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Marianne,

Great questions to be asking. In addition to what's been said below I think it's really helpful to talk to other teachers in the area. This will give you an idea of what they charge, what books they use, and they may even refer you some students.

Best of luck!

I teach out of the Tried and true Bastien. That along with some great Repertoire pieces that kids love has been great for me, and of course don't forget the prize box!

I just started teaching piano-- one student actually, and while I knew it would be tough, there is SO much I don't know about learning as a beginner, since I myself did it at 4 years old! I want my student to Progress and receive a good solid foundation, but NOT be bored. I'm having trouble knowing what constitutes passing in a Method Book. When do I move him on to the next thing? What ISNT being covered in this method book that I need to mention? We are starting with Alfred for older beginners.

I would love to find some good resources on piano pedagogy. Thank you for the book recommendations! The Questions and Answers book by Frances Clark sounds like a great resource. I did not get a degree in music education, but I have studied piano for more than a decade. My worst fear is becoming one of THOSE teachers-- unqualified, and giving students poor foundations! Boy do I know what that looks like, as my husband is a product of one of those teachers :P I had wonderful teachers growing up and took it for granted. I hardly know what wonderful and not wonderful looks like.

So I have some questions-- what constitutes a GOOD teacher? What constitutes a BAD teacher? For new teachers like us, it would be GREAT if PIano Forum had some sort of Sticky with resources.

I have the same problem as you. I think to pass a student who is a beginner, they should play the piece well but you also have to take time into account. How long do you want to spend on a single section? Usually it would be a week if the piece is easily mastered and longer for more difficult ones. Mainly it depends on your evaluation of what you believe the student can play so that you have a goal in mind.

Hi- I'm new in these parts :-)

I've been teaching for about 10 years, and this as well is one of the biggest quandaries that I have.

Actually, it's only a problem with the students who don't practice. When they practice, they're usually able to get piece from the method book done in a week. Sometimes a second week if there's something particularly juicy to learn about the piece.

I don't want to be, or seem, punitive by assigning the piece a second or third week, yet they haven't learned what there is to learn before moving on.

What I've taken on is to be sure that the student is able to do/read/understand/fulfill the intention of the particular lesson in the book. Then we can move on. I don't feel that to be sufficient however. And the more time we spend, the more their resistance grows.

I definitely think that parental involvement is missing, but it's probably more effective to look at myself and see what's missing in my approach. I suspect that I'm too soft in my stand that they practice. With both the parents and the students...

- Bernie

Some things just take as long as they take. Assigning a piece for multiple weeks isn't a punishment. It's just the learning process. Playing the piano is hard and learning to do some things takes a long time. Particularly in pieces that introduce new skills or have difficulties the student hasn't encountered before.

Now maybe the problem is that the student isn't practicing; in this case, what the student needs to learn before moving on is how to practice consistently. I don't see any problem with assigning the piece week after week for as many weeks, or months, as it takes the student to learn that. (Of course, we should tell the student that regular practice is the task we're working on. We should also tell the parent that lack of practice is the reason for slow progress, and work with the parent to figure out how to devote enough practice time that these costly weekly lessons won't just be the same lesson over and over. But we should not feel obligated to rush on to the next piece when the student isn't ready.)

I recommend the book called Piano Teaching and the Business Behind it by Kathy Yiu. This book includes all the answers that piano teachers have, eg. book list for each grade, practice methods, how to motivate students to practice, how to advertise and maintain students, how to choose good pieces for competitions etc. The author shared a lot of her teaching experiences in here. You may buy printed copies or kindle version from Amazon. Good luck!

I recommend the book called Piano Teaching and the Business Behind it by Kathy Yiu. This book includes all the answers that piano teachers have, eg. book list for each grade, practice methods, how to motivate students to practice, how to advertise and maintain students, how to choose good pieces for competitions etc. The author shared a lot of her teaching experiences in here. You may buy printed copies or kindle version from Amazon. Good luck!

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