How to Be a Good Piano Teacher

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If you are a good piano player and enjoy working with other people you might consider becoming a piano teacher as a way to earn some extra money and play the piano at the same time.

Steps

1. Develop a teaching style. Your style will partially come from your personality, but also from what you need to teach and the kind of pupils you will have. Adult pupils will require a different teaching style than children, for example.
   
2. Cultivate patience. You will have to correct every single mistake a student makes, which can take years. As a piano expert you know how difficult it can be to learn, you will have to be by somebody’s side while they go through that process, over and over again, all the time.
   
3. Develop a lesson plan for each student, based on their ability and experience.
   
4. Notice where each student comes up short or needs special attention and help them to focus on those areas.
   
5. Make sure to cover all the aspects of playing a piano you need to cover in the correct order. Don't teach finger work after your students have developed bad habits.
   
6. At the end of the lesson, always smile at the student and say goodbye or have a great day.
   
7. Join your local, state, or national music teachers' associations. You will be able to network and learn from your colleagues and your students will benefit from recital, audition, and competition opportunities.
   
8. Invest in professional developments. A good teacher is also a good student. We all need to continue to learn and expand our own skills and knowledge.
   

Tips

• Being a private piano teacher is like running any other business, you will have to do some accounting, pay taxes and remind the parents when they forget to pay for the class.
  
• When the student enters the classroom, smile at them. That way he or she will think that you are in a good mood.
  
• Never shout at a student. Meet with the parents if you have trouble with a child's behavior.
  
• Remember that not all your students will want to be there or even want to learn piano.
  

Warnings

• Do not be rough with students, you can go to jail.
  
• Arrange a payment plan before beginning the lessons or taking a new student. Have your policies regarding these formalities written down and stick to them.
  
• Last but not least, make sure the student is having fun. If they aren't, they will think piano is boring.
  

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