i know I've asked ALOT of questions about teaching, both on here and to my music teacher(s), but am still confused on the following topics:
1) Is there an age limit to start teaching - I am 14.
2) Obviously experience is needed, but am I correct in thinking that you dont HAVE to have grade 8 to start teaching?
3) Do I have to register if I want to start teaching?
4) Do you need theory? (I am working on my theory - though I really hate it)

thanks for all your help

missniffler

There is no age limit to start teaching. I was 16 when I started teaching although by then I had 4 grade 8s. You don't say what standard you are and that is more important than age. You don't have to pass grade 8 in order to teach, but in the interests of what is best for your potential students you need to be competent, well taught, know enough to be able to teach it, know how to teach and be patient enough to work with beginners. This topic has been discussed many times so it would be worth your while looking back at similar topics. You don't have to register yet. Finally, of course you need theory. If you don't know any theory, you won't understand the music and if you can't do theory then you won't be able to teach it to your students. Before you start teaching, you need to decide why you want to teach in the first place. If its just for money then forget it.

I was grade six in piano, grade 7 in F horn, and age 16 when I started. I would not have felt ready before then - and I only started because a family friend asked. I obviously had G5 theory by then.

There isn't an exact stage when you would definitely be ready, some would say never! It's a temperement thing and a patience thing; not just ability, theory exams or age. Your teacher would be a good person to give an opinion, as we don't know you!

There are as far as I know absolutely no formal requirements to teach, just a willing student, and there's no need to register, but if you want to enter people for AB exams, I think you have to register with them.

This concerns me a bit.....
The implication seems to be that you are not much interested in learning about how music works and to teach surely you need to be interested..

Does your teacher think you are ready?

Did you not say in another thread you were grade 4? If so perhaps it's better to wait a bit and get some more playing experience (unless of course you're already way beyond this standard and just haven't done any higher exams). You don't need grade 8 but being at least grade 8 standard would be a good start.

It's quite important that you know theory and can at least pretend to your students that you like it; otherwise you'll end up with a lot of students who also hate theory and are doing something that they don't like.

I am 14 myself and I am teaching four students privately, one including my own little sister. (She's like my test subject...)
I have my first diploma in piano and my grade 8 in violin (both Australian standards, not ABRSM). I definitely agree with SuzyMac, it's not all ability or grades, it's definitely more than that.
One thing I hate is that people look at your credentials. I actually hate exams a lot. You work on a few pieces, technical work and aural skills for a long time and that's it...
[/end ramble]
People were skeptical of hiring me at first, mostly because of my age. I'm glad they gave me a shot though.
I haven't registered myself as a teacher, I'm not sure about what happens in your area but I'm guessing you don't have to, seeing the replies to your thread.
It's incredibly fun teaching, and if you teach I'm sure you'll have as much fun too.

Hi Snowflake,

If you hate theory, you shouldn't be teaching. Obtain grade five theory and learn to love it, then you can pass on your love for the subject to your preparatory pupils under the guidance and supervision of your own teacher.

I do actually think it's an important thing to look at when choosing a teacher, and so do many other people, how well they can play. If the teacher can't play well it's unlikely that they'll be able to pass on their skills (as they don't have them...). It's not all about exams, no, there are plenty of teachers out there who don't have qualifications but can play to a standard well above the usual grade 8 benchmark and there's nothing wrong with that (they can find some other way, such as playing (!), to demonstrate that they are in fact good players). Also I do agree with your comment that one can take exams without doing much but studying directly the exam requirements, so one can not necessarily decide that someone is good enough if they have passed a certain exam, if one is suspicious.

The thing that it's about more than anything is the ability to communicate and actually do the teaching part, it's all very well being able to play, but the grades don't test any of that (thus no grade exam 'qualifies' one to teach). Teaching and communication skills do come naturally throughout life and come to some easier than others; but mainly through experience so one has to start somewhere with someone being a willing guinea pig. That said though, if one doesn't have the skills to pass on, with all the communicative and teaching ability in the world one isn't going to be able to teach well and so shouldn't be considering strating to teach yet. The people who will have problems are not people without qualifications who are genuinely good anyway; but people with qualifications that demonstrate they do not have the skills yet (e.g. if someone has just passed a low (ish) grade without outstanding marks that demonstrate that they're way above the required standard) and of course the people who have neither the qualifications nor the skill.

