A Chance For Me To Be A Piano Teacher?

[sunflower_rose15]

So basically I started playing the piano at the age of 7 and yes I admit up until now (16 years of living) I am struggling in reading notes. I admit that sometimes I did not take the piano seriously and never read notes (seriously). So wondering how I played? My teacher here, first of all when I was still learning he let me listen to piece and never let me read. I know partly this was my fault because I was not serious in playing the instrument and only considered it as some kind of a "joke". However when years passed by I've learned to love the instrument. Here's the thing, when I listen to the pieces of classical musics(not to be boasting or anything) I can play it without reading the sheet music. However it had disadvantages, I never learned how to read. And yes at this age of mine which is 16, I admit that I am still struggling at 2nd/3rd grade in piano. So now I changed my teacher and can read a bit of notes and forgot how to play by ear. I can only play limited pieces. Now, I am taking the instrument seriously. Studying sight reading and what to know about what is what.

Within 2 years I will be taking a piano examination, and I am very nervous and frustrated

I posted this stuff because I want to know other's opinion, I also want to know what to pieces to study and what exercises should I practice.

Please help me As of now I am studying the piano all by myself. I need everyone opinion and help. Or perhaps someone who can guide me :/

[awesom_o]

If you are still struggling with grade 2/3 piano after having had lessons for over 8 years, I would say your chances of becoming a piano teacher are quite low. 

[sunflower_rose15]

but hey, if you work hard and reach for it I think you can achieve it (probably or not) Oh and btw not that struggling though I can play La Campanella by ear XD

[awesom_o]

You may be able to play La Campanella by ear.... but how is that going to help you in being a music teacher?

What are your musical qualifications? How much performance experience do you have? How much teaching experience do you have?

It is very difficult to do well as a music-teacher when you are a young person. You will be competing directly with people who are twice or three times your age, who already have decades of experience in helping young musicians prepare for examinations and competitions. Typically, well-established teachers who have sizable studios of 20-30 kids or more will be the people in any geographical region who command the highest hourly rate.

Young people who lack experience often have to drive to people's homes to teach, and usually do so for a much lower hourly-rate than what the well-established teachers in the area charge.

I don't mean to discourage you. I simply wish to communicate to you how difficult freelance teaching can be for a young person.  If you wish to be employable in this capacity, I would recommend that you first become proficient at playing from scores at sight (any level of difficulty-not just easy stuff), confident improvising, either freely or from written chord-changes in a variety of musical styles, as well as being adept at playing pieces from memory (I'm talking about having a repertoire of at least several dozen pieces, but preferably over 100, covering more-or-less every time period from about 1650 up to the present day). I also recommend being a composer as well

[sunflower_rose15]

Oh hi thanks, but I think you got it wrong, I am about to study piano as my college course and maybe at the age of 23/24 I think (will be alright?) But I really love the piano and I would love to share my knowledge about it. lolz maybe I am dreaming to high lol

[awesom_o]

I am about to study piano as my college course and maybe at the age of 23/24 I think (will be alright?) But I really love the piano and I would love to share my knowledge about it. lolz maybe I am dreaming to high lol

I don't think you are dreaming too high. I'm a big supporter of ambitious dreams and a have quite a few of them myself!

Still, money is tight in the world of music. There are many people who love the piano. Being paid to share ones knowledge is a highly privileged position, and one must possess a vast amount of knowledge to qualify for it!

I wish you the best of luck in your studies at college and in your future beyond that as a music teacher!
If you work intelligently and with the appropriate diligence, you should be able to become an accomplished reader by the age of 23/24.

Being an accomplished reader means being able to easily sight-read grade 8, 9, and even grade 10 (RCM) repertoire with performance-level quality of rhythm and tone.

[schwartzer]

Wow, you can play La Campanella by ear? Sure, you wouldn't mind posting your virtuosic perfomarnce here for us to hear, would you? It even seems that you are able to play Chopin's Etude Op. 10 N°1. All that by ear? You sure are a prodigy, son.

[perprocrastinate]

but hey, if you work hard and reach for it I think you can achieve it (probably or not) Oh and btw not that struggling though I can play La Campanella by ear XD

Oh, that's pretty good. My cat can also play La campanella by ear. He just misses a lot of notes. In fact, he misses all the notes. But he can technically play it, so that's cool, right?

[keypeg]

If you are still struggling with grade 2/3 piano after having had lessons for over 8 years, I would say your chances of becoming a piano teacher are quite low. 

I have the opposite opinion.  You have a student who has been mistaught or negligently taught for 8 years, and is now discovering what it is he has not learned.  If that journey continues, it goes straight into pedagogy and the deeper (missed) things in music.  That can lead to an excellent teacher, who understands the importance of giving skills and knowledge to students.

By contrast, someone who sails through music and doesn't know how he got there, may not be the best person to teach others.

[Bob]

I'd say there's always a chance.

Someone will be willing to pay.  If you're charging less than a more accomplished teacher, someone's going to pay you.  They (the parent of the student) probably won't care as much about cranking out a prodigy, might drop eventually, etc., but they would pay.  And then you'd be teaching lessons and learning how to teach better.

[keypeg]

Someone will be willing to pay.  If you're charging less than a more accomplished teacher, someone's going to pay you.  They (the parent of the student) probably won't care as much about cranking out a prodigy, might drop eventually, etc., but they would pay.  And then you'd be teaching lessons and learning how to teach better.

The point is not to crank out prodigies, but to give students a good base.  Every student deserves at least that much.  I don't think the OP is thinking of teaching now, but asking whether eventually he could teach.  The L is missing in "they would p(L)ay." 

[Bob]

No L.  Haha.  There's always a parent looking to pay less who doesn't care so much about the quality of teaching.  If you haven't taught before you can take advantage of that to get some teaching experience.  If I had to go back, that's what I would have done more of.

[keypeg]

There is a student at the other end of this.  What a parent "accepts" is immaterial to the student's experience.  If you are mistaught, or insufficiently taught, at some point you will struggle, and believe that you yourself lack ability.  This can become a lifelong perception.  If such a student ends up with a good and experienced teacher, fixing the mess is frustrating and many give up.

[Bob]

Yeah, it's not in favor of the student.  But if the parent was really serious/diligent, they wouldn't hire a beginner teacher.  If the student was never going to go far with piano anyway, might as well use them for teaching practice.  Be a better teacher later on, get more experience, etc.

[keypeg]

I disagree.  Students are not objects of "practice" to make mistakes on.  They are people.  There is no way of knowing who "won't go far".  Learning to teach as a beginner teacher who has some idea is a different story.