Finding a Teacher
If you're looking for a teacher who will travel to your home, your best bet is probably with a commercial studio or business
that specializes in this service. There are a few good independent teachers who still travel, but there are fewer each year.
Although there are exceptions, travelling teachers are generally less qualified and charge more than home-studio or
community music school teachers. If you absolutely must have a teacher who will come to your home, search online, and
then interview prospective travelling teachers as you would any other instructor.
If you live in Washington's Virginia suburbs, a great resource for finding teachers is the Northern Virginia Music Teachers
Association. They provide an on-line listing of teachers and can offer additional teacher contacts by zip code if necessary.
There is no charge. Find out more at http://www.nvmta.org/find-a-teacher.php
The Washington, D.C. Music Teachers Association also provides referrals through http://www.wmta-dc.org
In other parts of Virginia, you may try the Virginia Music Teachers Association, accessible through
http://www.music-usa.org/vmta
Many other local and state affiliates of Music Teacher National Association (MTNA) offer similar referal services. Find the
local affiliate(s) near you, nationwide, at http://www.mtna.org MTNA also has an online directory of Nationally Certified
Teachers of Music (NCTMs). Unfortunately, only a very small percentage of teachers are Nationally Certified, and in most
cases certified teachers will be less likely to have openings than others. If you would find it useful for MTNA to offer a
nation-wide teacher referral service, such as that available from the National Association of Teachers of Singing
(http://www.nats.org) or the American String Teachers Association (http://www.astaweb.com), please suggest this to
them!
You may also try looking for teachers through the National Federation of Music Clubs, another large association of
independent music educators. This group is a federation of local and state music clubs, so to find a teacher in your area,
you'll have to contact local clubs. Find state and local chapters near you through www.nfmc-music.org Most local clubs
do not have website or email contact information. Don't be shy about contacting local club presidents or officers by phone.
Another option is to contact the area chairwomen or local coordinators for one of the three music examination groups
active in the United States. These groups administer comprehensive music exams that gauge progress over time. While an
examination-based system has many benefits, and is the standard method of music education in most industrialized
countries, you may or may not be interested in teachers who use exams. However, even if you aren't interested in the
examinations that these groups offer, you may find well-qualified teachers in your area by contacting the local coordinators
of these groups. Most participating teachers use the exams as one tool among many, and most do not require all of their
students to participate. Find local contacts in your area through:
- ABRSM at www.abrsm.org (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, a
U.K.-based system and the world's largest exam board)
- National Guild of Piano Teachers/American College of Musicians at pianoguild.com
(the United States' largest exam system)
- RACE at www.royalamericanconservatory.org (Royal American Conservatory Exams, the
U.S.A. arm of the Canadian Royal Conservatory of Music exam board)
If you live in at least a medium-sized city, ask in stores selling pianos or sheet music for referrals to music teachers. Be
skeptical as to their recommendations, however, as they may have their own education programs, or less frequently,
receive a commission on referrals. If a store with its own education program won't make referrals to outside teachers, it
just means that they are trying to drive business to their education department.
Also in medium-sized and larger cities, community schools of music can be a good place to find a teacher. The best place
to find out about these studios, which can range from a back room in a music store to small teacher-owned storefronts to
large for-profit and non-profit educational institutions, is probably your local yellow pages. Often, large churches will have
music-outreach programs, which in some cases are in effect full-scale music schools. You don't need to be active in the
particular Christian denomination to take lessons at a church!
Of course, web advertising is another way to find a teacher. You'll find the for-profit www.privatelessons.com and
www.pianoteachers.com as well as many local providers if you enter some appropriate terms into your search engine of
choice. The bigger and wealthier your city, the more likely you are to find a plentiful selection of for-profit local operators.
And last, it is absolutely essential to interview any potential teachers, both over the phone and in person, before signing up
for lessons! Even at well-established institutions, it is unwise to rely fully on the school or store to screen teachers for you.
Often, music stores and storefront schools rent space to teachers on a percentage basis, so the instructor may still be an
independent operator. Don't trust a school or store assurance that its teachers are "certified." Ask: "certified by whom?"
Every teacher is different; evaluate every teacher independently to determine if they are a good match for your own
educational goals.
that specializes in this service. There are a few good independent teachers who still travel, but there are fewer each year.
