At what level is it appropriate to start?

[steve jones]

Hi all,

Im 25 years old, a music (tech) graduate. Iv been a guitarist for 15 years, and taught people during my education.

For the last two years Iv been learning piano, and I plan to take ABRMS gr8 theory and gr7 or 8 piano practical this year.

My question is, would I be adequately qualified (assuming I pass!) to begin teaching piano to beginners?

See, Im starting a practice at my house, beginning with guitar only. But Im certain that some of the parents will have other kids and query me over the piano in the corner.

Is a gr8 piano / theory level individual qualified to give lessons to beginners? Obviously, I understand that no qualification is manditory, but I mean, is that an appropriate level to being teaching, or would I need to have studied piano further?

SJ

[imbetter]

At your level you could definatly teach beginers, but that's not the issue. The issue is having patience to teacher beginers.

Best wishes

[debussy symbolism]

Greetings.

Sorry to appear a bit boring, but teaching is a big responsibility, and you want to make sure that your students get as much benefit and the least amount of bad influence. That means that the more one is experienced, the greater amount of good he will be able to give to students. I would say wait for a while, then maybe consider teaching. You don't want to ruin students and with more experience, you will not only ensure greater success, but will also enjoy the process of teaching as you will be less encumbered by the things that less experienced teachers face. Teaching is important, but in order to teach one must adequately learn first. I hope this was of any benefit. Wait up a bit and then consider teaching. I hope this helps.

[jakev2.0]

I would say you are not qualified to teach piano.

[ilikepie]

I would say you are not qualified to teach piano.

I would have to agree. The technical ability of a pianist does not determine how well he will be able to teach. It is, of course, to some degree, a very useful thing. But teaching and performance are two separate(although they may work in collusion) things. I'd say you have a few more years ahead of you before you can start teaching(even if you can play those easy pieces blindfolded and the same time eating a slice of pie). I think it requires more maturity to teach anyone, to be able to understand  them better. Then again, it never is too early to start preparing.

[lenkaolenka]

Hi all,

Im 25 years old, a music (tech) graduate. Iv been a guitarist for 15 years, and taught people during my education.

For the last two years Iv been learning piano, and I plan to take ABRMS gr8 theory and gr7 or 8 piano practical this year.

My question is, would I be adequately qualified (assuming I pass!) to begin teaching piano to beginners?

See, Im starting a practice at my house, beginning with guitar only. But Im certain that some of the parents will have other kids and query me over the piano in the corner.

Is a gr8 piano / theory level individual qualified to give lessons to beginners? Obviously, I understand that no qualification is manditory, but I mean, is that an appropriate level to being teaching, or would I need to have studied piano further?

SJ

You don't have to be a professor of literature in order to teach kids letters and reading. Many confuse piano education with artistic performance. However, it takes a long time to reach this level.
First, piano students have to learn piano keys, music notes and their relationship; they have to learn how to read and memorize music and to build their music mind.
You a fully qualified for this job, if… you teach with right system.

[steve jones]

At your level you could definatly teach beginers, but that's not the issue. The issue is having patience to teacher beginers.

Best wishes

I think so. I used to teach these pot head kids to play guitar at college, and I cant imagine ANYONE is more difficult to teach than those guys!

SJ

[steve jones]

Greetings.

Sorry to appear a bit boring, but teaching is a big responsibility, and you want to make sure that your students get as much benefit and the least amount of bad influence. That means that the more one is experienced, the greater amount of good he will be able to give to students. I would say wait for a while, then maybe consider teaching. You don't want to ruin students and with more experience, you will not only ensure greater success, but will also enjoy the process of teaching as you will be less encumbered by the things that less experienced teachers face. Teaching is important, but in order to teach one must adequately learn first. I hope this was of any benefit. Wait up a bit and then consider teaching. I hope this helps.

Yes indeed, thanks alot for you input.

I am totally in agreement with in that I certainly would want to be attempting to teach material that I am yet to master myself.

Eitherway, I shall be running guitar classes.  But I was also curious about the possibility of taking on one or two piano starters aswell. As a fairly experience muso with a BROAD range of skills, I do feel that I have sufficient a grasp on the novice piano material to put it across.

