What level of students do you teach?
I teach students from beginners to very experienced in voice and flute, as those are my primary instruments. With piano students, I suggest that students past the early intermediate level change to a teacher who is primarily a pianist/performer.
One of my strengths as a teacher is the fact that the physical efforts of playing/singing did not come easily to me, mainly for health reasons, and in order to make progress I had to study how to study and practice effectively. I was fortunate in that my first flute teacher taught me how to listen and evaluate what I was doing, and also taught me why we do things in a certain way. In this way, when we practice, we can break down into manageable ‘chunks’ what we are trying to learn or polish, and work diligently on the parts that give us trouble until those parts are ready to be reintegrated into a whole. Working from part-to-whole with thoughtful attention and knowledge keeps us from becoming frustrated and ‘beating up’ on ourselves.
This is especially important with beginners (and perfectionists of all ages!) but applies to anyone who takes up a pursuit that requires disciplined practice in order to make progress.
Do you allow parents to sit in on lessons?
For private lessons, I ask my private students’ parents to talk with them individually about how much parental oversight the students wants or needs (or does not want or need), and for them to make a joint decision about whether or not the parent should be present. In general, students work better if there is no parent ‘overseeing’ what they are doing in their lessons, so often students prefer that parents do not sit in. If the parent is not present, I regularly ask students if they would like to invite their parent in to hear something at the end of a lesson; this is very helpful for increasing their confidence and proficiency.
Duet (group) lessons have a very different dynamic than private lessons, one which is inhibited by parents being present unless the parent is one member of the duet. Group lesson students will have regular ‘play for our families’ time at the end of some lessons.
How much practice time do you require?
Normally, for beginning students, I ask that the student to practice 15 minutes per day, six days per week. (I often say to the youngest ones: Twice your age in minutes! 🙂 As the student progresses, the time rises to 20 or 30 minutes or more, depending on the level of playing, the rate of progress, and the student’s individual goals.
I teach my students how to practice mindfully and effectively to reduce frustration and maximize achievement. As part of that teaching, I teach them how to work out ‘the next step’, and to audibly coach themselves if they find it helpful. Audible coaching can help Mom or Dad keep one ear open for frustration and help redirect. One of the joys of private lessons is being able to customize a working method for each student’s individual personality and situation.
With beginning piano students (particularly younger ones), effective practicing can also include asking that a parent or experienced older sibling ‘practice with’ the student on a regular basis, or that the student ‘teach Mom/teach Dad’ how to do a particular thing.