A little while ago I was pondering whether or not to teach the piano. My heart's not in it, so I think I'll give that one a miss, however, teaching theory would seem to be a viable alternative. Preparation for Grade 5 would seem the obvious place at which to pitch my services, but maybe I should offer a run-up through lower grades too?

With a quarter of a century's mathematics teaching behind me, I'm happy with being able to explain matters, adapting my approach should a particular explanation not 'click' with the student.

But what of resources? Before launching into it, advertising etc, is there a minimum of resources with which it would be wise to furnish myself? With mathematics, although I have plenty of resources accumulated over the years, all I really need is blank paper and something with which to write!

Apart from manuscript paper, merely to list texts that I already have: my own copy of MTIP Grades 5 - 8, Workbooks Grade 6 - 8, Butterworth's Harmony in Practice + Answer book, the two volumes of The AB Guide to Music Theory and [i]The Student's Dictionary of Musical Terms{/i] published by Stainer & Bell.

Would I be advised first to buy a copy of each MTIP Grades 1-4, to familiarise myself with the content/requirements of each specific grade? I know that there are various other theory workbooks out there, having read many threads asking for information on such. Would it be a good idea to have a copy of each, for reference, back-up and providing students with knowledge of what's available?

As a newbie theory teacher, would it be better for me actually to steer clear of the first couple of grades? I'm thinking here of the fact that bottom sets in maths (often equated with the most preliminary mathematical concepts) actually benefit from being taught by those with strong subject knowledge and maths teaching experience.


Lots of questions I know, but having had myself occasionally to weather and mop up the effects of poor teaching, I want to be confident that I'm as prepared as I can be beforehand.

Hi!

I teach lots of 'fast-track' Grade 5 theory. I don't see any problem with you giving it a go, you have plenty of background as a pianist and as a teacher.

With all of my 'fast-trackers' we always 'follow through the grades' - for the more able this just involves sitting one or two practise papers at the lower grades and starting to dip into workbooks at grade 3 level - the simple to compound (and vice versa) transition tends to be the first real challenge that students face (aside from ensuring a firm knowledge of keys - I'm a big fan of teaching circle of fifths). With those who have struggled at even the more basic level (not uncommon) we take time to cover the weaker topics (as identified by the past papers) using the MTIP. More recently, for students who really struggle, I've started using the Linda Ng grade books, mainly because they provide a step-by-step approach to each topic and give more practise exercises. We definitely cover lots from grade 4 and 5 MTIP and practise papers.

However, the more I teach 'fast-track' Grade 5, the more I feel I am cheating students. So many come simply because they need that piece of paper in order to progress and I often feel that I am teaching them just to pass an exam rather than giving them the real grounding in theory that I would prefer. To combat this, I'm ensuring my own students are firmly grounded in theory, following through the grades, relating to their practical work and extending the principals into composition and analysis, which is a much more fulfilling method of teaching! So I'd recommend looking at the requirements of all the grades and planning your own practical projects to extend and embed the students knowledge. Fortunately for me, I have so many practical students of my own that I have a lot less time for 'fast-track'students who were once a major part of my income.

From next year, I am planning to run theory workshops which will do as I've suggested - teach the requirements for the grades but also build in practical projects and analysis style tasks which put the knowledge into the context of the students wider learning.

As for resources:-

MTIP books grades 1 - 5 (but would also be worth browsing local music shop for other similar resources such as Linda Ng)
Past papers (the most recent for each grade would be a good starting point).

Other than that, your resource list looks quite reasonable.

Do you not have links with a school that you could use for advertising? Obviously, check this is not treading on someone elses,or music services, toes. Most of my students have come through word of mouth - I have links with several local schools and a reasonable network of music teacher friends.

I would agree that it is essential to start from the very basics and work your way through the grades - you will be astonished how far students can get with practical work, while lacking understanding of really simple concepts. There is a lot of satisfaction to be gained at this stage - the 'eureka' moments can come thick and fast - "Oh, so THAT's what it means..." etc and parents have often reported that the instrumental teacher says their playing is coming on in leaps and bounds at the same time.

I like the little red book "First Steps in Music Theory" as a reference book for students (if they want one) - the material is laid out as a chapter per grade, and I find it quite useful to get students to read through this to check that they have covered everything. However, I frequently use a simple notebook/manuscript book and write or stick in various worksheets and handouts that I have developed - this builds into a personalised textbook for each student. The Jot-a-Note A4 notebooks work well for this - alternate blank and manuscript pages.

Other than that, I usually work through a set of past papers for each grade and an extra set for grade 5, and that is usually sufficient. Some topics need to be gone over and over and it is worth taking them a step at a time eg intervals, adding the extra bits for each grade. Others, like the circle of fifths, can be taught 'all in one' and take the student straight to grade 5 level - I too think this is an essential thing for them to understand and be able to reproduce - so many of the questions relate to this, and it gives them an overall picture rather than a muddle of key signatures etc.