Although there are exceptions, travelling teachers are generally less qualified and charge more than home-studio or
community music school teachers. If you absolutely must have a teacher who will come to your home, search online, and
then interview prospective travelling teachers as you would any other instructor.
If you live in Washington's Virginia suburbs, a great resource for finding teachers is the Northern Virginia Music Teachers
Association. They provide an on-line listing of teachers and can offer additional teacher contacts by zip code if necessary.
There is no charge. Find out more at http://www.nvmta.org/find-a-teacher.php
The Washington, D.C. Music Teachers Association also provides referrals through http://www.wmta-dc.org
In other parts of Virginia, you may try the Virginia Music Teachers Association, accessible through
http://www.music-usa.org/vmta
Many other local and state affiliates of Music Teacher National Association (MTNA) offer similar referal services. Find the
local affiliate(s) near you, nationwide, at http://www.mtna.org MTNA also has an online directory of Nationally Certified
Teachers of Music (NCTMs). Unfortunately, only a very small percentage of teachers are Nationally Certified, and in most
cases certified teachers will be less likely to have openings than others. If you would find it useful for MTNA to offer a
nation-wide teacher referral service, such as that available from the National Association of Teachers of Singing
(http://www.nats.org) or the American String Teachers Association (http://www.astaweb.com), please suggest this to
them!
You may also try looking for teachers through the National Federation of Music Clubs, another large association of
independent music educators. This group is a federation of local and state music clubs, so to find a teacher in your area,
you'll have to contact local clubs. Find state and local chapters near you through www.nfmc-music.org Most local clubs
do not have website or email contact information. Don't be shy about contacting local club presidents or officers by phone.
Another option is to contact the area chairwomen or local coordinators for one of the three music examination groups
active in the United States. These groups administer comprehensive music exams that gauge progress over time. While an
examination-based system has many benefits, and is the standard method of music education in most industrialized
countries, you may or may not be interested in teachers who use exams. However, even if you aren't interested in the
examinations that these groups offer, you may find well-qualified teachers in your area by contacting the local coordinators
of these groups. Most participating teachers use the exams as one tool among many, and most do not require all of their
students to participate. Find local contacts in your area through:
- ABRSM at www.abrsm.org (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, a
U.K.-based system and the world's largest exam board)
- National Guild of Piano Teachers/American College of Musicians at pianoguild.com
(the United States' largest exam system)
- RACE at www.royalamericanconservatory.org (Royal American Conservatory Exams, the
U.S.A. arm of the Canadian Royal Conservatory of Music exam board)
If you live in at least a medium-sized city, ask in stores selling pianos or sheet music for referrals to music teachers. Be
skeptical as to their recommendations, however, as they may have their own education programs, or less frequently,
receive a commission on referrals. If a store with its own education program won't make referrals to outside teachers, it
just means that they are trying to drive business to their education department.
Also in medium-sized and larger cities, community schools of music can be a good place to find a teacher. The best place
to find out about these studios, which can range from a back room in a music store to small teacher-owned storefronts to
large for-profit and non-profit educational institutions, is probably your local yellow pages. Often, large churches will have
music-outreach programs, which in some cases are in effect full-scale music schools. You don't need to be active in the
particular Christian denomination to take lessons at a church!
Of course, web advertising is another way to find a teacher. You'll find the for-profit www.privatelessons.com and
www.pianoteachers.com as well as many local providers if you enter some appropriate terms into your search engine of
choice. The bigger and wealthier your city, the more likely you are to find a plentiful selection of for-profit local operators.
And last, it is absolutely essential to interview any potential teachers, both over the phone and in person, before signing up
for lessons! Even at well-established institutions, it is unwise to rely fully on the school or store to screen teachers for you.
Often, music stores and storefront schools rent space to teachers on a percentage basis, so the instructor may still be an
independent operator. Don't trust a school or store assurance that its teachers are "certified." Ask: "certified by whom?"
Every teacher is different; evaluate every teacher independently to determine if they are a good match for your own
educational goals.
Piano Studio of Andrew Horowitz
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Comprehensive information to help you find a piano instructor
Click here for a distilled list of links to the sites discussed in this article
Copyright 2007 by Andrew Horowitz