Adriana won the second Piano Idol competition held in 2009. Since then I have seen her progressing very well in her piano playing. Of course it helps to have a strict teacher like me, yes? Here she is, playing Chopin’s Mazurka in F Op. 68 No. 3. She’s one student that will go very far (and that’s a promise)
Bao Xiu has been learning with me for about two years now. She’s a soft-spoken student, but very obedient and follows instructions to the latter. Here she’s playing one of her Grade 8 ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, UK) examination pieces—Clara Schumann’s Fugue. I recorded this video using my Canon EOS Rebel T2i/550D in high definition mode. Well done, Bao Xiu!
I decided to embark on a project to photograph each and every one of my students recently. And this is one of the questions that never fails to annoy me—“How many students do you have?” I usually post a response like “Just enough to maintain my sanity and live a decent lifestyle.” Teaching is one of the most taxing professions that one can take up, especially when it’s on a one-to-one basis like what I’m doing. So here’s a photo collage of my current crop of students (at least the ones who were not camera-shy) All the pictures were shot with a Canon EOS Rebel T2i/550D with either a Canon 50mm standard lens or a Canon 18-55mm IS zoom lens. Lighting used was bounced flash with a Canon 270EX Speedlite.
To all my students—thank you for letting me be your teacher, and for putting up with me as we embark on our musical journeys together.
Top row (L-R): Adriana, Anthea, Bao Xiu, Cassandra, Henry. Second row (L-R): Jason, Joshua, Kelvin, Poh Lin, Regina. Third row (L-R): Robin, Sabrina, Shih Yu, Shirlynn, Terence. Bottom row (L-R): Wei Yang, Wynn, Ying Xuan, Yu Xuan.
Another issue potential piano teachers face is whether they intend to teach in a music school, privately, or both. I’ll try to present my thoughts in this post.
Teaching in a music school certainly has its merits. The biggest plus point is that you don’t have to source for students yourself, the school does it for you. And if you’re into group teaching, you can quickly see an increase in your student intake. All you have to do is turn up and teach.
What about the disadvantages of teaching in a music school? The biggest shortcoming is that you don’t receive 100% of the students’ fees. This is understandable because the school needs a proportion for administration costs, utilities, etc. So let’s say you charge $100 for a beginning student for private teaching; you might find that you are paid only half of that at the school (meaning that you have to teach two students instead of one to get the same fee) That means you have to work harder if you intend to teach full-time in a music school.
You are also obliged to abide and follow the regulations of the music school you’re teaching in. Fair enough, but depending on how it goes, you might find yourself teaching students that don’t get along with you, students who don’t show up and don’t inform you, etc. The school might insist that you teach them anyway because they can’t find another teacher who has time to do so.
Teaching privately on the other hand, is a challenge when you’re first starting out. At this stage you can’t pick and choose students yet. When I first started out decades ago, I made a slight error in always trying to get advanced students because of higher fees—don’t do this. Get students of any level you can find. Beginning students are actually good, because if you teach them well, chances are they will stick with you as they progress. That will build up your student intake gradually.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of teaching privately is that you get to keep 100% of the fees. You’re also your own boss, so you make your own decisions about lesson schedules, replacement lessons, holidays, etc. And need I say that it’s much more comfortable teaching at home, as opposed to being in a tiny room in a music school?
Or you could opt to do both, like what I’ve been doing. I’ve gotten to the point where I know the school administrator very well, so any problems I have can be discussed and ironed out in the open. And because I’m involved with the school I get to participate in such interesting activities such as the Piano Idol competition, which I’ve been judging for the past two years.
So there you have it. You have to make up your own mind, but it’s always possible to test the waters first in the field of piano teaching. Good luck!
I made up my mind about becoming a piano teacher almost 30 years ago. Allow me to highlight my own personal pros and cons.
POSITIVES
NEGATIVES
You might also want to get a book like like James Bastien’s How To Teach Piano Successfully. It’s a book I’ve read and periodically dip into. Another book which appears interesting is David Newsam’s Making Money Teaching Music. The link will also show you the many other books on piano teaching, it’s worth getting a book or two.
You can also join a forum like Piano World (of which I’m a member) Registration is free and there are over 47,000 members sharing a wealth of information and advice. It’s a great place for piano fans.
Note: this post was first published in my other blog in March 2009, but I thought it relevant to be included here.
Wikipedia defines a metronome as
…any device that produces a regulated aural, visual or tactile pulse to establish a steady tempo in the performance of music. It is a useful practice tool for musicians that dates back to the early 19th century. The mechanical metronome was invented by Dietrich Nikolaus Winkel in Amsterdam in 1812. Johann Mälzel copied several of Winkel’s construction ideas and received the patent for the portable metronome in 1816. Ludwig van Beethoven was the first notable composer to indicate specific metronome markings in his music, in 1817.
Musicians use the metronome during practicing in order to attain a constant tempo (or speed). Tempo is measured in beats per minute, or BPM. Metronomes can be set to any tempo the performer chooses, usually between 40 to 208 BPM. Mechanical metronomes have been around the longest, but they do have some shortcomings:
I’ve owned a couple of mechanical metronomes before, a long time ago. When electronic metronomes saw the light of day, I was one of the first to acquire one, a Wittner Taktell, which was powered by a 9V battery and had a flashing red light. Then later on, in 2000 I think, I happened to see the Korg KDM-1 at a music store here, and it impressed me with its loud sound (students sometimes complained to me that they couldn’t hear the Taktell’s sound over their own playing). Moreover, the KDM-1 had its own volume control, which was a definite plus. It also had an earphone jack, though I wouldn’t recommend you use it for blasting the ticking sound directly into your eardrums. It could last about 70 hours, powered by only a 9V battery.
When Korg announced the successor to the KDM-1, known simply as the KDM-2, I was ecstatic. It was like a KDM-1 on steroids, being just slightly wider and 40 grams heavier. Here’s the plethora of features it possesses (taken from the Korg website):
• Korg’s original, cylindrical resonator speaker provides powerful sound, now with even more volume and improved tone.
• An LED provides visual confirmation of the tempo, a convenient feature for practicing with the metronome muted.
• Newly added beat variations range from basic to sophisticated rhythms like son clave and rumba clave
• A total of 19 beat patterns cover your practicing needs in numerous musical styles.
• Tap Tempo function makes it easy to set the tempo.
• An audible Reference tone in a range of C4 to B4 is available, allowing you to tune your instrument.
• An encoder-type TEMPO/CALIB dial and switch provide direct access to the desired setting or function.
• A large LCD screen makes settings easy to see.
• Original and compact style.
• Long battery life (4 AAA’s), with approximately 120 hours of continuous use.
The KDM-1 had served me well for quite a few years without any trouble, so I sold it off to a student of mine and bought the KDM-2, which was a steal at $35 USD. This concludes my metronome odyssey. Needless to say, I await the KDM-3 with baited breath!
P/S Perhaps those clever wunderkinds in Korg could incorporate a female voice counting out the beats in the KDM-3. That would be cool!
