All About Choosing Piano Schools And Teachers

[metz]

Dreamaurora:

I think criticising a student's playing just because it is not up to my expectation despite the student putting in his/her best effort is a very mean thing to do. A teacher can criticize a student's attitude, but never the student's effort.

Yes, a parent (and child) has to discern the types of criticism carefully.

[phankao]

Dreamaurora:

sleepy:

[quote=\"Dreamaurora\"]1. Dedicated piano teacher who instill strong love of music in his fun and informative lessons.

2. Teacher of two of youngest students in Singapore to achieve grade 5 with distinctions.

I will be lying if I say I don't plan to milk my teaching achievements to get more good students.

I would go for number 1

I mentioned earlier I picked a teacher with little teaching experience (ie. no success story to tell) but is super encouraging, over another teacher who is too critical in my opinion but with many more years of teaching experience

Haha, the logical solution for me would be to put BOTH then. :imcool:[/quote]You actually \"advertise\"? Not by word of mouth? Whoa, then would parents rush to sign up if the teacher has \"groomed competition prizewinner\" in portfolio? LOL.

[metz]

phankao:

You actually \"advertise\"? Not by word of mouth? Whoa, then would parents rush to sign up if the teacher has \"groomed competition prizewinner\" in portfolio? LOL.

:rotflmao:

[metz]

sleepy:

chamonix:

I am of the same school of thought. No point dictating what they should

learn. Both pick up the instruments themselves willingly.

:hi5:

:hi5:

[Dreamaurora]

phankao:

You actually \"advertise\"? Not by word of mouth? Whoa, then would parents rush to sign up if the teacher has \"groomed competition prizewinner\" in portfolio? LOL.

You will be surprised that competition is quite fierce now. Even the established teachers in Singapore are finding it hard to find students, mainly because now there are far more qualified teachers in Singapore as compared to last time.

My coursemates from NAFA had to resort to teach music schools and travel to students' place. Some, even after teaching for 3 or 4 years, only have 2 or 3 fully private students. I had to teach music schools for almost 2 years after my graduation and only this year that I've gone fully private, so my student population is still quite small, but thankfully all are of good quality. The main issue here is word of mouth only works for teachers who have many years in the field. Like what jce has said, parents are normally reluctant to engage new teachers, preferring to go instead for those with 'years of experience'.

[phankao]

Dreamaurora:

phankao:

You actually \"advertise\"? Not by word of mouth? Whoa, then would parents rush to sign up if the teacher has \"groomed competition prizewinner\" in portfolio? LOL.

You will be surprised that competition is quite fierce now. Even the established teachers in Singapore are finding it hard to find students, mainly because now there are far more qualified teachers in Singapore as compared to last time.

I must say that I did have a way easier time finding a suitable piano teacher for my toddler than a violin teacher. Actually I wasn't even looking for a piano teacher in the 1st place! So the pool of piano teachers IS larger, I guess.

[metz]

sandunes:

[quote]2. Teacher of two of youngest students in Singapore to achieve grade 5 with distinctions.

Actually; the above statement will put me off, rather than attract my interest. (but that's just me)

I would be more interested in \"how\" a teacher can engage and motivate the students. [/quote]On top of that, i'll also be curious how well a teacher's students can play in general. My piano teacher shared that she ever had 'transferred' students who played exam pieces excellently, but performed below par for all other non-exam pieces.

[sleepy]

Dreamaurora:

phankao:

You actually \"advertise\"? Not by word of mouth?

You will be surprised that competition is quite fierce now. Even the established teachers in Singapore are finding it hard to find students, mainly because now there are far more qualified teachers in Singapore as compared to last time.

The main issue here is word of mouth only works for teachers who have many years in the field. Like what jce has said, parents are normally reluctant to engage new teachers, preferring to go instead for those with 'years of experience'.

I noticed that too. Some what a 'buyer's market' in teaching industry. When I was searching for a music teacher recently, I was surprised for such an ulu instrument (not piano), there're actually so many teachers!
I spoke to around 7 to 8 teachers over the phone, shortlisted 3 to meet up and eventually chose 1

So not to mention for such a popular instrument like piano, parents would have an even wider pool to choose from. Indeed very competitive among piano teachers.

Assume all are good piano teachers technically, in order to stand out from competition, I believe attitude counts. Teachers who teach seriously, with proper lesson plan & not just pondering along would sit well with parents. And teachers should not be too calculative. I've heard of teachers who travelled to students home but asking for payment for extra couple minutes of time or transport fare after a few lessons. How to get recommendation through 'word of mouth' this way?

And with wider pool of teachers to choose from, naturally parents become slightly more price sensitive.
Encountered a few recent year diploma graduates who seem to unknowingly price themselves out of the market, asking $200 to $250/mth. Quite expensive considering some degree teachers with many years experience also charging similar range.

Just sharing my 2cts, no offence to any teachers wor

[Dreamaurora]

chamonix:

sandunes:

[quote]2. Teacher of two of youngest students in Singapore to achieve grade 5 with distinctions.

Actually; the above statement will put me off, rather than attract my interest. (but that's just me)

I would be more interested in \"how\" a teacher can engage and motivate the students.

On top of that, i'll also be curious how well a teacher's students can play in general. My piano teacher shared that she ever had 'transferred' students who played exam pieces excellently, but performed below par for all other non-exam pieces.[/quote]If a student keeps playing the same 3 pieces all over and over again for a period of one year, the exam pieces are most likely to sound good. But ultimately the students have to develop their own musicianship and become more independent. What I do is I give easier pieces for my students for them to practice. They will then need to bring those pieces up to performance level with minimum assistance from me. I also try to engage them in discussions and will often ask them questions about their pieces.

However, not all students want to do this. Last time in music school I taught a girl who just wished to get her exams done. She actually complained to school when I tried to give her extra non exam pieces.

[Dreamaurora]

sleepy:

Dreamaurora:

[quote=\"phankao\"]
You actually \"advertise\"? Not by word of mouth?

You will be surprised that competition is quite fierce now. Even the established teachers in Singapore are finding it hard to find students, mainly because now there are far more qualified teachers in Singapore as compared to last time.

The main issue here is word of mouth only works for teachers who have many years in the field. Like what jce has said, parents are normally reluctant to engage new teachers, preferring to go instead for those with 'years of experience'.

I noticed that too. Some what a 'buyer's market' in teaching industry. When I was searching for a music teacher recently, I was surprised for such an ulu instrument (not piano), there're actually so many teachers!
I spoke to around 7 to 8 teachers over the phone, shortlisted 3 to meet up and eventually chose 1

So not to mention for such a popular instrument like piano, parents would have an even wider pool to choose from. Indeed very competitive among piano teachers.

Assume all are good piano teachers technically, in order to stand out from competition, I believe attitude counts. Teachers who teach seriously, with proper lesson plan & not just pondering along would sit well with parents. And teachers should not be too calculative. I've heard of teachers who travelled to students home but asking for payment for extra couple minutes of time or transport fare after a few lessons. How to get recommendation through 'word of mouth' this way?

And with wider pool of teachers to choose from, naturally parents become slightly more price sensitive.
Encountered a few recent year diploma graduates who seem to unknowingly price themselves out of the market, asking $200 to $250/mth. Quite expensive considering some degree teachers with many years experience also charging similar range.

Just sharing my 2cts, no offence to any teachers wor [/quote]Agreed, cannot be too greedy as a teacher and have to be more transparent in lesson plans and fees. That is why I recently acquired a domain name and is in the process of creating a website so all the relevant info can be accessed readily for prospective students.