Hi everyone,

Since completing my Grade 8 ABRSM I've been really interested in becoming a piano teacher. At the moment I'm studying A Levels (Music being one of these), and I'm hopefully off too University next year to study Music. I need to ask teachers advice, what did you do in order to become a teacher? My piano teacher has all of her Grades and also has a degree in Music (though she said that she has a friend who is a Piano teacher but doesn't have a degree in music!) Is that possible? Is having a music degree vital? Or can you simply pass all your grades and take on a teaching course? If anybody has any tips/advice that would be very helpful!

Regards,

Samuel

You can do a DipABRSM in teaching. The pieces are only a grade 8 level. That's all the qualification you need. You can obviously go higher.

While a degree is required, think on this: in the US you can be a "counselor" and offer advice to people without having any degrees! Would you want to go to someone to help you with your personal problems if you knew they didn't have a degree? What if the only reason you'd be going to them is because you saw them advertise in the paper or on craig's list? It might give you pause.

The same goes for teaching piano. No degree is required, but it does lend credibility to those who may not have heard about you from a friend. That doesn't mean that everyone who has a degree is a good teacher or qualified to teach, but it will help people feel more comfortable in the possibility of learning from you. The rest, you have to prove in the interview with the potential student.

If you have a desire to teach, then by all means, go for the degree!

Samuel, you dont really need any qualifications to start up a business; although, it may go out of business with out proper credentials to attract and keep the savy consumer around long enough. And some laws may regulate that you have a minimum compitency, unfortunately for most but fortunately for you that is not the case with Piano that I am aware of.

The bare minimum is to be at least one step ahead of the students you are teaching, the serious professional would also look to see what credentials his local competition holds and try to aquire the same or better so as not to be upstaged and robbed of his students that he spent time developing.

The first thing you need is the fire in the belly to teach. You must enjoy it. It's a tough thing to do especially given that we teachers are also businesspeople. The love of teaching must overcome the obstacles in front of it.

If you've determined that yes, this is a good career choice for you, look for the credentials that will be most beneficial to you. A diploma in piano performance is a good start. Sit in on lessons with other teachers. Attend many master classes. Start asking why and how. Apply critical thinking to everything you do.

I have a bachelor's in performance and am working on my master's in pedagogy, but just because you have a diploma does not mean you can actually teach. So go out there, observe, get hands-on experience. No diploma program could have ever taught me what I've learned these last eight years.

I'm doing my first year of music at university. A lot of students in university teach music, many do it for the money, which is sad and it also makes me wonder how pedagogy is seen in the music world today. Is it perceived to be a means for a musician to get a stable income? Or is it viewed as a job that is to be taken seriously as teachers are enriching the cultural experience of their student. I'd like to think the later at-least with my idealistic naivety! You seem to express a desire to teach. This is great! Morodiene communicated it nicely and succinctly, there is no need to get a degree to teach but people would feel more comfortable if you had one. In saying all of this, as Morodiene said not everyone with a degree can teach well.

As an undergraduate, I realise that music degree is perhaps one of the most useless qualifications one can have, it's ironic that I say that because I am going to get one after my four years of full time study. To me, I'm not here to get marks, I'm not here to be the top of the class, in the real world marks mean nothing, I'm here to get skills, I'm here to broaden my horizons and challenge my views on things musical and non musical, I'm not here to pass, to just go to the classes that I am scheduled to go to, I'm here to watch as many concerts as I can, to learn about other instruments and genres. If you do think about how you might apply what you learn to teaching, think about the differing teachers that you might come across, what works for you, what doesnt work for you, and be mentored by your own teacher on how to teach then you might find that helpful, also if you did a few units in pedagogy then you might also find that of assistance.

One other thing to think about is that with a degree in music vs. certification/diploma: a degree in music (such as BA or BFA) counts towards getting jobs in other fields. Many jobs require a bachelor's degree in something, and they don't much care in what. Having the degree will make you more marketable if you wish to teach at a college or university as well.