Well, I have wanted to play piano for a while now, and have realised it is essential if I want to teach music.

However, I have been put off finding a teacher and also put off teaching myself. As a lot of you know, I have confidence issues and I wanted to find a teacher i was happy with. I asked someone who has lessons where I should look, and knowing I had one in mind, I got told i should ask him for a space and take it. I dont think this is right, I think i need to find a teacher I am happy with as I wont play for someone I dont feel comfortable with. I then got told that if I didnt take up the space I obviously didnt like the piano, as I couldnt put up with a teacher I didnt like. I have been put off it now, as I do like the piano, i just know that my confidence is something i struggle with which is why I feel it is important to find someone I am comfortable with.

The exact words for teaching myself:

Well have fun....but....It's a bad idea teaching yourself and you will cause detrimental damage to your playing. its up to you. if you want to "teach yourself" and make things worse then thats fine. i'd rather you not teach yourself. because you haven't a clue about piano technique...and nor do i....not enough to teach anyway.

This advice came from someone who I trust and know wouldnt intentionally try and put me off etc, but it has made me think. I just thought I needed a teacher I was happy with.
I know he is right here, and I know that he has a point about me doing 'detrimental damage', and maybe i have made a mistake, maybe this is something my confidence is going to stop me from doing.

I have a piano, my Dad bought me one, when we realised that I needed to be able to play the piano in order to do what I want, and he is fully supporting me, as he has everything else I have wanted to do.

I am at a complete loss here, and dont know what to do.

Soph

I think to find a teacher you are happy with you will need to take a bit of a leap of faith and arrange to take up lessons. I really think that a teacher that suits one person may not suit another (personality clashes/teaching style that doesn't suit etc) so you kind of have to put yourself out there and try it out. I realise that is a scary prospect though.

Teaching yourself is one option, but always leaves you open to hurting yourself from poor technique (RSI, tendonitus etc) This would obviously impact on your clarinet playing too, which would be a shame. It really depends what kind of standard you want to reach.

Ask people you know for advice about teachers in the area. I'm sure someone will know a teacher who is nice and patient. You are very fortunate to know what you want to do already. Go for it and I'm sure it will pay off.

Maybe I need to rethink.

If you really want to do it, Soph, go for it as you will only regret it and feel even worse. I am not sure what the best suggestion is and if it is acceptable to try out different teachers until you find one you are comfortable with. I am sure the more experienced people on here will have some ideas.

It does depend partly on what you want from learing the piano.
If you have a piano playing friend maybe they can help you a little from time to time?
Some people manage quite well with self teaching. You need to have a comfortable, relaxed and rounded hand position to start with and be really careful about sensible, consistant fingering. The fingering in most tutor books is usually a good guide to get you started.
One potential downside is that if you chosse to take lessons later you may have some things to correct.

If you do decide you want to take lessons you do need a teacher you feel that you can get on with especially if you have confidence issues. You will probably find that teachers are prepared to arrange to have an informal chat with you and your parent(s) so that you can find out whether you think you will get on ok (works both ways).
If you can get a recommendation form someone you trust I think that this will help.

You've said you want to teach music Soph, so if you do decide to get a teacher now for piano, make sure it's a teacher who you would like to emulate. Somebody you can learn from, not just about piano, but about good teaching practices. (And you don't know what may happen in the future, so just in case you end up wanting to teach piano eventually , take note of how you learnt so that you can help your pupils if you do teach it one day)

I'm sure there's a teacher out there who's right for you, it just might take a bit of time and effort finding the right one, but it will be worth it in the long run

Think like a consumer Soph - you are paying the fees. Ask for a trial lesson, if it doesn't work, pay and walk away. But trials go both ways so if a teacher says I don't think this will work, it is not saying anything bad about you, it is saving you for another teacher, with whom you can work well. Good luck with it - don't give up.

Try several teachers for trial lessons. You could contact your local ABRSM representative for some names - they are not allowed to recommend anyone, but if you tell him/her what you are looking for you should be able to get a list of possibles.

