Do you want to encourage your child to play the piano? Or has your kid shown an interest in learning to play themselves? While they can get to a decent level using a self-taught approach, there will come the point where they cannot progress any further without expert training. The best way to help them achieve this is to find a good piano teacher, but how can you make sure you choose the right person for the job?

Know what your child needs

Piano teaching comes in many different forms. Some piano teachers are better for teaching budding composers the basics and getting the fundamentals down. Others work better, nurturing raw talent and refining piano playing into something beautiful to watch. When looking for a piano teacher, you need to know what your child needs. If they have experience playing the piano, a beginner teacher will be of no use. Moreover, there are many ways to learn piano, and not all teachers use the same ones.

Look for recommendations

Recommendations are one of the best places to start when searching for a good piano teacher. If you have friends or family who have worked with piano teachers before, ask them about their experiences and whether they would recommend them. At the very least, you can get an idea of the type of teachers that are available, as well as learning about possible prices and curriculums.

Think about experience

You wouldn’t want an amateur to teach another amateur, and with activities like playing the piano, experience is crucial. Experience can relate to how long they have been teaching piano but also what they did before becoming a piano teacher (full-time or part-time). Teachers like Annette Beaumont boast over 30 years of experience across a variety of music education practices, and it’s useful to bear this in mind. If the piano teacher has plenty of experience with educating as much as they do playing, consider this a positive sign to help realise your child’s potential.

Make sure they are a good fit for your child

The chemistry between your child and their teacher will have a dramatic impact on their success playing the piano. As talented as your child is, or as good as their teacher might be, there is always a risk of a personality clash that can make any efforts to fine-tune skills and achieve excellence futile. When searching for a good piano teacher, it’s always worth letting your child meet them before the first lesson so both of them can gauge each other and get an idea of how they operate. Depending on how old and confident your child is, it could take them some time to come out of their shell, and an initial meeting can solve this problem. Of course, if they don’t seem a good fit, then keep looking.

Summing up

It can be difficult to find a suitable teacher for any subject. But with something as complicated (and rewarding) as learning to play the piano, parents and teachers must make sure they pick a piano teacher that fits your child's specific needs and can provide the right level of training and education to help them thrive.

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.