aside from musical expertise, is that your teacher and you need to have good vibes with one another. You see, since both of you will be working one on one, any friction will mean the end of this relationship and you will have to start all over again finding and looking for a good music teacher. So ask for trial lessons if you can.
Music lessons need not be face to face with your teacher. One good way of finding a good music teacher is not to look for one. I mean with today s internet technology, many renown and good music teachers have set up websites and blogs to teach music online, by VCDs, MP3s, video podcast and other means that you need not have a live teacher present.
In this way, you can learn music at your own time, at the comfort of your own home and yet be rest assured that you are given professional lessons by good music teachers.
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