For my university project, I have been asked to create a webpage to help music students find the right music teachers for them. Exploring the factors that they need to take account of when looking for a teacher and whether taking online music lessons are worth looking seriously at if you live in a more rural location.
Learning to play a musical instrument is possible by yourself, however, to supercharge your learning it makes sense to seek professional tuition. To do this I would recommend firstly, asking your friends and family about whether they can recommend any teachers to you for your chosen instrument. Following this, visiting a local music store to talk with experienced staff about music teachers that they can recommend in the local area is a great thing to do. I would also recommend searching on the internet on websites like the Music Teacher Database, where you can find music tutors offering lessons on a wide range of different instruments. You can also find localised website pages like Guitar Lessons Belfast and Drum Lessons Leicester that are able to present one or two local teachers who might be able to cater for you.
In terms of the factors that new students should take into consideration when looking for a music teacher, firstly, students should concentrate on the "operational" side of lessons - namely, where do the lessons take place? how much do they cost? can the teacher of the lesson times that you are able to take consistently? You could potentially be learning with the greatest music teacher in the world, however, if you can travel to the lessons, afford the lessons or find a time for the lesson then they simply won't take place.
After searching for several music teachers who are local, affordable and hopefully have some spaces to take on new student, the stage is to compare musically what the teachers offer. Specifically, what genres of music do you want to learn & does the teacher cover or specialise in this? If you are interested in taking grades, finding out whether the teacher is able to cater for this.
Once you have explored whether the content that the lessons will provide is to your taste, then you need to explore the teacher's qualifications and suitability to provide lessons for you. Specifically, have they undertaken some formal training to be able to teach - for example, a BA Music degree, qualifications at college for music or undertaken graded exams? Moreover, ensuring that they have an up to date DBS Check and Public Liability insurance is a good indicator that they are a serious music teacher.
By using all the factors above to worth through a process of identifying a music teacher you should be able to find the music teacher that is just right for your lessons. You should test this by taking 2 to 3 lessons with the chosen teacher to see if you really "get on" - if you don't gel, then work down your list of chosen teachers until you find the one you feel comfortable taking lessons with.