If you’re a beginner looking to learn piano, chances are you’ll be able to find a local piano teacher willing and able to teach you. But, what happens if you’re an intermediate to advanced player? Where do you go if you want advanced music performance training or you want to become a professional musician?
There are several problems that exist if you’re an emerging piano artist who wants a good piano teacher. First of all, the chances are that it will be very difficult to find a local piano teacher with the right qualities and knowledge that are needed. You’ll likely have to travel to find the piano teacher you’re looking for.
Next, you should know that good piano teachers should first and foremost be professional players. Why? Because, they know more than just teachers. Their experience performing and working in the music business is paramount to getting the best instruction.
If you want to be successful as an artist you’re going to need to find someone that is successful as a pro artist to guide you in the right direction. It’s very important to learn to avoid their mistakes which in the long run will save you loads of time, energy and heartache.
Next, look for a piano teacher who actually knows how to teach. Don’t take it for granted that just because they’re a professional musician that they know how to teach. The fact is that most pro players don’t know the first thing about how to teach. Teaching is all about providing the right information in the right order as well as being a good motivational inspiration to help you stick with it.
Ask colleagues and former students about a teacher’s methods and find out if that will work for you. It’s important to get as much information as you can about a teacher before committing so, make use of the internet to do your research.
Then, of course, you’ll have to consider the cost associated with advanced musical training. Good teachers will charge upwards of $100 an hour. Add to that your travel expenses and you’re looking at a pretty serious commitment. However, don’t let that stop you. If you find the right piano teacher it doesn’t matter how much it costs, it’s worth it not just for the piano instruction but for the network and knowledge that they provide about the music business.
Is there an alternate to all this? Yes, there is. It’s called online piano lessons. Recently there has been a wave of new teachers who are venturing into the online world. And why not? It’s cheaper than a private lesson, it’s convenient and it’s easy to do your research before committing.
A couple of things you may want to consider however before signing up with an online piano teacher. And, it’s basically the same formula for finding a private teacher. The piano teacher must be a professional musician, they must have a good solid method that is recommended by others, the quality of the video lessons should be very high and make sure they don’t sell you any kind of new-fangled learn to play like a pro overnight method.
Be diligent when researching an online piano teacher. Find one that’s right for you and if they offer a free video piano lesson then take that first before committing. Finally, be prepared to practice what you learn. Just taking lessons will not ensure success. You need to be diligent about learning and practicing the method you’re being taught.
Posts Tagged ‘Right Direction’
Finding the Right Piano Teacher
Monday, May 11th, 2009How Will you Learn to Play the Piano?
Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
Is your passion listening to piano music? Would you like to be able to play just like your idols? Are you thinking of taking lessons but you are not sure where to start? It could even be that you have had some lessons but you have given up as it has taken longer than you thought to learn. Lots of other people may well be in your shoes at this moment and only need a push in the right direction.
The Various Ways to Learn the Piano
Before you do anything else, it is essential to know that there are two ways of playing a piano. These are:
1.Chords
2.Note reading
It is a good idea to know what you want to do when playing the piano. If you are happy enough playing music other people have written, all you have to do is learn how to read the notes. However, on the other hand, if you are more creative and you would like to write your own inspiring music, an understanding of chords is a must.
If you want to learn to play the piano fairly fast, it may be a wise choice to take a chord based approach. If you learn the chords on the piano, you can learn the sounds they make and, therefore, make your own music. You can always learn note reading afterwards if you choose.
The Pros and Cons of Learning from a Teacher
Finding a qualified and reliable instructor is the key to having successful lessons while learning to play the piano. You could learn at home or at the instructor’s studio. There are advantages to both, so it all depends on where you would feel most comfortable. A lot of people try to find an instructor that is local to where they live.
When you are looking for an instructor, you will need to have a goal in mind. It could be that you want to play for fun and want to learn how to play from music sheets. However, if you want to be more creative, it may be a good idea to look for instructors that will give you chord based lessons.
If you hire a piano instructor expecting to make your own music and they teach you nothing but reading notes, you will obviously not be able to reach your goal. Make sure that you know exactly what you will be achieving. Otherwise, you could be wasting a lot of money on something that you, basically, do not want. Also, it can be a huge waste of money to learn something that you could learn online for a cheaper price, and it is just as effective.
Learning online
As mentioned earlier, learning online is a lot cheaper than piano lessons and it is just as good. It can be a great benefit to learn online as you can do it in your own time and at your own pace without someone breathing down your neck. It can also help to save time, too, so the benefits are quite good when learning online.
The only real disadvantage with learning online is that a person may not have enough motivation to learn properly. Also, with an instructor, if there is something that doesn’t make sense, they can get help. When you are learning online, it may not make much sense and there is no instructor there to ask for help.
You can also learn how to play the piano with piano learning DVDs and computer software designed to help.
General Guidelines to Learning the Piano
Overall playing the piano should be something that is fun and it should certainly not reduce you to tears all of the time. If you take your time learning and have regular practice you will eventually achieve what you want. You should not give up if it is something that you have wanted to do for a long time. There may be times that you get frustrated, but just keep going and you will be able to play the piano just as good as anyone else can, and even write your own music in time.
How can I improve my piano skills?
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
I really want to improve my piano skills. So far I am at grade 3 (according to my former teacher) but that was about 9 years ago when I stopped taking up lessons due to some problems. My passion for playing the piano was rekindled only this past month and I would really like to learn on my own. Can you please point me to the right direction. I am totally clueless. Any comments and suggestions are very welcome. Thank You!