Finding
the right music teacher
for you (or your child)
is very important to your
(or your child's) overall
success and development
as a musician. A great
teacher will help you
achieve maximum improvement
in the quickest amount
of time, will fuel your
passion, and will help
you avoid bad habits that
can hurt your playing.
Not
all teachers are the same
though. It's important
that you find the right
teacher for you or your
child. When you work with
the wrong teacher, some
problems you will likely
have are:
You will spend a lot more
time than you should trying
to learn and master what
you want to be able to
play and do.
You will spend a lot more
money for lessons trying
to learn something a better
teacher could teach you
in less time.
You will likely feel disappointed
and discouraged because
your improvement will
be slow, but you probably
won't know why.
You may begin to doubt
your own potential as
a player and give up the
idea of reaching your
musical goals.
But when you find the
right teacher for you,
You will save a lot of
time.
You will save a lot of
money-even if the better
teacher charges more.
You will reach your musical
goals much faster.
You will reach your musical
goals a lot easier.
You will feel GREAT as
you learn to play the
way you always dreamed!
Choosing the right teacher
for you is going to have
a huge impact on your
playing, but also on your
bank account, your time,
and the way you are going
to feel over time.
So here are some things
you need to know about
a teacher before you begin
taking lessons. Ask them
the following questions:
1. "Can you tell
me how you teach the lessons?"
- This is probably the
most important question
that you can ask any teacher,
yet almost no one ever
asks it! The answer to
this question can really
help you to determine
if a teacher is competent.
Unless a prospective teacher
knows you, your musical
knowledge, experience,
tastes, and your musical
goals, they can not adequately
tell you how they will
teach you. They need to
know about your music
background, goals and
other things. This is
the only way they can
really know how to teach
a student.
Tip: Listen to the
language the teacher uses
when trying to answer
this question. Does they
talk about "what
they do" or do they
want to know more about
what YOU want and need
to learn?
2. "How will help
me to better organize
my practice time?"-
Good teachers will show
you in detail how to manage
your practice time. They
will tell you what and
exactly how to practice
each day. Great teachers
will teach you how to
manage your own practice
time in effective ways.
How you practice is very
important to your growth
as a player.
If you are working with
a teacher now, push him/her
to get more specific with
you about how you can
learn to effectively manage
your own practice time.
3. "Do you teach
the style of music I want
to learn?" -
You should not care if
the teacher can teach
all styles of music well
(unless that is your goal).
You should only care if
the teacher is excellent
at teaching the style
or styles of music that
YOU want to play.
4. "Have you successfully
taught many other players
to reach musical goals
similar to mine?"
- Are there places where
you can find several of
their former and/or current
students to hear what
they have to say about
the teacher?
Good results are not always
based on the skill level
of a teacher's students.
Not all students want
to become professional
players. Many just want
to play for fun. If those
students feel fulfilled
and happy about their
experience with their
teacher, you can consider
this a good result.
If you find a teacher
who has proven track record
of successfully teaching
players to reach their
musical goals and/or play
on a highly advanced level,
you have likely found
a great teacher.
Tip: Most good teachers
(and great teachers) have
testimonials from their
students. Search for this
on their website.
Avoid These Common
Mistakes!
Mistake 1. Choosing a
teacher based on location!
- One of the first questions
most students ask a new
teacher is "Where
are you located?"
If you are pretty sure
the teacher teaches within
90 minutes of your home
or job, do not even ask
the teacher where he/she
is located until AFTER
you are sure you want
to study with him/her.
You might be thinking
that it's a waste of time
to travel far to study
with a great teacher,
but the truth is, the
EXACT OPPOSITE IS TRUE!
The extra travel time
that may be required to
study with a great teacher
is time well invested.
If you study with an 'average
teacher' you WILL waste
a lot of your practice
time as you study things
which are not as helpful
to making you the player
you want to become. In
addition the better teacher
will help you get more
out of your practice time,
(which saves even more
time since you can actually
get better while practicing
less!) The bottom line:
It's often worth traveling
3X the distance in order
to get 10X the value from
a better teacher!!! See
the big picture.
Mistake 2. Choosing a
teacher based on price
per lesson! - An experienced
teacher with the qualities
mentioned in the questions
above can help you progress
at a much faster rate
than an average one. A
great teacher that can
focus your lessons with
proven techniques that
will get you specific
results and help avoid
unnecessary practice will
save you time in the long
run.
For
example, if it takes an
average teacher 9 lessons
at $25 a lesson to help
you achieve a certain
short term goal, that
adds up to $225. But if
a great teacher charging
$50 a lesson can help
you achieve that same
goal in 3 lessons, that
adds up to $150.
More experienced teachers
are usually worth MORE
than the higher price
they charge for lessons!
Excellent teachers are
usually in demand and
are often not cheap. In
general, don't look for
the teacher with the lowest
rates, you usually get
what you pay for…
or LESS! If you simply
can't afford to pay the
higher rates for a really
good teacher, ask them
if you can take lessons
on a bi-monthly basis
instead of taking weekly
lessons.
From the teacher's point
of view, people who are
primarily motivated by
price do not make very
good students. This is
not always true of course,
but statistically speaking,
it is. The reason for
this assumption is that
when students are choosing
a teacher based mainly
on price or location,
this means they are not
likely to be focused on
finding the right
teacher who can help them
reach their musical goals.
Good teachers do not want
to feel like they are
"selling lessons"
like it is a mere commodity
for sale, they truly care
about people and helping
students to transform
their lives through music.
Mistake 3. Assuming that
the best player is the
best teacher! - Many
students are immediately
attracted to great players
and want to learn from
them. Just because a player
can play does not mean
they can explain what
they do. What's important
are the teacher's teaching
skills and experience.
This is what you should
look for in a teacher.
The BIGGEST Mistake
You Can Make Right Now
Is…
The biggest mistake you
can make right now is
to do nothing with the
information you've just
learned! If you want to
save a lot of time, money
and energy, reach your
musical goals much faster
and feel GREAT as you
learn to play the way
you always dreamed about,
then invest the time right
now to search for a great
teacher who meets all
the criteria discussed
in this guide. Be prepared
to spend a lot of time
talking to many teachers
because most of the teachers
you will find will not
do so well answering your
questions. When you find
the one who can, you have
found the best teacher
for you or your child!
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