I began teaching piano privately when I was just 16, starting with a student from my mom's school. Back then, I didn't know much about teaching piano and just followed how I had been taught.
I didn't plan my lessons. I taught my students using the same books and music that I had used, thinking that since I knew the music so well, I didn't need a plan. ‘Take it as it comes’ was my teaching approach back then.
But over the first 10-15 years of teaching, I lost many students, and I didn't understand why.
Things changed when I read my son's pre-school report. The school kept a record of each child's progress and achievements.
Inspired by this, I started keeping a record for each student, noting their weekly progress, and setting both short-term and long-term goals. This turned out to be one of the best decisions I made to become a better teacher.
I also spent a year at Teacher College learning about secondary education. That's when I realized that teaching piano is like teaching in a classroom – it needs a structured system, a plan to follow.
In regular school, most students complete their 13 years of education, but many music students quit after just a few years, and very few make it to Grade 8.
Why? The answer is simple: regular school has a system, but music teaching often doesn't. The lack of a system leads to many students quitting.
All schoolteachers go through training, learning how to plan lessons with a system. But most music teachers don't receive that training.
An increasing number of music educators are becoming aware of the significance of a 'system' in music education. They are promoting this idea at conferences, attempting to educate teachers through 'planners' in specific publications, and professional organizations are establishing teacher training courses, while examination boards are providing teaching diplomas.
Sadly, private music teachers don't have a professional body keeping an eye on their teaching performance like schoolteachers do. It's quite easy for anyone who knows how to play an instrument to start teaching. So, music teachers need to take charge of their own learning and come up with ways to help their students succeed. Learning and improving should happen alongside teaching. But it's unfortunate that only a very small number of private music teachers invest on their professional development.
Teaching music with a structured approach will help young students develop not just the skills to play, read, and write music (theory), but also a keen sense of melody, harmony, and rhythm by listening. This systematic method allows teachers, parents, and students to easily follow, put into practice, and assess their progress.
It's not easy. I'm still improving my teaching system. But I believe it's the best way to help our students develop their musical skills for the future.