That said, I will never know for sure until I have developed further myself.

But Im in agreement with you is as much as it couldnt hurt to wait a little. I shall wait until I have the said exams in the bag and then reconsider.

SJ

[steve jones]

I would say you are not qualified to teach piano.

Could you elaborate?

What WOULD be sufficiently a qualification to teach beginner piano, in your opinion? Do you feel a conservatoire training is manditory?

SJ

[steve jones]

I would have to agree. The technical ability of a pianist does not determine how well he will be able to teach. It is, of course, to some degree, a very useful thing. But teaching and performance are two separate(although they may work in collusion) things. I'd say you have a few more years ahead of you before you can start teaching(even if you can play those easy pieces blindfolded and the same time eating a slice of pie). I think it requires more maturity to teach anyone, to be able to understand  them better. Then again, it never is too early to start preparing.

Again, I would agree.

I have been assuming that my prior experience in music and teaching would be worth something in this case. Do you not agree?

Indeed, when I first taught guitar is was huge learning curve for myself also. But I feel that my teaching methods are now moderately refined for that particular instrument.

My assumption that said experience is transferably to other instruments is perhaps not justified, would you say?

[steve jones]

You don't have to be a professor of literature in order to teach kids letters and reading. Many confuse piano education with artistic performance. However, it takes a long time to reach this level.
First, piano students have to learn piano keys, music notes and their relationship; they have to learn how to read and memorize music and to build their music mind.
You a fully qualified for this job, if… you teach with right system.

This is kind of what I was thinking.

My sister learned piano for YEARS with a good teacher. The same teacher taught me classical guitar. It wasnt until several years in that we actually began learning anything of musical substance. To start with it was all preliminary stuff.

I feel confident that I could teach these first steps to a few kids, if asked to (I shall obviously NOT be seeking students).

SJ

[jakev2.0]

I would never advise anyone take lessons from a teacher who was not at one point a highly proficient pianist. No offense to you, but the most effective teachers know what works best for developing piano technique through their own experiences of learning the instrument.  It doesn't matter what stage the student is at - it is absolutely crucial that they be taught properly from square one.  Improper instruction may ruin a students chances forever.

[lenkaolenka]

I would never advise anyone take lessons from a teacher who was not at one point a highly proficient pianist. No offense to you, but the most effective teachers know what works best for developing piano technique through their own experiences of learning the instrument.  It doesn't matter what stage the student is at - it is absolutely crucial that they be taught properly from square one.  Improper instruction may ruin a students chances forever.

Many piano teachers don't understand, where 'proper technique' definition came from.
Almighty didn't give 'Proper technique' to us. For centuries we had prodigies in piano field, people, who just pick everything faster then others. By watching and studding the Masters the rules of 'proper technique' had been established and developed.

Then 'Proper technique' – freedom of muscles, flexibility, exactness of movements piano educator try to use an etalon for coping thoughtlessly. Students have no skills to connect music notes with keys, they can't read music and confuse one piano key with another, but they already obligated to 'keep hands round' and touch the key certain way. As a result we have plenty of ex-piano students, who know how to keep hands on piano and can't play..

Prodigies, masters of piano get the freedom of muscles, flexibility, exactness of movements from their inner vision of notation, piano keys and music. They develop music mind quicker then others, they grasp keys lay out and notation like eagles.

Instead of giving others students an opportunity to get the same quality by developing their music mind, ability to SEE keys and notes, most of us make beginners to copy movements blindly. As a result we have what we have: prodigies succeed as they always did and average students have cramps, bad technique and many other problems.

So, with right system, system that can help student to SEE notation and keys, develop their music memory and ear any teacher would not be able to spoil technique. In my class my small 7-8 years old students teach their friends and in couple of weeks all of them have free relaxed muscles and great technique. Later I would share the video with you, if I still will be here.

[jakev2.0]

Different people respond differently to different teaching styles.

Speaking for myself alone, I'd have given up playing the piano in an instant if my parents had brought me to a class with dozens of other kids in front of keyboards. The only way I could learn the piano is the way I have learned, do, and will learn the piano: with undivided attention from a trained pianist.

[lenkaolenka]

Different people respond differently to different teaching styles.

