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Hi, I have a meet and greet with a potential new student (I work for a store) and wondered how other teachers felt about being interviewed. I can udnerstand a parent's desire to find the right fit for their child, but on the other hand, I really feel unnerved about being interviewed to determine my qualifications. I tend to get a little unglued when I'm being observed (hated performing in public!), so I'm not very optimistic aobut this. My students/parents are very pleased with me, but I'm just a bit appprehensive. Thanks for your input.

In interviews I have never been asked to play anything. Folks have asked me how long I have been teaching, what my goals are, if we do recitals, competitions, guild, etc. They ask what I charge and for references, if they don't already have any. Most of my students are referrals.

Did the parent/student coming to meet you specifically ask for you to play something?

I've now learned that first time meetings are essential in starting things off on the right foot. It gives me some time to observe the child before I decided to take them on as students. Especially in the 5-6 year old range. They may not be ready yet. I always play a couple of my favorite pieces.

Barb, thanks for the reply. I havern't met them yet, and I'm not sure if they would ask me to play something. I would expect a series of questions from them, much as the ones you've outlined. I still don't really feel comfortable about it, especially since all the teachers' bios are posted for parents to read.

trilling, thanks as well. What type of pieces to you play for parents?

You should be in charge of this meeting, not the parent.

Have a plan and stick to it. Have your printed policy ready. You have the parent go over it while you work with the student.

I also have the parents fill out an enrollment questionnaire.

Is there a time within this plan that the parent can ask the questions that they need to ask? I think that I might need a good 20 minutes.

Absolutely. I always allow for that, but they need to know that I run the show.

I entertain questions after I am finished working with the student and ask the parent any questions I have about the child or their situation. AND, I always ask the child if the he or she has anything to ask.

Well, as you gain experience, you'll turn the tables. You become the interviewer and the family the interviewees.

When I'm first contacted, I always suggest, politely of course, that we meet to insure compatibility and also so we can learn about their desires and they can learn about me.

I have a little booklet prepared which tells all about me, my background, the operation, etc. Even though you work in a store, surely you have policies which students must abide. You could possible make an attractive tri-fold to hand out when approached.

But the bottom line is that you need the confidence to change the question from, Are you good enough to teach my student? to Are you good enough to become my student?

The first lesson I give is in effect an interview. I wouldn't expect a parent to commit all that time and effort and money, and leave their child in a one on one teaching situation, without checking me and my studio out. Often new people know a lot about me through other families or teachers. But where a new family doesn't know much I make it very clear that they sit and watch at least one lesson to make sure they are comfortable with everything.

I can't imagine committing my own child to lessons after only reading a paragraph or 2. I'd surely want to know more than that. So don't worry too much about performing, what they really want to know is if you can teach and whether you are a good match for their child.

I ask questions, give some information, and the rest of the time I teach a first lesson, giving an idea of where the activities might lead. As a demonstration I include as many of the different types of activities as will be later encountered (even if in a regular lesson you wouldn't always do them all).

An example fresh in my memory: In a first lesson yesterday we did some aural (higher and lower), introducing the feel of 4/4 and 3/4 with body movement (clapping on various counts in 4/4 and 3/4 (a game - hilarious ), keyboard geography (groups of 2s and 3s, finding D...), music writing (drawing and naming 1/2 1/4 and 1/8 notes, followed by rhthmic dictation in 4/4), singing and playing (learnt a short piece by rote where you sing one part and play the other (counterpoint, hehe!), performance ("ok Mum! Introducing the first ever performance.... etc" bowing to audience).

After all that there is not much time for me to perform! I can't remember if I've ever been asked to perform in that first interview-lesson, but I'd oblige. I think I would choose something that the kid might be able to play within 2 years, play it with great pizazz and enjoyment, and then tell them "you'll be able to do that in X amount of time, Wow, how about that!". I think they would enjoy that more than Bach or Chopin. I think I'd play Inspector Gadget or Groovy Movie.

I hope that gives you some ideas of how to approach this. Good luck with it.

Irenev,

I too think it is really helpful to have your policy ready. You greet them, explain how you go about teaching, go over the policy line by line and see if they have questions.

About 6 months ago at an initial meeting with a 5 year old and her parents, I offered to play something for the family (they didn't ask). I suppose I felt I should prove myself. I played "Play It Again" by Christopher Norton. But I froze up and goofed...I thought it was awful, but I decided not to say "Oh, I messed up" or something along those lines of apologizing. I just finished and said nothing. The mother said "I just admire how you can play both hands at the same time." LOL! So it's not a guaranteed end of the relationship if you goof up. But I'll be better prepared next time...plus I'm not offering to play...I'll play if they ask. (What also helped in this case is they got my name from a co-worker whose child takes lessons from me.)

As a slight alternative to this, how about instead of "changing" the question from one to the other, but rather ensure that both questions are answered to both parties mutual satisfaction. I know that if I felt that the teacher was getting a bit too one sided that that fact alone wouldn't leave me with a good impression. I have a feeling that that is really what you are saying, I just want to make sure that the OP doesn't get toooo carried away with the whole "turning the tables" thing

Yes, thank you.

It isn't nor should be a one-sided process.

Yet another reason I'm glad I only teach adults.

You don't interview potential students before you take them on?

I always think of the initial meeting as a two-way interview. I always have a free-of-charge face-to-face first meeting with anyone interested in lessons with me.

