What grade do you have to be in?

[schrewbie]

I'm only in grade 6/8, but I would like to start teaching. Do I have to be in a certain grade to teach? And if I did, what level should I start teaching at? I wouldn't want to teach a beginner, cause then I would have to teach them about notes and time value and stuff, and I don't have the patience for that.

[lostinidlewonder]

A beginner is like almost all of your potential students. Someone who is only grade 6/8 should be cautious teaching those with a more advanced ability because they certainly could be a lot better than you and the advice you offer thus wouldn't be the most effective. Also you have to play with great precision and knowledge all the music that you teach your students, if you are only grade 6/8 the workload there may be too hard to manage. You may know it in theory but I also think you should be able to play it as well, not just know it and explain with words but demonstrate and show with action.

If you think teaching about notes can make you impatient then you have a lot more things to discover that you can get impatient about. I can't count the amount of times I have to say, a little louder here, a little softer here, a little this, more that. It is constant. I have a few students who are very advanced and you don't have to say these things for them, but then you really have the work set out for you. You have to demonstate to these students how to see music, how to increase their efficiency of absorbtion, but to make their playing furthermore effective, this fine tuning is very tough work, I think at least. I can't imagine how a grade6/8er would deal with it.

[schrewbie]

I know what you mean. I always did want to teach but I think it would be best to hold it off till later. And I agree. I don't know how I would deal with it. Maybe in grade 10.

[jeremyjchilds]

You could take on beginners.

Do yourself a favor, and take lessons from the best teacher in town on applied pedagogy. Ask her what the biggest mistakes beginning teachers make are. THere is nothing worse than the feeling that you could have done a better job than you did on preparing students.

Other than that advice, don't get too caught up in personal skill. I had a teacher who was degreed, and was an incredible pianist, but he was the worst teacher ever.

If I was a beginner, i would rather take lessons from a teacher who spent a year learning strictly how to teachm than a performer who was taking me on as his first student

Of course, that's beginners, so you will definitely want to finish your grades. and maybe your letters too (Cause it's so fun teaching advanced students!!

Good luck