Speaking for myself alone, I'd have given up playing the piano in an instant if my parents had brought me to a class with dozens of other kids in front of keyboards. The only way I could learn the piano is the way I have learned, do, and will learn the piano: with undivided attention from a trained pianist.

I did too!
But don't you agree, that many students have undivided attention of piano teacher and still don't develop proper technique?
We used to blame teachers for that, but in fact, it is not their fault. The approach has to be change!

[steve jones]

I would never advise anyone take lessons from a teacher who was not at one point a highly proficient pianist. No offense to you, but the most effective teachers know what works best for developing piano technique through their own experiences of learning the instrument.  It doesn't matter what stage the student is at - it is absolutely crucial that they be taught properly from square one.  Improper instruction may ruin a students chances forever.

Hmmm, define 'properly' for me... 

I may not have studied piano to the nth degree, but one thing Im quite sure of is that very few pianists / teachers agree on this issue. For every pianist who thinks one way, there appear to be an equal amount (equally qualified) who would protest.

I would have thought that the best teachers are those who can sift through the information subjectively and decide what is best for the student, as opposed to sticking to what has worked for them personally (with disregard for anything to contrary).

Again, my sister's old teacher was a very respectable pianist. She was trained at a top UK conservatoire. She SWEARS by her methods, yet it seems that her students progress at snail pace in ALL areas.

The point being, does great pianist necessarily equal great teacher?

In the guitar world, this is DEFINATELY not the case.

SJ

[m1469]

Hi, Steve .  You have already had a number of responses here but I just feel like weighing in, too. 

You are somebody whom I have observed with considerable interest here on the forum over the last year and a half.  I have always sensed that you are very serious about what you are doing, that you would like to do things as efficiently as possible, and that you are nicely driven in what you do.  You are obviously passionate, but consistent as well.  I can tell just from your posts that you are generally a confident and a quick learner, and though that reflects skill, it also has a lot to do with your great attitude and work ethic.  All of these character traits are a wonderful example for anybody else wanting to learn anything, in my opinion (and as teachers, we are always also examples for our students).

As far as teaching goes, everybody has to start somewhere, and all you really need is a student to get you started.  I suspect that you have already begun to develop ideas of your own on what you think is important for people to learn in your studio.  That is good, and that will continuously evolve if you are as dedicated to your teaching as you have been to your own studies.

Something I think is pretty funny is the idea that one cannot start until one has more experience.  Well, how does one get the experience without ever starting ?  hee hee.  People will try to insist that there are certain necessesities that every pianist must know and that there are only certain ways to go about it.  Well, that's true.  However, you as the teacher have the right to decide both what and how you are going to provide your students the oppotunity to learn, and in my opinion and in my general approach, it is very much dependent on the individual student.  We can make all the plans we want, we can lay everything out on paper (and that is actually a good excersise for getting your own thoughts clear), but in the end all that matters is what the student is actually gleaning from the experience.

Because teaching is so student-oriented and driven (duh !), I find that one of the most necessary skills as a teacher is to continue to develop a keen sensitivity to read between the lines in how they are developing.  I find that it's necessary to consider the entire person (as much as possible) to really even begin to sense where they are at with their pianistic development.  Most of this happens through one's own self-awareness as well as an almost hyper-sensitivity to the individual student's every little movement, breath, word... etc..   Developing this sensitivity is something that one can have done for their entire life, though obviously not always with the intention in mind of teaching piano.  But, we have been around A LOT of people over the years and through various circumstances.  We can always still learn more, I find (and that's quite a delight for me to know).  Perhaps you have some experience with people already that you can use to your advantage ?

There are some practicalities to think about as far as the sheer teaching aspects go.  You do want to have an idea of the direction you would like to go.  You want to have a first lesson planned out so you have somewhere to spring from, and you want to always be gaining a deeper and broader knowledge of the repertoire.  You are in a very good place for this, here on the forum, as there is hords of information here to help you (as I am sure you have noticed and already gleaned from).

The good thing about sharing this world with other people, and even those who insist that their way is THEE way, is that you can use any of these ideas to supplement your own plan.  But, in the end, you are in charge.  Observe, observe, observe, experiment, be thoughtful, and just keep learning.

