Does anyone here have a piano teacher that is based in Melbourne?

I've been here for almost 3 years and can't seem to find any teachers who knows what ABRSM is. Most of them just go with the Australian AMEB exams but I've always been a ABRSM candidate and don't plan on switching anytime soon!! Some teachers won't even take me in when I say that I want to sit for AB exams.

My last exam, I had to 'teach' the teacher what I needed to know. As a result there was quite a lot of confusion, especially in terms of Aural. Btw, I sense that this particular teacher was doing it more for the money than anything so I have stopped lessons since my exam.

Does anyone have ways of looking for teachers that is familiar with the ABRSM syllabus? More specifically, the diploma syllabus?

Thanks!

Thanks!

My daughter lives in Melbourne. This gives me the right to move there, work, and apply for permanent residence and eventually citizenship - even though I am way over the maximum age for regular immigrants.

I could teach the AB syllabus! Is there a big demand for piano teaching in Melbourne - or is it (for most) a tough, precarious and poorly rewarded vocation - like everywhere else?

[This is NOT a flippant post. As some regulars on the forum know I intend to escape from what New Labour has done to the UK and have been torn between Utrecht in the Netherlands and Wellington in NZ - so very different in what is good and not-so-good in each case that a rational choice is almost impossible. What neither of them has is presence of only daughter]

There is a huge demand for piano teaching in Melbourne, and because of that, there is also a large supply of teachers. Of course, not all teachers are well-qualified.

The AMEB exams and various music festivals have a lot to do with the high level of demand for private music teaching in Australia. The same can be said for the RCM exams in Canada, and the AB and TG exams in the UK.

Knowledge of the AB syllabus would certainly be an asset, in case there are students who want to sit the AB exams. However, I don't think the AB exams would ever become popular as Australians are so used to their own AMEB exams.

Part of the problem might be in deciding whether you want to learn to play the piano or to take exams?
I don't think that I'd have wanted to take over 3 years to find a teacher....... 2 months was more than enough for me.

I think that it's maybe a little shortsighted of teachers if they are not willing/able to read a syllabus when it comes to exam preparation or maybe the administration is not so easy outside the uk. In the main teaching/learning an instrument doesn't depend on what's on an exam syllabus... the syllabus is only relevant when exam preparation starts, not all the time. Good teaching will lead to progress anyway.

I agree, from what I can see, AMEB will always dominate. Most students who chooses ABRSM are those that have recently come from overseas and have previously sat for AB exams.

However, if you choose to move here, this student here is waiting

Well, for now, I'm just having some time off from lessons. Just to clarify, I did not take 3 years to find a teacher, but rather 3 years to find someone familiar with the ABRSM syllabus. I never really felt lessons enjoyable so I kept searching for new teachers. The fact that they're not willing to read a simple syllabus is enough to put me off. I wouldn't want a teacher who's not prepared to work together with me.

The reason I'm looking for someone familiar with AB is because I'm not sure if I want to go ahead with exams after this. In case I want to, at least I'll have someone there to guide me.

If that's not possible, I really would not mind having any other teacher as long as they are passionate and teaches well! It would of course, be a bonus if they also knew the syllabus well:)

My husband has been offered a job in Melbourne and we're seriously thinking about it. He's also totally fed up with what New Labout have done to the UK. There are some large hurdles to consider first fo us though.

I would hope to continue taking ABRSM violin exams and hopefully join an amateur orchestra if they have any.

Or those who feel like getting more diplomas after having finished AMusA and LMusA?

You have a point there Personally, I have never come across anyone who did that.

You are right. My cousins in Australia completed the LMusA by their mid-teens and have no desire to attempt diplomas by foreign exam boards, which don't receive much recognition.

The reason why I put forth the idea is because in Canada, there is a very small but steady demand for the AB and TG diploma exams. Most candidates for such exams are young students (in secondary school or doing undergraduate studies) who have already finished the RCM diploma but want to work toward another goal.