I find it helpful to have a tiny toy keyboard on the table where I am teaching - it is so useful to be able to pick out the odd scale or chord etc without having to decamp to the piano (although I tend to do that too!) - you can get something for less than £10 that will do the job. As well as writing out the circle of fifths and relative minors, mine also draw an octave or so of the keyboard to help them work things out.

I like the Ying Ying Ng (Poco Studio) books - grade 5 has excellent pages of definitions of terms, information on instruments - ranges, clefs etc, and ornaments. See here - I buy directly from the publisher, but I think you can get them from Kensington Chimes.

Many thanks music_margaret for your detailed reply. EDIT: Sue HM too!

I shall make enquiries at my own school, to start with, having a word with the Music Department staff and instrumental peri's.


A few other questions occur to me, folks:


Maths tuition is invariably by the hour. What about music theory? Are tuition fees in line with say, GCSE Maths - c.£25 p/h, Private Instrumental lessons or less?

Would I buy resources such as MTIP, for example, beforehand for the students to use, as and when needed?

The local music shop would give me a 10% teacher discount. Would I invoice students accordingly? Inform parents of necessary purchases in advance? Charge the RRP nevertheless?


These aren't things I'd want to have to decide on the spur of the moment.

There are many many questions her...I think the most important thing to remember is that you're going to be running a business, and consequently as your finding it involves an awful lot of prep. For example you ask about the going rate for tuition, but this is something you need to research in your area. Equally, whether you aim to teach mostly lower grades or higher grades will be dependant on what the demand is for in the local area. To be honest, I've never really come across private teachers who only theory.

I charge the same for Theory lessons as violin lessons although I am generous about giving marking time wihout charge if they drop completed papers/exercises off before their planned lesson.

If I teach 3 or 4 kids together they pay a proportion of my hourly charge each and this small group is a good way to teach Theory I find, they ask questions better and help each other.

I get 10% on music but charge the RRP on to cover my time in buying books and travel cost.

Definitely charge students the RRP - you will pay for transport to the shop, parking etc and this will come out of your own pocket if you give students a discount. I've never had a student query paying the full price for materials. I find it is better to supply them myself - much more reliable and no hassle waiting for students to get round to buying things.

I charge for my time as a teacher, so whether I'm teaching theory, piano or whatever, it is my time, resources, expertise etc that I'm selling and I charge the same rate.

Here's some of my experiences as a student:

- I initally had group theory lessons with a music centre. I had to pay for a term in advance and there would have been no refund if I had missed a session. We were all different ages and levels, from beginner to Grade 6. Because of the variation, there was very little "group teaching". Mostly we all worked on past papers and the teacher came round the class to see if any of us needed help. The teacher took papers home to mark and gave us them back the following week.

- I then had individual lessons with the same teacher. These were on an "ad hoc" pay-as-you-go basis. I would take in some papers that I'd completed, ask about anything I wasn't sure about and leave the papers for marking. At the same time, the teacher would give me the previous papers back, pointing out anything I'd got wrong.

- I had a different teacher for Grades 4-5, but it was much the same as described above.

- I don't remember my teachers recommending which study books, but I suppose they must have done I bought a selection of study books partly because I enjoyed reading them and partly because each one explains things in a different way so it all helps the understanding. Might children need more input from a teacher than adults? I can see that if a student has a comprehensive selection of study books, the need for a teacher may be less critical...

- Neither of my teachers charged for marking papers for any of their students. I thought this was extremely generous of them but it seems to be the norm as I've seen teachers on the forums say that they don't charge for marking either, at least not up to Grade 5.

- I think the fees I paid were around the same as the going rate for instrumental lessons for individual tuition. In the groups, we paid less. It was a fixed cost though, irrespective of how many were in the group.



I gather MTIP has changed since I did G1-5 so it may be different, but when I used them, they were intended as practical complements to the study books so they didn't explain things in detail. However, if you're going to be *teaching*, your students may not need a study book if they're learning from you? I learn best from reading about a subject, others may learn best from a teacher explaining (and writing their own notes?)

For the content/requirements of each grade, you need to get the syllabus either off the web site or as a booklet from a music shop. You may need to be aware of the General Requirements as well as the Theory syllabus, and also be familiar with These Music Exams? You need to know practical things like students not being able to take "keyboard-rulers" etc into the exam room! (sorry if this is all obvious)



Bearing in mind I'm only a student, but I wouldn't have thought this follows. Grade 1 is extremely basic. Having said that, some students might ask questions which would draw upon a more advanced knowledge, but I would be surprised if you couldn't answer them.

Are you happy with the composition elements? (sorry if this is a silly question)

Incidentally, my first teacher - who had a degree in music - couldn't always answer the questions I asked.



As a student, I would expect to be told the cost in advance and to agree to the purchase - it's possible that a sibling, for instance, already has the book you want to purchase on their behalf.

The matter of teacher discounts has been discussed on the forum in the past. Some pass on the discount, others don't. Personally I would not expect the discount to be passed on - presumably one of the reasons it's given to you as a teacher is because you're in a position to buy volume. You've saved the student a job, you've used your own time, petrol/parking money (or bus fares) instead of them having to use theirs - the discount is rightfully yours, in my opinion.