There is actually very little mystery to it.  If people are smart/dumb enough to feel they are not learning from you, then they are smart/dumb enough to leave (but, it does not follow that every time a student leaves that you have not done a good job with them -- Individuals infinitely have their own agendas no matter what ours may be).  If they feel like they are getting what they want, they will stay.  In the meantime, yes, you will indeed do and say things that you feel you can do better with next time.  That's just part of the deal.  Just do/say them better next time !!


Cheers,
m1469

[chocolatedog]

Many piano teachers don't understand, where 'proper technique' definition came from.
Almighty didn't give 'Proper technique' to us. For centuries we had prodigies in piano field, people, who just pick everything faster then others. By watching and studding the Masters the rules of 'proper technique' had been established and developed.

Then 'Proper technique' – freedom of muscles, flexibility, exactness of movements piano educator try to use an etalon for coping thoughtlessly. Students have no skills to connect music notes with keys, they can't read music and confuse one piano key with another, but they already obligated to 'keep hands round' and touch the key certain way. As a result we have plenty of ex-piano students, who know how to keep hands on piano and can't play..

Prodigies, masters of piano get the freedom of muscles, flexibility, exactness of movements from their inner vision of notation, piano keys and music. They develop music mind quicker then others, they grasp keys lay out and notation like eagles.

Instead of giving others students an opportunity to get the same quality by developing their music mind, ability to SEE keys and notes, most of us make beginners to copy movements blindly. As a result we have what we have: prodigies succeed as they always did and average students have cramps, bad technique and many other problems.

So, with right system, system that can help student to SEE notation and keys, develop their music memory and ear any teacher would not be able to spoil technique. In my class my small 7-8 years old students teach their friends and in couple of weeks all of them have free relaxed muscles and great technique. Later I would share the video with you, if I still will be here.

So is it necessary to be good at "studding" to be a good musician then?.............. Knew I was going wrong somewhere.............

[steve jones]

Hi, Steve .  You have already had a number of responses here but I just feel like weighing in, too. 

You are somebody whom I have observed with considerable interest here on the forum over the last year and a half.  I have always sensed that you are very serious about what you are doing, that you would like to do things as efficiently as possible, and that you are nicely driven in what you do.  You are obviously passionate, but consistent as well.  I can tell just from your posts that you are generally a confident and a quick learner, and though that reflects skill, it also has a lot to do with your great attitude and work ethic.  All of these character traits are a wonderful example for anybody else wanting to learn anything, in my opinion (and as teachers, we are always also examples for our students).

As far as teaching goes, everybody has to start somewhere, and all you really need is a student to get you started.  I suspect that you have already begun to develop ideas of your own on what you think is important for people to learn in your studio.  That is good, and that will continuously evolve if you are as dedicated to your teaching as you have been to your own studies.

Something I think is pretty funny is the idea that one cannot start until one has more experience.  Well, how does one get the experience without ever starting ?  hee hee.  People will try to insist that there are certain necessesities that every pianist must know and that there are only certain ways to go about it.  Well, that's true.  However, you as the teacher have the right to decide both what and how you are going to provide your students the oppotunity to learn, and in my opinion and in my general approach, it is very much dependent on the individual student.  We can make all the plans we want, we can lay everything out on paper (and that is actually a good excersise for getting your own thoughts clear), but in the end all that matters is what the student is actually gleaning from the experience.

Because teaching is so student-oriented and driven (duh !), I find that one of the most necessary skills as a teacher is to continue to develop a keen sensitivity to read between the lines in how they are developing.  I find that it's necessary to consider the entire person (as much as possible) to really even begin to sense where they are at with their pianistic development.  Most of this happens through one's own self-awareness as well as an almost hyper-sensitivity to the individual student's every little movement, breath, word... etc..   Developing this sensitivity is something that one can have done for their entire life, though obviously not always with the intention in mind of teaching piano.  But, we have been around A LOT of people over the years and through various circumstances.  We can always still learn more, I find (and that's quite a delight for me to know).  Perhaps you have some experience with people already that you can use to your advantage ?

There are some practicalities to think about as far as the sheer teaching aspects go.  You do want to have an idea of the direction you would like to go.  You want to have a first lesson planned out so you have somewhere to spring from, and you want to always be gaining a deeper and broader knowledge of the repertoire.  You are in a very good place for this, here on the forum, as there is hords of information here to help you (as I am sure you have noticed and already gleaned from).

