A New Teacher + Some Ways to Better Yourself As a Piano Teacher

   In 2009 (I think it was 2009) I taught my very first piano student. If I really think about it, I was a terrible teacher. Not that I was grumpy and unfriendly or anything. In fact that half year of teaching cemented in my mind the reality that yes, I did want to become a piano teacher, because I enjoyed it so much. I just honestly had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I was completely unqualified. There was so much I should have taught her that I didn't even know about, even just basic things. 

   For a new piano teacher having a good, qualified teacher makes a huge difference in how well they will be able to teach. I have learned so much from my current teacher. For a piano student, having a teacher who is constantly learning and working to improve herself (or himself ) makes a great difference in how well they will be able to play piano. 

   I really hope that my present students are benefiting from their lessons more than my first student. Honestly, I still worry that I am not a very good teacher. But the difference between then and now is that I am being taught how to teach. 

Ways to better yourself as a piano teacher:

-find the best music teacher in your area 

-attend other people's music lessons (especially beginner lessons) 

-read a lot (books, magazine and website articles, blogs)

-research a lot 

Journaling My Journey

   I tried writing a blog on my piano teaching experiences when I first started teaching piano in September. There was one major drawback... I did not own my own laptop. This made blogging properly next to impossible. Now, however, I have turned a new chapter in my life... sort of... I purchased my dad's Blackberry Playbook off of him (because I can't afford a laptop) for pedagogical purposes, and I figured I might as well try blogging again.  
   My last piano teacher and I talked several times about my intended future in teaching. And she mentioned more than once that I should keep a journal of everything I learn from teaching, and about teaching. This would positive in two ways: 1) I would be able to peruse my notes like you would an instruction manual if I ever encounter a problem, and 2) I will be able to look back years down the road and see how far I have come, and be able to tell people what not to do. Rather than write everything down in a notebook, which the perfectionist in me would want to change after half a year, and which book I would in all likelihood misplace, I decided the best course of action would be to record my experiences on the computer, where you can rearrange your writing as often as you like. Also, I wanted to store all my notes on the internet because computers are liable to crash when least expected. I opted to write a blog with all my thoughts because I figured, why not share my thoughts and experiences with other people? It may be useful for someone else. So here it is: my piano teacher blog.   I have to warn anyone who might happen to read this post, these blog posts will be sporadic at best. I will probably post a lot over the next few weeks. After that, I cannot guarantee regular posts, although I am hoping to post at least once a week. I promise I will do my best.