Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Adult Beginners Forum Have you had to fire your piano teacher? Why?

I decided this past week after six months with the same teacher that I need to fire him now. I'm just fed up with the lousy treatment I'm getting. Not only is my thirty minute lesson never longer then 25 minutes, but I keep getting passed on to this total loser because my teacher is too busy doing other things like squeezing in extra students to make more cash. It's just a miserable situation.
But while I feel good about this, it has been extremely difficult to find a new teacher. There are three well-known academies that I could approach, but one is insanely expensive
(all piano teachers are 100.00 an hour and you can't take a lesson for shorter then that!), and the other two don't start registering people until the fall. So I scoured Craig's list and another site and there are so many strange characters out there that I really started to despair.
I think I finally found someone who sounds decent.

My question is...did you decide at some point to sack your own teacher and why?
I kept getting placed with this replacement teacher who after each piece I played would comment, very good, or not bad..or coming along. And that was it!I just felt fed up with the soddy and unprofessional treatment. It was very clear that the studio I was studying in was only interested in making money.No body works for free, but there has to be some integrity and respect in music lessons.

Sounds like you are learning in a factory. Have you ever considered private lessons with teachers who teach out of their own home or studio?

http://www.mtna.org/parent-and-student-resources/choosing-a-music-teacher/

You're right it was exactly like a factory. Most of the teachers I've contacted through online search sites teach out of their own homes, or come to your home.
A lot of people are out of town now or are going out of town. Then there are the
teachers who teach-piano, voice,flute, trombone,timpany. I really prefer to
avoid them.

You definitely are in your rights to fire your current teacher. Unacceptable.


With those teachers that charge $100/hour, can you see them every other week? What were you paying your current "teacher"? If they are teaching 30 minute lessons, that might be your first clue something's up. You really can't get a good amount of teaching in that time, and unless there is a particular reason for it, adult students need at least 45 minutes. I prefer an hour. While I don't charge $100/hour, I do have some students who can only afford every other week, or feel they can make enough progress on their own that this suits their schedule better. Check that out.

You don't say where you are, but you may also want to get in touch with your local MTNA chapter and ask for referrals. The MTNA website does a teacher search but only lists those who are certified which is only a fraction of the good quality teachers that belong to this organization.

Keep searching, and be patient. At this point having no teacher at all is better than a bad one.

Thank-you for your helpful comments.much appreciated. I'm always interested in
hearing about this ideas for 45 minutes because I'm an adult and I find it
really tiring to concentrate for that long a period of time after working a full day on the job. So I've been happy with thirty minutes. But many teachers suggest
forty-five, why do you think that is better?
the school that charges 100.00 is the Royal Conservatory of Music which is located a few short blocks from where I work in Toronto.I just discovered that
there is a small group of their teachers who will teach you biweekly and all
teachers teach for thirty minutes if that is requested,so if I can't find anyone
else I'm going to go for thirty minutes lessons every two weeks. I really need
weekly lessons but I just can't afford fifty dollars a week right now.Morodiene
can you please tell me which book you use for your absolute beginners? i spoke
with one teacher who is a Juliard and Eastman grad(I'm not going with him
because even though he only charges 40.00 an hour, he insists on hour lessons),and he said it is inadvisable to use Faber. I was very surprised by that.

The other thing about the two teachers I've had in the past year, is that I find
*they* run out of things to teach by thirty minutes and it makes me really uncomfortable. I hope that is a reflection on their lack of skill rather then mine but it has happened to me twice.

It's better because in 30 minutes, you lose about 5 minutes on either end of the lesson getting in and settled, perhaps a bit of "how are you" kind of thing before getting down to business. With the 25 minutes left, you have to cover scales or other technical exercises (5 min.) , sightreading (5 min.), theory (2-3 min. if the next assignment is self-explanatory and there were no questions on the previous assignment), and that leaves 17 min. to cover the 4-5 pieces you were working on if you are a beginner, plus introduce new concepts and new pieces for the upcoming week. That leaves 3 min. per piece assuming 4 pieces are worked on, and 5 min. to work on new material. During all of this there is no time to spend on actually walking through learning any of the new pieces, it's just in going through the new material. Any questions asked or issues in a piece means something in the above gets cut out. Usually this means technique, theory, or sightreading, and then it cuts into the repertoire.

Even with a 45-minute lesson this is tight, that is why hours are recommended for adults. Adults have more in-depth questions and want to spend the time on theory and sightreading that younger students may be happy to skip over. If you can manage 45 minutes to start every week and then switch to one hour every other week once your music becomes a bit longer then I'd try to make that work.

Not ideal, but if that is all you can do, that is all you can do. PErhaps take a bit more time to search for a teacher that is the right fit and not such a high fee. I don't know what the going rate for Toronto is, but 100/hr still seems high to me.

Well, considering the rate of the other teachers, $40/hr seems like a great deal, if not a little on the cheap side. Faber is OK, I use it with some adult students. The method doesn't make the teacher, it's just a tool and none of them are perfect. A good teacher finds a method that closely resembles what they believe should be taught and when, and then they supplement as needed. If all they do is teach everything as the book does, that's a big warning sign.