The good thing about sharing this world with other people, and even those who insist that their way is THEE way, is that you can use any of these ideas to supplement your own plan.  But, in the end, you are in charge.  Observe, observe, observe, experiment, be thoughtful, and just keep learning.

There is actually very little mystery to it.  If people are smart/dumb enough to feel they are not learning from you, then they are smart/dumb enough to leave (but, it does not follow that every time a student leaves that you have not done a good job with them -- Individuals infinitely have their own agendas no matter what ours may be).  If they feel like they are getting what they want, they will stay.  In the meantime, yes, you will indeed do and say things that you feel you can do better with next time.  That's just part of the deal.  Just do/say them better next time !!


Cheers,
m1469

Well what a lovely post, thanks m1469!

I must admit, though I dont think we have spoken to any great length, Iv always found your posts to be extremely helpful. Certainly a highlight of the forum.

"That is good, and that will continuously evolve if you are as dedicated to your teaching as you have been to your own studies."

Absolutely, yes. I find that with anything, I ultimately reach a point where I want to pass on the knowledge Iv gained. While I dont feel Im ready right at this moment, I can see that over the coming year I shall likely be asked to teach piano to some beginner kids. Its would extremely rewarding (and as you point out, educational) to do so!

"Something I think is pretty funny is the idea that one cannot start until one has more experience.  Well, how does one get the experience without ever starting?"

A very good point.

As another posted mentioned, performing and teaching are NOT the same thing by any means. Being a developed pianist may be the prime requisite for making a good recording / performing artist, but could the same be said for teaching?

It kind of reminds me of being at school and being taught French by a substitute teacher who was FAR from fluent. She was, however, a very experience teacher and was able to communicate the essence of the material very well. Her lessons we far more productive than those Id had with fluent French speaker who was less skilled as an educator.

And its like you quite rightly say - where do you learn to teach better than on the job?

"Perhaps you have some experience with people already that you can use to your advantage?"

Hmmm, maybe so?

Indeed, I think the time I spent teaching during university was extremely useful. Also, the time I spent in retail (selling and renting musician instruments) gave me a rather keen insight into the dynamics of the typical child student musician / parent situation. If my experiences could be consider representative a sample, then I think that the vast majority of kids go into music lessons as an extra curricular activity, often through school. In which case, one of the finest qualities in the private teacher would be the abilities to make lessons fun and inspiring, while ofcourse, covering the necessary material.

Again, purely in my experience, it seems that the vast majority of students who excell and continue into further study are those who's teachers are able to cultivatel the passion for music. Without that, there is no amount of 'method' will help!


SJ

[keyofc]

I so agree with m1469.  There's a book, "Metaphors for Musicians"
I forgot the author's name -it's written mostly for those interested in jazz, but probably anyone interested in piano could benefit from it.
  One of the things he said I liked, "teaching is a lot like practicing; the more you do it, the better you get"
  And it doesn't take long to see what you did right and what you could do a little differently.
Having experience is nice - but getting is what's important.

[steve jones]

Perhaps I would be wise to give myself some time teaching an instrument that I am experienced in, so to develop my teaching skills, before jumping into piano. Hopefully by the time I have my exams finished Id be not only better with the piano (and more knowledge regarding its rep) but also established with some basic teaching practices.

SJ

[lenkaolenka]

So is it necessary to be good at "studding" to be a good musician then?.............. Knew I was going wrong somewhere.............

I think, we have some basic misunderstanding, dear chocolatedog.
Hope to explain my point as plain and simple as possible and hope to have enough English to do so.
Music is a language. Pretend for a minute that it is like English. When we teach every child first letters and how to spell words, we are not planning for each of them to become a writer. But without ability to read language vocabulary of people is limited, memory short and all what they can really appreciate is comic books.
The same thing happens with undeveloped illiterate music minds.
Majority of people unable to appreciate more advanced forms of music and prefer rap and pop. I personally know some very talented jazz musicians, which struggle to find audience sometimes and live on the edge of poverty.
I think, if people in general would be able to sight-read music, the situation would change for the better.
 

