How Can You Tell If a Music Teacher Is Going to Be Right for You?

There are a lot of considerations that go into finding the right music teacher for you or your child. From discovering how well a music instructor understands an instrument to how well they communicate with you specifically should help you decide on who could be a good fit. In the end, a teacher’s goal should be to help their students improve, learn healthy long-term techniques, and help find music that you enjoy playing, so making sure you’re working with someone who can help get you there is key.

Finding the Right Teacher

Listed below are our top four questions to ask when you’re looking for or interviewing music teachers. There are many more things to take into consideration including schedule and availability, location, and cost. Keep those in mind along with the questions we recommend when searching for a great music instructor in order to get the best and most information to help you make a well-rounded and informed decision.

Four Important Questions to Ask When Looking for a Music Teacher

1. Do they understand the instrument they’re teaching?

The first thing we recommend asking is how well an instructor understands their instrument(s). Not only should a teacher know how to play with healthy technique that will last a lifetime without serious injury, but they also should understand how that instrument works with other instruments, performance practices in which to play, what the parts and pieces of the instrument are, the history of how their instrument was developed and why it’s the way it is today, how to play different styles of music using varying techniques…the list goes on. Why do you need to find this out? Having a well-rounded instructor who is familiar with history, performance practices, and multiple techniques can help you learn how to play your style of music in a healthy and effective way. This is the foundation of building techniques that you can take advantage of for a lifetime.

2. Are they able to effectively communicate with you?

It’s completely possible to meet a music teacher who has a vast knowledge and understanding of their instrument, but no people skills. In our opinion, the best music instructors also need to be able to effectively communicate with their students. There’s little point in taking lessons with an amazing expert if they can’t communicate how to play well to you. That can lead to frustration and resentment down the road. We recommend finding a teacher who’s easy to communicate with–you’ll get more done in less time, and you’ll enjoy lessons more by spending time getting into the music and technique rather than trying to decode behavior or language.

3. Is their style right for you?

While the most enthusiastic and positive teacher may be right for one student, the same music teacher could be totally wrong for another. People are different; we learn in different ways and react differently to feedback, oftentimes based on our own past experiences. And the same is true for music instructors! We all develop different styles over time, and while some teachers may develop a more rigid methodology and curriculum that works for them and their students, another may develop more freestyle approaches and also helps their students excel.

4. Do you get along?

We just want to point out that after all the discussion above, one of the most important parts of choosing the right teacher is finding one you get along with. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have to agree all the time. In fact, sometimes you’ll both get more out of a miscommunication or disagreement–sometimes that’s how we learn and grow. But at the same time, you will get more out of a working relationship with a music teacher you usually get along with. Even when a student reaches a rough patch, a good teacher should be encouraging, friendly, and inspiring. We have found that what usually works best is bringing out a student’s weakness by countering with engaging and innovative ways to overcome challenges. Yes, music can be hard at times, but it’s also incredibly rewarding and a life-long gift that can always be shared.