$40/hour is a great deal as long as he/she is a good teacher. Obviously, a Julliard graduate would be an excellent pianist, but that doesn't guarantee being a good teacher. Personally I would take the hour long lesson just for a month to give him / her a chance.

The most important aspect of a good teacher is the teacher's investment in you as a student. Money aside, if you stick with a good teacher, your teacher will become much more than a casual bystander that observes and provide comments and suggestions. Over time your teacher will become a mentor and a friend. If you are lucky the two of you would develop an understanding and have wonderful exchanges in ideas as adults, a priceless experience. I cannot even imagine having a different teacher.

Keep looking. A good teacher is worth the effort of searching. The Royal Conservatory of Music is highly respected institution. You should not hesitate to interview some of their teachers for private lessons. Yes, good teachers are expensive but they are worth it.

Also, as Morodiene has mentioned, the method book is not as important as the teacher. When I started, my teacher insist on teaching from her own method book. This is a bit odd to me, but I had no basis to object other than some professors I had in college that insisted on using their own textbooks wasn't the best experience. Usually, the hope is if the professor was awful in lecture, you'd hope the textbook could help you, but not if you're using the same professor's textbook, and he had the same incomprehensible logic as a writer, you're kinda sunk. Anyway, it turned out my teacher is very good, and she could teach out of any method book, her own or otherwise, so that's the most important part. Don't be concerned if a teacher have preferences in method or repertoire books. The most important part is to get minimal reading skills in place and start playing simple original classical music as soon as possible.

I think the best way to get a feel for teachers is to talk to other students.

Keep playing and the right teacher will show up. Music has that way about it.


Enjoy.

I have tried thirty minute lessons and although I found them fine, now that I take a weekly one hour lesson I could never go back. The thirty minutes was so whirl wind it was doubtful anything meaningful was imparted. The freedom just to take five or more minutes away from the piano to discuss an important issue is highly important, watching the clock during the lesson is counter productive as I was doing in the thirty minute lessons. Also in thirty minutes lessons something usually gets sacrificed and it is important to play everything on a weekly basis.

BTW in my one hour lesson there is no time spent on theory, sight reading, scales, exercises or chit chat and I still find we don't have any problem filling the hour. I take your point about concentration over an hour but I find that if I change onto another piece during the lesson it is fine. If I am struggling with a piece on the day I will leave it, perhaps coming back to it later in the lesson.

Can't believe you don't have a huge choice in Toronto but understand the difficulty in finding a good teacher.

I am very grateful to all of you for your excellent advice and support.
Morodiene you sound like a truly inspiring teacher and your breakdown of one lesson is very beneficial to me. I love studying the piano and I feel for the first time in my life,after many many false starts I am ready for it. The thought that there might possibly be someone out there with a true love and passion to teach is very exciting for me.and I never thought it wasn't all about the book used but the teacher.i so look forward to meeting someone one day who is like so many of the wonderful teachers you have here. I just must continue looking. Thank-you all very much.

Wow. Some teachers are way bad. It is not all about the student or helping but just about themselves and money.

I love to help. I'll teach any beginner/intermediate for cheap and Im sure I will be miles better than some of those academy teachers.

If you found the $40/hour Julliard/Eastman grad was a good teacher for you, I wonder if you could pay for the hour, but only take a 45 min. actual lesson? He wouldn't be losing any of his fee, but in fact gaining some free time. And maybe you would like the entire hour down the road at some point.

Amazing to me that anyone could run put of things to teach you in half an hour! They obviously aren't trying. I'm sure you'll find a better teacher!

You might try your local university if they have a music department. When I took up piano again I found a great teacher at my local university who was working on his PhD in piano. This might be a bit stereotypical, but most university students are needing cash, and many of the music students teach music/theory. Check out the department's webpage and see if they have a list of students who teach. If not e-mail some of the piano professors and they might be able to refer you to one of their students. They tend to be cheaper too :-)

Another resource might be music festivals. Some will have local teaches adjudicate. Perhaps one of them could teach.

I have found the best teachers seem not to advertise anywhere. They might have a webpage, but you kind of have to know they exist in order to find it! They seem to rely on word of mouth.

A teacher is very important. Don't be afraid to leave to find a new one if it isn't working out.

Alans, so far as I know, I am one of the only studio teachers in Toronto who genuinely specializes in the adult learner at the piano. It's my life, and I've been doing it for a long time. A few mouse clicks and you can learn plenty about me. Regrettably, I am out of your price range.

You need to see someone every week, not every other week, for at least 45 minutes and preferably an hour. Don't avoid Craig's List, and don't avoid the teacher who teaches two instruments. But piano performance degrees from famous music schools is most likely what you *don't* want in an early-level teacher. Better to work with a local church organist, or a public school music teacher.

Send me an email if you want more thoughts.

Why is this? Is it because he is late, or because he ends early?

By the way, your budget is too small. If $40 an hour is too much for you (that is a very cheap price), you are probably going to end up with a teacher who has no clue what they're doing.

Is the term "fire" appropriate? Isn't a student - teacher relationship different from employer - employee?