[chocolatedog]

Yes we have got a basic misunderstanding!!!  You obviously don't know the word "stud"!!!! It doesn't mean what you think it does.......

And don't "dear" me!!!

[brahms4me]

Then sightreading = the root of all problems, eh???   Most interesting.

[lenkaolenka]

Yes we have got a basic misunderstanding!!!  You obviously don't know the word "stud"!!!! It doesn't mean what you think it does.......

And don't "dear" me!!!

Well, I was taught to respect and never belittle my opponents to become a winner. I made a great career in former Soviet Union and at the age of 33 moved to the USA with couple of dollars in my pocket, no documents to stay, no English and a dream to make difference in music education. I built great career in the USA, created a great company, developed a unique system adapted by many public and private schools worldwide and now can help music teachers to teach more effectively. You have two choices – to learn what I can offer or to laugh at my English. Either way is good enough for me.

[chocolatedog]

So your idea of respect is to call people "unprofessional" and "half-educated"?

[cora]

Your problem isn't the level you have attained but rather the fact that you have only been studying two years. There are certainly many things you are missing that you could learn from a qualified teacher. You could study pedagogy before you start teaching or concurrently while you teach one or  two students who couldn't otherwise afford piano from a more experienced professional piano teacher.

As for lenkaolenka, I wonder why you are so forceful in pushing your method. I admire what you have accomplished but I can't understand your need to convert the world to your method. If you really feel so strongly, perhaps it's time to write your book about piano rather than try to impose your will on forum members.

[pianowelsh]

Hi steve... bless you..youve had a lot of conflicting advice. I think that only you can actually decide whether you are ready to teach piano. There are some checks though... Firstly how much early study of piano technique and repertoire did you do or did you super fast track! to be honest this would be my major concern as i myself had teachers who had no toruble playing the piano but had no idea how they did what they did - it was too natural..so study the fundamental principles of making sound and learning to read 2 lines etc as Lenka suggested  - make sure you have a sound understanding of the pedals and how you would explain that clearly to a beginner - because its not so easy...when we had a teaching class at college the first time we had a mock demonstration with our proff being a 5 yr old girl (pretending) we all failed to get him to understand our explainations...its quite difficult to be simple!    Experience is a big teacher and ALL the people who are telling you NO! have had to start and try out on a student ...I think most wouldnt admit to ruining them or scaring them for life.... I donst see why you couldnt go for it but be mature about it and if you find that the couple of students you are teaching are not progressing so well have a contact that you can hand them onto who is experienced and piano first study... All this about you must have pedagogy degree and need to be learning years completely fails to take into account that you have a vast ammount of musical experience on the guitar and MY professional advice would be to start by giving a more 'music' focussed introduction to piano teaching - getting the rudiments down and going slower on the technique of playing - which may take you longer to be confident on.   get some good books on piano teaching and the mechanics of the piano ou of the library - this will help immmensely  - your own playing as well as the students.  You just have to look at primary education to know that if you have an understanding of how to teach and a kean brain then you can and in fact are expected to teach anything.. No one is suggesting that a primary school teacher take a degree in Math, one in Science, one in Literature and Langurage one in Music etc the have their owns specialism and a good general education they are equipped with teaching skills and told to get on with it!

[steve jones]

Firstly how much early study of piano technique and repertoire did you do or did you super fast track!

Hmmm, well the first thing I ever did was the Hanon preliminary exercises. Around the same time I began with a series of books called the 'Romantic Sketch Book's, the first of which contains a load of short, easy romantic pieces. I read through some method books - Alfred's and a few others.

After a month or so I began working through my sister's old grade books, starting with gr1 and working up to gr5. Once I was happy with the gr5 book, I started looking at the Bach Inventions, easier Mozart and Beethoven sonatas, Chopin preludes etc. I did some Czerny exercises too.

Now Im working on movements from Beethoven, Chopin Waltzes, Mazurkas and Nocturnes, some Debussy (doing Clair de Lune right now).  Id like to do some Scriabin Op11 preludes next.

Thats pretty much my first two years of practice. I hope to do my gr8 theory in June, and then get either my gr7 or 8 in piano directly after (at first available slot). I may be lucky, as I know a teacher who organises special exam dates, so its possible Id be able to get her to prep me for the exam and get me a date.

