Choosing a Piano Teacher

[practice]

So recently after being first introduced to the music of Frederic Chopin, particularly after my experience with the album "Chopin: Nocturnes & Four Ballades" performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy, I have been very much inspired to learn to play piano. We've had a Samick grand piano sitting in our house for years now (my sister used to play), but rarely have I touched it until now. I've also purchased an electric Casio to practice with at nighttime.

Currently I am studying only from this book alone:

https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Preludes-Nocturnes-Waltzes-Schirmers/dp/0634099205/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238459047&sr=1-1

So far I have learned "Prelude in E-minor" (Op. 28, No. 4) and am currently working on learning "Waltz in B-minor" (Op. 69, No. 2). I haven't even bothered to learn any scales or anything (I know the C-major and A-minor scales, but that's it). I'm just a whole lot more interested in learning to play these Chopin pieces. The great thing about the book that I'm learning from is that the sheet music has been edited with a lot of fingering, so I'm not really afraid of developing any bad fingering techniques. The sheet music basically tells me everything I need to know: which notes to play and which fingers to play them with. So really, it's just a matter of practicing, isn't it?

That being said, a couple people have told me that it would still be beneficial for me to have a piano teacher. I guess my question is: why should I consider hiring a piano teacher when I feel like I'm doing a good job practicing on my own?

I remember taking lessons for bass guitar back in high school, and they actually turned me off to playing somewhat, because for the most part, I was just studying a whole bunch of scales and arpeggios, etc. which really just bored me. I fear that the same thing would happen if I were to take piano lessons. Really my main interest at this point is simply to study these pieces that I'm interested in learning to play. I don't really want to be bothered with all that technical, tedious stuff.

I guess what I want to ask is: is it really necessary for me to learn all of that now? And how else can I benefit from having a piano teacher?

That being said, if I do decide to take piano lessons, there's also the matter of choosing a piano teacher. As I've been told, there are a lot of bad piano teachers out there that I should avoid. Any tips for choosing a good one?

[practice]

Well is anyone going to reply?

[lostinidlewonder]

I am autodidactic but found that sometimes it is good to learn from another persons perspective. I learnt that through teaching music to others, there certainly is for me in a lesson no such thing as STUDENT/TEACHER but rather both are students and teachers at the same time. I think a good teacher encourages this because all of the teachers I had in the past, the good ones were where I forgot that they where a teacher and I was a student.

I teach also students who say to me I CAN DO IT DONT TELL ME. But sometimes you can be in the realm of YOU DONT KNOW YOU DONT KNOW. There are 4 quadrants, YOU KNOW YOU KNOW, YOU DONT KNOW YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW YOU DONT KNOW and YOU DONT KNOW YOU DONT KNOW. All of us have some of that dangerous 4th quadrant in us, that we dont know that we dont know. It is nice to have people who can make us aware of that, good teachers will be able to pick that out of you.

When it comes to piano playing it is mastering efficent playing that stumps most people. To play so that you don't feel any effort at all with your fingers to play the entire piece. Unfortunately there are not many teachers around the place that can give you this, but for me this is a good thing to look out for in a teacher if fingering and memory can be self learnt. A good teacher can however increase your rate of memory and find the most efficient fingering for any situation. The fingering in a book is not 100% of the time best for your own hands. Also developing your ability to express music is a life long struggle.

If you post some videos of your playing I am sure people here can give you some advice whether a teacher would be helpful.

What to look out for in a good teacher.
https://www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,30543.msg353574.html#msg353574

[m19834]

That being said, a couple people have told me that it would still be beneficial for me to have a piano teacher. I guess my question is: why should I consider hiring a piano teacher when I feel like I'm doing a good job practicing on my own?

Well, in a way you answer your own question with this question of yours here :

The sheet music basically tells me everything I need to know: which notes to play and which fingers to play them with. So really, it's just a matter of practicing, isn't it?

Obviously if that's all there were to it, almost nobody would need a teacher.  However, what I consider to be artfully learning the craft, there is much more to it than that.

