Music education is not a service like the others: we do not buy a service for temporary use, but very often for the time of a school year, with several hours of lessons per week or month.
There has to be a strong bond between the student and teacher. It would never occur to anyone to keep a teacher who is too judgmental, not a great pedagogue, or very inexperience. In other words, the student should not overtake the teacher, as the saying goes. And to do that, you have to find the right person and compare the ads by analyzing the text.
The advertisements often include the conditions of the courses: profile picture, lessons at all levels, lessons for children and adults, piano beginners, initiates and confirmed, contact number, and geographical area of travel. There is also information on the method of music teachers, their approach to music education.
Giving piano lessons implies having several years of musical practice, extensive training (classical training, jazz), and at best, having validated prestigious musical studies (higher national conservatory, regional or departmental conservatory).
If you are at the initial stage of learning music, do not necessarily look for the most expensive teachers. Opt for Royal Conservatory, as its courses are less expensive, which will suffice to learn the basics (reading notes music, bass clef, treble clef, left hand, and right-hand coordination, music theory, melodies, rhythms, awakening lessons, etc.).
If necessary, ask for a first free trial class, so that each party can get to know each other: the teacher, to estimate your level of instrumental practice and yourself, to see if the teacher suits you.
Ask a friend who knows the piano
We all have someone who knows someone who knows how to play the piano! You may know someone around you who can play the piano very well and who could teach you the basics (recognize notes, play with both hands, etc.). Ask if he can help you with your learning in exchange for a helping hand with something else or for a fee.
You can thus transform your friend into a piano teacher. All you have to do is make appointments in a place and then practice learning a piece of music with it. For example, you can meet at one of the public pianos available in train stations or other public places.
This is the opportunity to spend some time with your friend while sharing your passion for music. You can then spend an additional hour to teach him one of your skills in turn. And it doesn’t matter if your friend doesn’t teach you the piano like in music school training. The main thing is that this type of piano lesson, even informal, can allow you to learn or initiate yourself at the piano.
You can compartmentalize all of this into music theory lessons, music lessons and buy yourself a piano method to complement it all. Learning music through a piano lesson with a loved one allows you to understand all of the instrumental practice for free.
This is a great advantage because the piano is often considered as a reference instrument: knowing the notes of the keyboard, the octaves, flats and sharps, the basics of musical theory (tones and semitones), some chords, you will have a faster understanding of other instruments.
Register with an association or a music school
Do the ads on the internet not convince you? As the next school year approaches – the timetables for schools and musical associations are often indexed to school rhythms – start by looking for a place to take piano lessons.
Each student can take individual and group lessons there. It will be an opportunity to learn to play the piano and to enrich one’s musical culture with the advantage that this provides a set of lasting dispositions. Because all artistic teaching produces an effect of hysteresis, that is to say, a mechanism by which a situation continues to produce effects even when it is over.
The piano lessons you took last year continue to have a certain effect – as long as you practice the instrument regularly. Just make sure not to forget the basics.