If I were to start teaching, it would probably be around this time next year, giving me to time to get the exams finished and do some preparatory research and what have you.


Regarding the remainder of your post...

Some fantastic advice Pianowelsh, and much appreciated, thank you!

I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes when / if I start.

SJ

[gyzzzmo]

I would have to agree. The technical ability of a pianist does not determine how well he will be able to teach. It is, of course, to some degree, a very useful thing. But teaching and performance are two separate(although they may work in collusion) things. I'd say you have a few more years ahead of you before you can start teaching(even if you can play those easy pieces blindfolded and the same time eating a slice of pie). I think it requires more maturity to teach anyone, to be able to understand  them better. Then again, it never is too early to start preparing.

I dont agree. Somebody of 25 years old can be mature enough to teach somebody.
They can be great teachers, and 50 year old teachers on the music schools often suck (ive seen enough wasted kids from music schools).
As long as you think you can say at a certain point 'this kid should go to another teacher now', youre able to teach things to other people.

[pianowelsh]

Cool!  you did fast track!! but thats ok... try looking at grieg lyric pieces, Tchaikovsky album for young and schumann album for the young, anna magdalena bk of Bach and childrens pieces of Kabalevsky - that will help you adda bit of breadth. It will still leave a gap at the very earliest stages of piano instruction though (ie pre grade 1 and preparatory material) as I work mainly with adult restarters and more advanced students someone else might be able to help you there) The ABRSM and im sure others publish books of graded etudes and studies which are helpfull indicators for the development of technique too - you should try and obtain some.

[steve jones]

Your problem isn't the level you have attained but rather the fact that you have only been studying two years. There are certainly many things you are missing that you could learn from a qualified teacher.

Absolutely.

I feel that right now, Id only be confident teaching absolute beginners. And Im quite prepared to accept that Id likely may many mistakes.

Bottom line is though, that I love teaching! And I shall work at this until I feel within myself that I have something that is work sharing. I dont think I am ready yet, but in 12 months perhaps, I may give it a shot.

The question really came up when I considered my guitar lessons - I know someone is going to have a little sister who wants to start piano, and I know (well, pretty much) that they'll ask me. I guess what I wanted to know was, would I be breaking any rules if I were to accept?

It seems the answer is no. But I am going to wait a little while regardless. I am still inexperienced with this instrument, so Im going to give it a bit of time and see how I get on with the guitar for now.

Thanks all for you advice, it has been most enlighten!

SJ

[pizno]

I couldn't disagree more.  Artistry and technique are taught with the very first lesson.  How to listen, how to move your hand, how to end a phrase, how to match tones, are all intrinsic parts of playing the piano.    I think it is short-sighted to think that there is no art right from the beginning.  This is exactly why the transfer students who come to me play like robots.  Anyone can guide someone through a method book, but are they also teaching all the other things that go into a good music education?  Music is not just reading notes.  The very first piece they play should be played musically.  It takes skill to know HOW to teach how to play musically.

I don't think a music degree is necessary, but I do think either studying a particular method or at least being a long term student yourself is necessary. 

Pizno

[666666]

I would say, no.  As a teacher, it can be irritating having to fix other teachers mistakes.  I get a lot of complaints from parents about how their old teachers didn't teach theory, and on top of that, their kids have no idea how to hold their fingers and arms properly to make a decent, controlled  sound.  I have friends in the business who don't take it very seriously, and they usually end up giving me their students because they advance past a level they can teach.   The only problem is, these students have had 2 or 3 years of lessons from a teacher who doesn't know what they are doing, and we have to go back to square one to make up for all the details left out by their "beginners only" teacher. 

If you don't feel bad about waisting peoples money, and crippling their children's musical ability, then go for it.

[piano4me]

 Think hard about starting to teach piano. If you've only taken piano for 2 years I would maybe suggest waiting. I have taken piano 9yrs. and am now just starting to teach. You also have to think about what to do when you can't take the student farther, is the next teacher going to be satisfied with your work, will it be half way easy for them to start off? If you would go ahead and teach piano, it is good for the teacher also. Helps you learn also.