I guess what I want to ask is: is it really necessary for me to learn all of that now?  And how else can I benefit from having a piano teacher?

That very much depends on you.

Any tips for choosing a good one?

Good for one is not necessarily good for all, in a certain respect.  I recommend that you start your very first conversation with the prospective teacher this way :

Really my main interest at this point is simply to study these pieces that I'm interested in learning to play. I don't really want to be bothered with all that technical, tedious stuff.

[practice]

Thanks for the input, guys. I appreciate it.

Obviously I can use all the help I can get. I'm just wondering if it would be worth the money. You guys make some good points.

[m19834]

I'm just wondering if it would be worth the money.

Well, I am wondering what "worth the money" means to you, or rather why you ask that, if you already feel it's obvious that you can use all the help you can get ?

[goldentone]

Practice, do you really want to learn to play the piano or do you just want to play a few Chopin pieces?  Even the Opus 28, 4, though an easier piece, still requires a lot of control, which at this point you wouldn't have.  If you really want to play, then you need to find a teacher.  And if so, the "tedious" aspects like scales are something you can't avoid.  But it's not like a teacher is going to assign you the 12 major scales in your first lesson and sack the desire out of you.  My teacher assigned the scales to me over a long period of time.

But probably a better question is this:  How much do you enjoy playing the piano?

[practice]

Well, I am wondering what "worth the money" means to you, or rather why you ask that, if you already feel it's obvious that you can use all the help you can get ?

Ah, well what I probably should have said instead is that it would definitely be nice to have someone to help me, but since I feel like I'm doing pretty well learning on my own I'm just not sure if it would be worth it.

@goldentone: Yes, I really do want to learn to play the piano. Also I'm not sure what you mean by "control". Can you explain what that is?

I think I'll look into finding someone.

[practice]

Also, are there any useful resources for finding an institution or private teacher? There's only one place near me that I know of. This is a list of their piano instructors:

https://www.elefantemusic.com/Lessons/Piano%20main.htm

It doesn't look too appealing to me.. And also I would prefer a male instructor.

[lostinidlewonder]

Time is money, a good teacher will show you how to increase your effiency so you can achieve in 1 year what would normally take you many more years. If time is money for you then investing in a good teacher is well worth the money. If time has no relevance to you then you don't need a teacher. With good direction you can achieve more than you would on your own. Certainly it is not healthy to learn music like a hermit, so if you have no teacher at least have some peers that you can talk music with IN PERSON. People you can jam with at the keyboard, and people who you think are much more advanced than yourself. Stand on the shoulders of giants.

[scottmcc]

if you are playing for your own personal enjoyment, and are happy with the progress you are making on your own, then fine, no need for a teacher.  but if you find yourself getting stuck, or not progressing fast enough, or don't know where to go next, then you need a teacher.

it's easy to dislike the technical aspects, but if you are willing to invest a small amount of time in them, you will find that you can pick up actual pieces of music faster.  5-10 min a day is a good start.

control refers to the ability to shape the sound, as opposed to just striking teh correct key at the correct time.  if you carefully read the score of those chopin pieces you mentioned, you will see a lot of markings related to not just the actual notes, but to dynamics, articulation, etc, and using these as a guide to shape the finished sound is your goal.  for instance...in 28/4, the left hand chords need to remain quieter than the right hand melody, so that it can sing through. (clearly there's a lot more to the interpretation of that piece, this is just a small example)

[javacisnotrecognized]

You seem to me to be pretty intelligent, resourceful, and perceptive (You can pretty quickly figure out what's bullshit and what's worth looking into). And you seem to be doing well without a formal teacher. How about this: Continue on your own for say, a year, and make some kind of marker for yourself indicating how well you're doing (Like making a recording of something you'd play). If each time you see good improvement and you are satisfied with it, then you won't need a teacher. (And if something is going wrong and you *can not* figure it out, you can always come back here for more solutions)