Recommendation sought for teacher near college park, MD.

[iumonito]

Hi all,

I am an adult amateur student.  I have not had lessons for ten years, after earning a masters in piano from Indiana University.  I play regularly, but without pressure of discipline.  I am hoping to get back the latter without the former.

I would like to hear from you if you can recommend a good teacher for me.  I am looking for someone who will not focus on the fact that I have only about 5 - 8 hours per week to practice, and who will not think it is crazy that I would like to have one 2-hour lesson per month.

I intend to play from a limited list of repertoire, and have no intention of spending a lot of time learning new works (by way of example, my list includes Mozart concertos 13, 17 and 20, sonatas 576, 331 and 332, a few Beethoven sonatas, some Chopin, Brahms and Liszt, and a bit of Debussy and Grieg and not much more than that).  I plan to post the list in a few days in the repertoire section, just in case you think this is of any help in making the recommendation.

Thanks all,
H

[jeremyjchilds]

Good luck finding a teacher who will teach one lesson a month

[shasta]

Dude, you're in College Park, not Podunk Idaho!  Take advantage of U Maryland and Peabody!!

Print up some fliers stating your needs and stick them up in the music schools at U Maryland and Peabody.  Perhaps a piano grad/undergrad student would be interested in teaching you.  They could probably use the money.

[jeremyjchilds]

The problem is that startistics are against you.

I have found that adult students quit 3 to 1 over my younger fellas.

please don't take that wrong, I'm not trying to say that you will quit, but I am trying to say that if you approach a teacher and ask him to set aside 2 hours once a month, (that means that he will have 2 hours of unpaid time for 3 or 4 weeks each month) he will look at you and assume that you not ready to make the time and financial committment to really progress.

After reading your post, I really do believe that you are sincere and will get there, but  a teacher will pass you off unless he is desperate.

If i had a prospective student who was complaining about me fee or wanted bi-weekly lessons, I would amswer.. "Let me know when your priorities are different"

I would say that you are in luck with the college students around..but don't you have a piano degree??

You will need someone with a performance history, and a graduate degree, and a lot of experience teaching. Go now and get on thier waiting list...save up the money for a one hour lesson each week, Get generally stoked, and then go for it!!!

[iumonito]

Thanks a million for your input.  I find the insight of both of you interesting, and help me understand the perspective of the teacher in this equation.

I am looking for a good teacher who is capable and interested in spending time with me talking talking about music and technique.  I had not cosidered people at Peabody (which is about an hour away), thanks for the idea.

It hadn't occurred to me that the teacher may want to have the slot I would occupy busy the other weeks of the month.  (Dah!!).  I would not expect the teacher to give me a slot that would normally be spent with a weekly or twice-a-week student, so my lessons would likely occur at some ungodly hour on Saturdays or one week evening per month.  Maybe I will luck-out and find a perfect match; once I do I find it unlikely I will quit, as I am precisely planning this in such a way that I have no time pressure arising from it.

I will not be able to work with someone who thinks about this project in terms of priorities.  I love music and play often, but I simply do not have even 2 hours a day to practice.  Weekly lessons would simply be a waste.  It's helpful, though, that you mention it, as I now will spare the charitable soul that will tell me something like that in person from an over-reaction on my part.  Helpful!

If you have names (and contact info) at Peabody or UMD who you would recommend I write to, those are most wellcome.

Thanks,
H

[jeremyjchilds]

Good luck

[Torp]

I'm going to play devil's advocate here for a bit.  If you look for a teacher that is at the university level you may not have to worry too much about their student schedule.  Some university teachers take outside students to supplement there income.  For them, having one 2 hour lesson with a motivated adult may sound much more appealing than having 4 half hour lessons where there's really not enough time to get anything done.

I have found in my lessons, I have a scenario as described above, there is much more give and take between the teacher and me.  She'll point out areas to work on, but I've also come in with a whole list of challenges that I've encountered. Sometimes I'll have a two hour lesson, sometimes it's only a half an hour.  She's flexible and understands that adults have different demands on their weeks than a college student would.

Just my $.02

Jef

[sharon_f]

I started taking lessons again last year after not touching a piano in 35 years. I found a wonderful teacher at a university about an hour and a half away. I had sent  her an e-mail (got the address from the university website) asking for a recommendation for a teacher. I also included a little history: how long I studied, where and with whom and listed some of my rep. She e-mailed me back asking me if I were interested in studying with her. We had an introductory lesson and she took me on as a student.

I work full time and she knows I don't always get to practice as much as I would like. I have an hour lesson every other week and this works out well for both of us.  I think she has about eight or nine students at the university and about 30 private students ranging in age from 6 to 17. I am pretty sure I am her oldest student.

It has been a terrific experience so far and I hope it continues for years to come.