The only other thing I can think of to mention is that the exam questions often contain little "tricks" to catch you out, that when you've studied enough papers, you know to look out for. For instance, they might ask you about some notes in Bar 12. The piece has started in treble clef so if you go straight to Bar 12, you might assume that it's still in treble clef. However, it might have changed to bass clef in Bar 9, which you could easily miss. It's helpful if you know what might catch students out so that you can prepare them to look out for these "tricks". It might be worthwhile getting the model answer books as well as the past papers so that you familiarise yourself with these tricks!


Theory is great - hope you enjoy teaching it!

Fortunately, I only took the Grade 5 Theory paper last year myself, so I have an up-to-date copy of MTIP (including the one wrong answer that missed the proof-readers!). My niece had the previous copy and I compared differences when I saw her that Christmas. They do explain, to some degree.



Fortunately, I do a good deal of invigilating myself and such things are ingrained, but well worth being reminded to gen up on regulations.



So would I, really, at least in these lower grades. If I didn't know, I'd say so and set about finding out for next time.



Yes. In any case, so far I have composed:

6 Christmas carols (words & music)
2 piano duets
4 short piano pieces
a 3-movement sonatina for saxophone & piano
a 3-movement suite for strings
a 3-movement suite for woodwind quartet
a clarinet piece
a barcarolle for flute & piano
a passacaglia for harpsichord
a piece for flute quartet
a piece for bassoon & piano
a sonata for 2 flutes & keyboard



These 'tricks' are usually picked up over time. I know that when I took my Grade 5 exam, I went back over the paper once I had finished it and found loads of little things that I had either missed or misread too. These I was able to address before I handed in my paper for good!

Thanks for your contribution skylark.

Despite the fact that you have only just taken Grade 5 theory yourself you do seem to have a good background and I don't see any reason why you shouldn't be successful in teaching theory. I found that I only really, really understood what I was doing when I started to teach it, then it all fell easily in place.

I teach theory to 2 types of pupil - those who are learning piano with me and we do the theory alongside it, and those who come because they can't go any further until they've got the theory and only want theory lessons. With these I spend a week or two working out where to start them. To start with I use the exam papers and start with Grade 1. I go through the paper in the lesson and then they take it home and work it. If it's okay I do the same with a Grade 2 paper. If they manage the Grade 2 paper okay I 'll try the Grade 3 paper but I usually find that Grade 3 is about the level to start the teaching and at that point I get MTIP for Grade 3 and they start to work through it. With some of the "theory only" pupils I find that they have most of the knowledge to almost grade 5 level but need to work through a lot of papers and exercises mainly to get a grasp on the different ways the same question can be asked i.e getting to know the jargon. Also they usually need to learn to be neat and very precise when doing theory.

I've taught this way for a long time, but have recently wondered if teaching "vertically" (by topic) rather than "horizontally" (by grade) might be more useful for the theory only pupils.

Thank you for setting out your method of tackling theory with students.



Actually teaching something does very much make you aware of how well you understand it yourself.

I know that when I took piano lessons myself, between the ages of 7 and 14 yrs, I did work at theory alongside my practical work and although I didn't take any exams, I got to around grade 5 before I stopped having lessons.

When I sat the theory paper last year, in order to sit my Grade 8 practical, I did feel rather overqualified for the task! In fact, over the Christmas period before the exam session I completed every question in the Grade 6 Workbook and last summer did the same with the Grade 7 Workbook, over a period of a fortnight. I was about to launch into tackling Grade 8 theory when preparations for my Dip' got in the way. Now that's out of the way, I plan to get back into it, probably giving myself some Grade 6 & 7 past papers first though, for a run-up.

In a way, it will have been beneficial that I had so recently to recap material from 'yesteryear' - I must say that having to learn all those scales for my practical simply swept away the problems I had with such theory questions in the past. Perhaps that's something else to point out to those reluctant to practise scales!

Wow! I look forward to hearing some of them some time

My skill level in composition is evidenced by my "signature tune"



Perhaps you could give your students Philip Crevier's composition "Sadist Factory" which apparently consists of all possible permutations of the C Major scale, amounting to 1680 computer print-out pages And ask them to work out similar compositions for the other scales!

Although it is kinda catchy! ...... "Lah, lah, diddley-doo ....."

... and you do seem to have been the first to publish!



Ah, 1680 .... the difference of two squares: 41^2 - 1^2

Although the "Sadist Factory" reminds me of this film:

The 5000 fingers of Dr T

Argh, every time someone mentions Youtube, I end up losing at least an hour..... actually, you didn't even mention it, maybe I have a problem!! This time it was Kenny Everett clips.

Oops. completely off topic

Off topic, yet no doubt, "All done in the best possible taste!"

Bagpuss does a WICKED impression of Kenny Everett doing this...

Boom. Can't say I've heard anything more true.