Sorry, I missed that before.
It might be useful but I don't think that it's essential.

Best reason to learn is because you want to.

Can somebody tell me how I locate my local ABRSM representative please..

Many thanks

Andrew

As always Sue to my rescue, thanks very much...I will try the ABRSM board..

Fingers crossed

Regards

Andrew

Andrew - if you're still having no luck, I can pm you the ones for your county (there's a list in the regs booklet)

[Don't know if I duffed up the quote, but we'll see...]

I think I have two things to tell you, and you can do what you want with them.

First, there's nothing wrong with wanting a teacher you like. In my teens I had a very clever but entirely incompatable teacher, and I would not wish those six years on anyone. (I had lessons at school, and couldn't afford to change). Only the fact that I became truly devoted to the piano stopped me giving up - I loved it more than I hated her...
But if I'd been a complete beginner when I started with her, it would definitely have put me off.

Second, as far as teaching yourself goes, I had lessons when I was small (6/7) and then gave up for a few years. I taught myself for two years aged 10/11 (going back over the books I had done before, and then buying the next in the series and working through them). I don't think I caused "detrimental damage" to my playing...
Did pick up a couple of bad habits - which my later teacher had to cure me of - ["Curl your fingers!"]

If I were you, I'd buy a decent tutor book to play about with in the meantime, and look for a teacher you're comfortable with.

But I wouldn't be put off! The piano is fantasic!

Thank you, I am glad that you are enjoying yourself.

I think this could be something my confidence stops me from doing. I like the piano and no one can take that away from me and I love to play but I suppose there is only so much you can teach yourself.

Well, you already have a piano which makes you luckier than a lot of people...only thing now is to learn to play it!
As has been suggested, can you not do trial lessons with this teacher? Or at least have lessons with them and then you could keep an eye open for someone else if you really don't get on. Sorry to sound harsh, but if confidence is really that much of an issue are you considering the right career? Standing in front of 30 kids who are expecting a lesson is a kind of daunting prospect
It is possible to teach yourself, I did it for a while but as you have already been told it is easy to pick up bad habits. My fingering was appaling and I played with flat hands, when I started lessons I basically had to go back to the beginning and learn again properly. As I've discovered recently, wrists are not indestructible, so it's probably a better idea to start properly if your dad is willing to pay for lessons.
My advice is take a deep breath, ask if you could have a trial lesson or maybe a few weeks as a trial, try not to worry about what your teacher thinks - they are on your side, practice when there are people in the house or with the windows open or something. It is scary to begin with but it gets more fun once you have a bit of practice

You are probably right. I dont stand a chance.

Thanks for your advice.

Woah!
Give yourself a break.
Confidence is something you grow, not something you can flick a switch and get.
If you truly want to teach, then don't let anyone convince you that you can't, or shouldn't.

Like everything else, you learn how to do it. Personally, I couldn't teach classes - not out of fright, but sheer lack of patience...
Give me a single person who wants to learn though, and I love it.

The most important thing about your music is enjoying it. Have fun and the rest follows.

Soph....

Ask your friends who have lessons as to how they get on with their teachers..they may well recommend somebody to you. As people have said, have some trial lessons first, then decide which teacher you like. There are loads of tutoring books available..find a course that you like the look of (personally, I use the John Thompson series, which I know is not everyones cup of tea, but my students (of all ages) find it a good course).

If you decide to teach yourself, a good hand position and posture is vital, as is having a chair/stool at the right height for you. And if you need help or advice, you only have to ask on here, via PM or thread.

I have a neice who's an English teacher for 9-12 year olds. Sometimes she is drained and exhausted, but at the end of the day, still loves her job. There will be pitfalls to your chosen career, as there are with others, but you only have to weigh up the potential achievements for you and your students, to have a rewarding career.

I had confidence issues when I was growing up, but when I did my Nurse training, we had to present projects to the others in the group. That helped me with having to stand up in front of people like I do now.

Don't give up on this before you've even begun. You want to be a teacher...so go for it!!

Good luck xx