A common misconception when seeking a piano instructor is that if a person can play proficiently, then they can also teach piano to students as well. However, this is not always the case! Many people can play the piano but not all of them have the patience and necessary people skills to be a good teacher. In fact, more often than not, accomplished piano players do not have that patience or teaching skills.

Because high level pianists work hard to achieve success, many of them struggle with teaching the basics to new students. Their fingers are itching to run up and down the keyboard whereas new players hesitate and stutter. A number of these experienced or professional pianists derive little enjoyment and satisfaction in teaching beginning piano and do not want to relive their own humble beginnings by teaching new students. They would rather practice for themselves, elevating their own talents. What is demoralizing is that some of these accomplished pianists have no idea they feel this way until they start to teach new students. Not everyone is built to be a teacher. Therefore, it is important that you gauge the instructors personality, research their accomplishments and ask for their previous experience as a piano teacher.

The best way to determine a piano instructors effectiveness is to ask for references and phone numbers of previous students. You can interview these former students and quiz them about their previous piano experience before receiving instruction from this particular teacher. Ask them about whether they were new to the piano and whether they thought the teacher would be effective in teaching total novices basic skills. Based on the answers received by the former students, you should be able to come to some informed decisions about whether the piano instructor is right for you. If the answers you receive show that most students had basic knowledge of piano before receiving instruction from this teacher, perhaps you require the services of someone who has experience in teaching totally inexperienced students. If there were only a few interviewed students who achieved average to exceptional success, there is likely a reason or two such as a difficult teacher personality or inability to verbally communicate.

The irritations encountered when seeking a good piano instructor is the reason why more and more people look to high-tech solutions from their computer. The internet provides a wealth of options in the form of online piano lessons. There is also piano lesson software and movie DVDs too. These high-tech options are quite safe and have proven to be an effective way to learn a new instrument such as the piano. Computer based instruction is easy to follow and fits perfectly into most peoples schedules.