Finding A Piano Teacher

[sallenson]

I've posted a couple of things in the last couple of days. What a great resource this is.

I'm in the UK (South East), male adult (mid-forties) and am looking for a piano teacher. It's been twenty years since I had formal lessons (ABRSM Grade 8 plus an LTCL performance diploma) and am looking to find a local teacher to put some formality and structure around my playing.

I don't know any local teachers (other than the lady who teaches my kids at elementary level) nor any other adults of a similar stanrd who have lessons. While I'm guessing that no-one will have names of techers in Kent/Sussex, maybe someone could offer some pointers about how to start.

I've found some names on other UK sites. Anyone have experience in "interviewing" potential teachers? What should I look for, what should I expect? How should I approach an initial consultation session.

I'm not sure I'd want weekly lessons (fortnightly maybe). But I do want to find someone who can help me with a long-term plan, build repertoire and technique, won't force me to play scales all the time and won't push me into repertoire I loathe.

(Yes, Bernhard would be the ideal, but.....)

Any thoughts, suggestions appreciated.

Best

[Ruro]

 Hi there,

 When I started my piano lessons, I wasn't too sure where to start either >_<  But, as grand the Internet fortunately is, it offered a small number of teachers on this site I found: https://www.uk-piano.org/piano_teachers/

 Which you no doubt have found as well! To get things started out, I simply Emailed the teacher that seemed like the appropriate choice! It didn't quite work out mind, so you may have to change/try a few teachers until you find one that addresses your needs ¬_¬
 Let's just say, I swear I mentioned I wanted to play classical, and we ended up on a Jazz Theme O_o Slight disagreement in style!

 I'm personally now gonna try the local Secondary School, I used to go there, it has a small theatre and apparently has good Musical resources, with classes, dedicated rooms and the like!

 Other then personal experience on the matter... I think it takes a little bit of luck to get in the right place ^_^;; I bet a private teacher could be much more effective though in terms of professional goals, but I may well be mistaken! Best wait and here out another Members opinion

 Hope I was helpful somehow!

 - Ruro

[sharon_f]

Why not try one of the local universities? That's how I found my teacher. (Now I live in the U.S. so I'm not sure about protocol at universities in the U.K. )

I e-mailed that the head of the piano department at a nearby university (well, sort of, it's about 75 miles away) and asked her advice about teachers in the area. In the e-mail, I mentioned how long I had studied, how long ago it had been since I had played, what level I had been at prior, what pieces I had played, etc. She e-mailed me back and asked me to contact her by phone. We chatted and she asked if I would be interested in studying with her. We scheduled a lesson and she asked me to prepare a couple pieces, whatever I wanted.

At the lesson I played through my Bach and Scarlatti and we worked on the pieces together, very much like I had done years before with my original piano teacher. Then we talked about my goals, how much practice I would have available (I work full time), costs and worked out a schedule. (I go every other week for an hour lesson.)

She asked me to get a notebook (I had already brought one!) and we picked out a Romantic piece (Chopin) and a modern piece (Tcherepnin) for me to prepare for my next lesson. That was almost 2 years ago. Best thing I've ever done.

Good luck in your search.

[g_s_223]

Look up your nearest music shop(s) in Yellow Pages and visit one or two of them, most have a pinboard with adverts for music teachers.

[sallenson]

I dropped a couple of mails to local teachers who looked okay.

Had a reply and call from one man (ex Menuhin School, Royal College of Music and ex-pupil of Vlado Perlemuter) and have arranged to see him in a couple of weeks time.

Fingers crossed.

(Sounded slightly scatty, but most are, right?)

[sharon_f]

Good luck and keep us posted.

[sallenson]

Good luck and keep us posted.

Will do!

It sounds as if you "lucked out" with your approach. At your level (I'm guessing here) and mine it's important to find a teacher who's prepared to work with rather than just see a pupil as a walking cheque book who can be fobbed off with a set of graded exams.

We'll see how I get on. You were clearly lucky (congratulations). I'd see my "new teacher" sooner than mid-March if I could but I'm out of the country. But that gives me a bit more time to get nervous!

I'll let you know how I get on.

Best

Stephen

[clef]

I've posted a couple of things in the last couple of days. What a great resource this is.

I'm in the UK (South East), male adult (mid-forties) and am looking for a piano teacher. It's been twenty years since I had formal lessons (ABRSM Grade 8 plus an LTCL performance diploma) and am looking to find a local teacher to put some formality and structure around my playing.

I don't know any local teachers (other than the lady who teaches my kids at elementary level) nor any other adults of a similar stanrd who have lessons. While I'm guessing that no-one will have names of techers in Kent/Sussex, maybe someone could offer some pointers about how to start.

I've found some names on other UK sites. Anyone have experience in "interviewing" potential teachers? What should I look for, what should I expect? How should I approach an initial consultation session.

I'm not sure I'd want weekly lessons (fortnightly maybe). But I do want to find someone who can help me with a long-term plan, build repertoire and technique, won't force me to play scales all the time and won't push me into repertoire I loathe.

(Yes, Bernhard would be the ideal, but.....)

Any thoughts, suggestions appreciated.

Best

just go to a music school, like yamaha music schools, find a good quality one with good facilities, and all the teachers should be fine