So, yes, ability to teach is of utmost importance; but it won't get anyone anywhere without the skills to back it up.

Cool, thanks.
Just to clarify some things...
I wasn't considering teaching until I've done my gr.7 clarinet (so probably next year), just wanted to clear some stuff up.
Yep, I am gr 4 piano, though hopefully gr 5 soon...... (fingers crossed - exam yesterday).
I love teaching, but don't want to pursue it as a full-time career (weird, i know), and at exams never feel nervous for myself (i stopped doin that after my 5th) and started getting nervous for all the people who were going in for their first exams - which is also weird. (am I the only one who does this???)
And as for theory... i have the memory of a goldfish, and can't remeber the information, which is probably why i hate doing it, because my first music teacher wasn't very patient with me and easily got irritated whenever i forgot something he had just said. (i was only 7 / 8) Though I am working HARD on my theory and progress is being made - I can actually do the first 20 pages of gr 1 theory with no help whatsoever! (big achievement... not)

missniffler

If you aren't considering teaching until you have done grade 7 clarinet then how do you know you love teaching and why do you not want to pursue it as a full time career? Keep working on your theory and get grade 5 as soon as you can.

1) I did some teaching at school, and enjoyed it and I like explaining stuff to my parents - attempted teaching my Mum piano, but she had no enthusiasm so gave up (she says it wasn't due to my poor teaching abilities)
2) I want to go into business law

missniffler

I started teaching 2 little girls when I was 16 but I really wasn't old enough or experienced enough to have been teaching then. And if I'm honest, if I had children I wouldn't send them to such a young teacher myself.

I will be sixteen soon and I would really like to start teaching piano. I play the clarinet and saxophone too but I have been doing piano for the last eight years and I am definitely most experienced in this. I am doing Grade 7 and have Grade 5 theory. I think I would really enjoy it but I feel the same as chocolatedog - I know that if I had children, I wouldn't be sending them to a 16 year old so I'm not sure I would get many takers
I am only thinking of it on a very relaxed basis - starting off young children who are maybe on a waiting list for other teachers but I would be able to teach them the basics. Not sure - feeling frustrated.....

I don't know if this would help or not, and I'm not sure how other teachers would feel about this, or whether or not they already do this, but is there a teacher you know who might let you sit in on their lessons and give you a 'lesson' in teaching? I notice in America they seem to be big on 'Piano Pedagogy' courses, (how I hate that word!!!!!) but apart from things like the diplomas and CT course and EPTA course there doesn't seem to be much here. Maybe I'm wrong. And of course, there's always this forum - there are threads somewhere about the first lesson, which tutor books, teaching young beginners etc if you search, which I didn't have the benefit of when I was young!

The best players don't always make the best teachers. If I was given £1 for every time I've heard it said by others and said it myself, I'd be a very rich woman.

Demonstrating fancy technique and playing audience wowing pieces is one thing, but, if you can't communicate your skills to others, which can sometimes require the patience of a saint (something in short supply in many good performers), then you won't make a good teacher.

Knowing not only what, but 'how to teach' is the key to success. I've inherited students from quite well-known performers, and some of them have had the most horrendous technique. Effectively, the parents have been paying for a name - the name of the teacher - while the students have had very little in the way of real instruction. Their intonation is bad, posture is bad, in fact some have had to go right back to the beginning to unlearn all the bad habits they've got.

But a teacher has to be able to play to a pretty good standard - how can they demonstrate otherwise? I agree that not all brilliant performers make brilliant teachers (I was lucky enough to have one who was) - but I would generally have thought that it would be more helpful to a pupil to be taught by someone who is better than them! How can a grade 3 teacher teach grade 5 pupils? (Mad example, I know! )