I always start out by asking questions of the student (and/or parent). I need to know what their wants and expectations are. Then I give a little spiel about my method, how I conduct lessons, etc. Then I ask if they have any questions. They usually don't because I have a really comprehensive website that they have already looked through. Sometimes, a child will ask me to play something. In that case I play something very short and sweet (like from Scenes from Childhood or a Chopin Waltz). Usually, they will find that impressive enough! If they want more, I tell them to watch my videos online.

It's a mutual getting-to-know-each-other thing. Nothing to be scared about. I think it's good policy to do it with everyone. If I were a parent, I would insist on this kind of meeting too!

It's one of those times that I feel especially as though I had beamed in from another planet. "'Are you good enough to teach my child?' vs 'Are you good enough to become my student?' " or "establishing who runs the show". I had not imagined interviews (first lessons) involving anything remotely similar.

First time round we knew nothing about lessons. I observed the lesson, and listened to what this teacher had to say. I watched how he was teaching, and watched my son who seemed to be able to follow and seemed comfortable. The teacher seemed to know what he was doing, had a plan, and also told me my role. I don't think that "good enough" conveys the same concerns. It is more along the lines of "Can this person teach? Can my child follow? Does he know where he is going?"

These days I would be less complacent about assuming a teacher's goals. If he didn't mention them I might ask, including for clarification of what I don't understand.

Third, I would want to know about my child's practicing, my role as a parent, and care of the instrument. I might wonder about some of what I saw and want to ask about it. Finally, once home parent and child would be sharing impressions, and some questions might come out of that.

Once all that is cleared the decision would be made whether to go ahead with this teacher, as well as having a general idea of what to expect and what is expected.

That is my reality, though I cannot speak for others. In terms of "who runs the show": my concern is that the teacher be able to run the show. If she knows how to teach, the child seems able to follow, and has a plan or goals then that ability would be there. The teacher teaches. Who else?


Depending how that is meant, this makes me feel quite uncomfortable. Does it mean that you only want prodigy material, that the student has to show signs of talent? What does "being good enough" mean?

I would not want my child to have such an attitude. I do not want him to think of himself as a prodigy, or talented because I suspect it will get in the way. Conversely, needing to "be good enough" can engender paralyzing anxiety. What does self-image have to do with it at all? Besides, if he is a novice, how will he know how well he will be able to play eventually? Obviously a beginner who has never played knows squat about how to play.

In my mind, the student wants to learn to play the instrument. He asks "What do I need to do to bring this about, and can this teacher teach this to me?" Isn't the question "Will you work with me?" rather than "Are you good enough?"

Generally parents ask for one of two things. They ask to "meet me" or they ask for a "trial lesson." I do not charge to meet me; I do charge for a trial lesson. The trial lessons usually come with transfer students who already have books.

At a "meet", we talk the whole time. They review my policies, ask questions. I also ask questions of the child (What music they like, how they feel about the idea of practicing, why they want to take piano lessons). We discuss the parents' musical background as well, as I find that is helpful to know in terms of their realistic ideas of what it takes to learn an instrument, and what kind of help or support the child will get at home.

At most, I might introduce the student to a "map" of the keyboard - showing them the pattern of keys, and finding the "doghouse."

When we set this meeting up, I explain to the parent that it is a chance to make sure we are both on the same page. I've only ever had one student I discouraged from pursuing lessons. He was too young, and couldn't sit still or follow directions. I didn't say an outright no, just expressed my concerns. The parent opted to postpone lessons.

Once a parent asked to sit in on another student's lesson, which I had no problem with. I had another student the same age as the potential student, who loves to perform, so she had no problem with an extra audience.

I am not shy, and a bit bossy, so I don't have any trouble with these meetings. But it came with age. I would have had more trouble when I was younger, dealing with parents who were much older than me.

KS, one of the biggest problems for young teachers is that they are dealing with parents who have a whole lot more world experience than they have. If you don't think that parents sense this and take advantage of this, you do indeed live on another planet (okay, just kidding). In my early days of teaching, I had parents walking all over me, until I learned how to manage the balance better.

We have several young teachers on this forum who are experiencing a number of the problems which come from being young and inexperienced. Ideally, parents would sense this, and compensate by not taking advantage of them, but when parents come up with 1001 excuses for missing lessons, then not paying the teacher for the time foregone, you quickly learn that parents are no better (or no worse) than anyone else.

Another reality is that many people like buying things and services which have a sense of exclusivity. The teacher has to present an aura which combines both that and acceptance at the same time. No small feat.


I have never met a child who was mature or sufficiently erudite to think this, let alone ask this.


This is precisely the type of material my studio policies cover and which every independent teacher should include in their policies. During the interview, I present it, rather than wait for the parent to ask. This insures the topic is covered.

The young teacher needs to move out of the defensive crouch into one of partnership and leadership. If the parent comes with the attitude of "Are you good enough for my student?" which is what the OP stated was the problem, then the teacher needs to have the confidence to turn the tables.

Why is there an assumption that this topic is only applicable to kids? When my wife decided to start taking lessons again, she called and had phone "interviews"/conversations with the teachers on her short list before she even bothered to go and have an initial get-together with them (combo initial lesson, getting to know you meeting). And this is with teachers that were either recommended to us by folks we trust (as in trust to know not just trust in general) and/or teachers we already were familiar with by reputation.