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Ok, so here I am approaching my 31st birthday, biting the bullet and buying my first piano (I am so excited I cannot even put it into words. I have always dreamed of learning the piano)
I am also very new to my town and basically know no one. Can any of you give me an idea of where to begin looking for a piano teacher? What should I look for in a teacher? Any advice would be most welcome!

Check to see if your town has a music teacher association. Also check with a piano dealer for a list. Good luck and happy hunting on both counts.

Hi jen (if I may call you jen),
You probably want to search this forum (Adult Beginner), the Pianist Forum, and the Teachers Forum, as I believe this question has been discussed. You can start with this link regarding what to ask a potential teacher:
http://www.pianoworld.com/ubb/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?/topic/32/382.html

Obviously, you need to consider your goals, amount of time you have to devote to the piano, and personal comfort with the teacher.

Congrats on your new piano, and welcome!

Where are you, more or less?

Or if you'd rather not say, you could send private messages to any posters who live in your vicinity to get a few names.

Mark (if I may call you Mark),
First of all, yes you may call me Jen (LOL)
Second of all, thanks for the link. It was very helpful!

Sure, Jen, you can call me Mark. The only thing is, there are about 500 Marks here. In this instance, though, through my awesome power of deduction, I figured you were talking to me. In other instances, you can use my stage name, Markb. markb will suffice, too. Just avoid Marcb or marcb.

Now that we got *that* out of the way, you can also try www.musicstaff.com for teachers in your area, wherever that may be.

Hi, Jen!

Since Mark can call you Jen, I figured I could, too. As a new piano player you have come to the right place. You will find many helpful folks hanging around here, mostly in the same boat as you (except for the new piano part, some of us are still in the dreaming stages).

Private note to markb: I'm watching you, mister...

Sorry, Jen, Jerry's about to hijack your thread with his "private note" to me. Notice how private it is.

Jerry, I offered you an olive branch, but apparently you just turned it into olive oil. Now, tk will have her voyeuristic jollies satisfied if we regress into another conflict. The choice is up to you.
:edit:

And now back to Jen's thread. Take it away, Jen....

isn't that supposed to be "Play it again, Sam?"

Hi Jen, welcome to PW and the AB forum!

If you're in a non-metro area like me unfortunately the teacher the website might not help much.

If you don't have any luck with the site Markb gave you try some of the area churches. Some of those guys and gals are pretty incredible! Both my past and present teachers are church pianist/organists and terrific ladies.

Good luck in your search. Keep us posted on your progress.

Indeed. If I wasn't a beginner, I would be playing 'As Time Goes By" right now. Of course if I wasn't a beginner, I wouldn't be on this forum. That would be sad.

I believe the actual quote from the movie is, "Play it, Sam." I'm sure there are some Casablanca fans out there who can verify or correct me.

And yes, Jerry, it would be sad if you weren't on this forum. You're a fun guy. Which reminds me of a joke....

A mushroom walks into a bar and says to the bartender, "I'd like a beer, please." The bartender replies, "Forget it. We don't serve your kind here." The mushroom asks, "Why not? I'm a fun guy!"

I've tried a couple of times to play "As Time Goes By" but it's still beyond my meager piano skills at the moment. The arrangement I have is pretty tough and I refuse to find an easier one!

Jen-

Another website you might try is pianoteachers.com. Most of the listings are for Texas, California and NY, but you might find someone close by through that.

You could also check at stores that sell sheet music and/or band instruments. If they don't offer lessons in the store, they might have a list of teachers.

Crikkit,
That site definitely would have helped me if I still lived in Katy, TX! (not so far from where you are) Thanks for the information! I will definitely ask at some local music stores- great idea!
Jen