Piano Teacher Types - All Kinds Of Them

Sometimes when I'm being a bit reflective of the days when I was taking lessons, I think about the kinds of teachers I've had... and there were many. I'm fascinated when talking to some of my students about their past teachers and the stories they tell me. Many times it causes me some heavy deja vu. I thought it would make for a good, and hopefully helpful post. If you have a story or two, it might be fun and interesting, and possibly helpful to others if you tell us. Oh... tell us about the good ones too. This post is really about what to watch out for, on the negative side of things. So, let's take a look!

The...Stay The Course Type (His Course)
This teacher is systematic—only one way for all students. Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, and so on. This may be fine when learning in a formal, traditional manner, and for young students with many years of learning ahead of them, but, it’s not for everyone. We're all different, our desires, the music we love and want to play differ, and unfortunately does not come into consideration with this type because, “this is the way it’s done”. Each week the student assigned another page in the book, and the following week is the test... and so on. He only knows this way and hasn’t the ability to deal with different students types with different needs and goals.

When it comes to adult students, the teacher needs to learn what the students aim is, and then create a course of study in that direction. Yes, it’s true that some amount of trust in the teacher’s judgment is necessary, but, if you feel that something is not right over a reasonable amount of time, it’s time to reconsider. (That being said... this method may work for you).

The Clock Watcher (“Gotta go now")
Yes, teaching is a business. The teacher is making a living. But when I hear a teacher say, “I get this price for a half hour, and this price for and hour”, it reminds me of another profession as old as the world itself.yes, It’s necessary for a teacher to have time guidelines if he’s going to see X amount of students a day. He can’t leisurely for hours with each one—that is unless he gets what he gets for gets. :-/ I've had a coupe of teachers that when my time was up, they would stand up with one hand out, and one foot pointed to the door. (Literally) It didn’t matter if I was in the middle of a question—they were, gone. I frown on teachers with the goal of squeezing in as many students as they can in a day. I've never met a piano teacher that made the Forbes 500 list—I wish some would stop trying.

At times, a half hour to forty five minutes may be all that a student needs, or can absorb; any more can cause overload and does not benefit the student. There may be times when the student needs more, to have the teacher work with them. A good teacher will know when either applies. A piano lesson (I prefer piano session) should be anywhere from forty minutes to an hour and a half in general. If you notice the teacher looking down at his watch as much as he looks up at you and the music, with an occasional yawn thrown in, it may be time to consider a change—not wasting of your valuable time.

The Disciplinarian (The Knuckle Cracker)
I’ve never had my knuckles cracked, but I’ve come close. Man, this old school stuff still exists...I've got the battered students to prove it. The ‘knuckle cracker’ is my metaphor for the strict, down to business teacher. He has no patience for doing it wrong and has no bones about letting you know. He is the ‘master’—the master tells you what he expects of you. If you've got one of these... run!

The Great Player (hey, look at me!)
Ahh.... one of my most interesting teachers. Man, could he play. He played so well that 75% of each lesson was listening and watching him play. The first few times, I loved it. I think he enjoyed hearing to me say, “wow”, and “Oh my God”. In fact, I think he enjoyed it so much, the lesson format never changed. At first I thought, “exciting, so this is where I’m headed, this is what he’s gonna teach me”. But I began to feel a bit discouraged also, “I’ll never play like that”. Why? Well as I soon found out, he had no system, no method of instruction on how to get there. It was a few notes scribbled on paper and too much conversation. Anything I did learn from him was by imitation. I never quite understood what I was playing or why. I had to figure it out myself.

The Not So Great Player (Helps if he/she could play)
What can we say? It’s always nice to have a teacher who can demonstrate the materials they’re teaching. As I said in my 'Finding The Right Teacher article', he doesn’t have to be a Chopin, Oscar Peterson, or Billy Joel, but at least have a good feel for the music they’re teaching. One student told me that when she asked the teacher if she could learn how to play ______, the teacher said "ok, we could play around with some of that stuff". My student told me that he could not play, nor had any knowledge of that particular style of music, but was willing to spend time, and HER money playing around with it.

The One Step Ahead Of You Guy
So here I am learning a particular style, at a certain level, in which a few problems exist here and there. The teacher sits down to show me a few things to help me out...or, perhaps I should say, to show me a thing or two! Rather then playing at my level to demonstrate and teach me how, and what I should be doing, he bumps it up a couple of notches and looses me in the dust. So I ask, “could you slow down a bit?” He doesn’t, I still can’t figure it out, and now I’m feeling really frustrated and begin to hate this guy for making me feel inadequate. It’s the same for each lesson. But, but, he’s very encouraging though, or tries to be... “Keep at it, you’ll get it”. Maybe I will, maybe I won't...but you won't be around to find out. Back to the search.

Give’em A Chance, But...
All teachers deserve a chance. (See article ‘Piano Teacher, Not An Easy Job’). This article defends the teacher and explains what a responsibility this job can become. Sometimes, there’s a method to their madness. If you judge to fast, you could miss the pot of gold at the end. But after two, or three, or six months of working diligently on the work, and you’re not getting what you want, it may be time to start thinking about a change.

Your teacher should have a planned approach, teaching you to play in the style of music you like. Learning to play that 88 key monster in a daunting task and any age. Students can become discouraged—at times they feel that they may not have the ability or talent to play. This is normal. Learning to play can become stressful. The piano teacher needs to help the student overcome these hurdles. If you do not feel good after each lesson, feeling as if, “hey, I think I could do this”, then he or she is not doing their job. Some say, that’s a lot to put on the piano teacher—that, "he’s not a therapist you know". Well, that’s true—but he IS a teacher. Over time, the teacher / student relationship becomes a personal thing... a kinship is formed... and the teacher should know how your personality works in relation to learning the instrument.

"A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though,
awakens your own expectations" — Patricia Neal