Piano lessons at whatever age are a powerful vehicle that accelerates one's development in a deeply powerful way. It is important that the journey be fun, challenging and rewarding. It is a transformational decision to study piano. All you need to begin the journey is a piano and the right instructor to guide you.
It is important to know a little about what you want to accomplish when starting the journey. As children we learned in a context where discovered things along the way. As adults, we usually knows a bit at first what we want to accomplish and how, but the picture can be cloudy at times and the unknown can cause the procrastinator within us all to kick in. The right instructor can help bring what steps to take and in what order into focus, assuming the instructor possess the ability to actively and spontaneously track the student's development and customize their style and approach to each individual.
The basics: know if your potential teacher uses method-books as tools or simply uses them to teach. Some teachers exclusively teach off method books and only have one style of teaching , usually that of which they were taught. This limits their ability to truly give the student individual attention, and for many this is the style of teaching that made them stop studying piano altogether.
Aside from the credentials, schedule, location, and all the basic items on the typical check list, it is imperative that you meet in person and feel out the style and personality of an instructor before you decide they are the right one to guide you. You must enjoy the company of your instructor. People don't learn from people they don't like. We grow faster, learn more and study longer in the presence of a teacher who can relate to us and work with us as who we are.
Perhaps you are a professional, or plan to be professional, or you are reclaiming your musical past that you started but stopped as a child or young adult. Or perhaps you have a child beginning the journey of development through the study of piano. Finding the right instructor will yield many years of development and bring many fantastic things to you along the way.
I definitely struggle with procrastinating with learning new pieces. I took piano lessons as a child but I'd like to take up lessons again, as the piano is a very beautiful instrument. I agree that teaching one way limits the range of students that you can take on. Because everyone learns differently, I want to have a teacher that can teach me the way I learn best. Thank you so much for this help!
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