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    #243169 06/23/18 11:19 AM
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    DD14 is giving up her band instrument when she starts HS due to the school's requirement that they be in marching band (not her thing). She is a moderately gifted musician (has always been first chair in a high-quality band without ever taking lessons, selected for county honor band). She has an electronic keyboard that she enjoys messing with and has taught herself various things by ear and by watching YouTube videos. I have NO idea if her technique is at all correct...probably not? Is this a big deal? Of course, she reads music already.

    She is asking for piano lessons. Any tips for locating a piano teacher who will hold her interest as a bright, easily annoyed, independent teen who has self-taught a fair amount already? She is likely to be irked by starting from "the beginning." Also, any advice on buying a used piano??? I do have family members who play, somewhat well/seriously, but unfortunately they are not nearby.


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    I'd suggest looking for someone who is accustomed to teaching piano skills to entering music majors at the college level, as those students more or less match her current profile as a musician. Pretty much every university-level music degree program requires piano proficiency as a core skill, regardless of focus area (instrumental/vocal performance, theory/history, education, technology, etc.), so some variation of this situation should be familiar to them.

    My thought on pianos is that, until you have some sense that her interest in piano has a decent chance at some longevity, it may be a disproportionate investment in money, space, and maintenance to acquire an acoustic piano. I'd probably go with a reasonable grade of weighted keyboard first.


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    I'd suggest looking for someone who is accustomed to teaching piano skills to entering music majors at the college level

    Good idea. We live in a college town.

    I know what you mean about the investment. I'm hesitant as well, exceot for a couple things:

    1. We were very close to just paying for "the rest of" her (nice) rental instrument. $450. It's hard for all of us to say goodbye to it, and regular music. We have all thought about it what this means, her most of all. She says--I will not play it alone. It's an ensemble instrument. I will play piano alone. We should spend money on a piano. I can't argue with this. It seems right.
    2. My parents have a decent piano and she seriously looks forward to visiting THE PIANO with almost as much excitement as looking forward to seeing them. Yes, she has a keyboard, but it's not very good and the full, nice-sounding piano really makes her happy.

    I mean, we are not buying a concert grand, though. Can I buy a semi-decent used piano for $500 or is that a ridiculous pipe dream? Weird fact--my dad is a self-taught piano tuner (owns all the tools) who hasn't practiced in years. Is he actually trustworthy? IDK, but he's sort of a freaky autodidact. He's probably pretty good.

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    Fair enough. I get the argument to spend the money on an instrument that will get regular use. (I have a very respectable baby grand, which my parents bought for the family, but somehow it was always understood would be mine because I was the most likely to use it--I don't play it quite that routinely, but that's just because I can't get any keyboard time on it in between constant use by the children!)

    For your price range, you possibly could manage a passable spinet. I've historically ballparked $1000 and up for a decent used upright.

    Clearly genetics! I would definitely not underestimate your dad's skills. smile


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    No real expertise here but some random thoughts. It would definitely be a savings if your Dad can tune your piano for you regularly as that can get expensive depending on how many times a year you tune. I know professional tuners who do not actually play the piano but of course have perfect pitch. Similarly, some high level pianists, even ones with graduate music degrees and who routinely accompany level six soloists, do not tune their own piano. As far as technique, a good piano teacher will help her to correct any errors over time and it won't matter so much if your DD is not entering competitions or planning to go professional. In our area, there is an abundance of piano teachers probably because so many people play as compared to teachers for band or string instruments. I would gravitate towards teachers who cater to adults as 14 is already an age where learning is more adult-like than child-like. It would be nice, price permitting, to have a better qualified than a less qualified teacher; however, if there is a huge price differential and your DD still has a lot of basic theories/techniques to mastered, then it may make sense to go with a less advanced teacher. Some teachers also only take on students with some minimum level of skills so it helps to be able to specify her current skill level. I can't figure out your DD's skill level from your post but a teacher auditioning a new student will have that student play a couple of pieces, which I presume your DD would do from memory. Since she can read music (both treble clef and bass clef?), it might make sense to see how she sight-reads written music from beginning level piano books (I, II). You can also check the level of music that she plays by ear. As for the piano, obviously you can only buy what you can reasonably afford but if she is serious about this pursuit, it may make sense to view the cost of the piano in the context of what you will paying for lessons over the next couple of years.

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    Decent acoustic pianos also hold their absolute dollar value reasonably well (I mean, they depreciate like anything else, but then tend to hold steady), so you may be able to trade up with the value of a used piano in good condition.

    Last edited by aeh; 06/25/18 06:26 PM.

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    It's been several years, but we spent several months researching/shopping for piano for DD who was about 8 at the time. We ended up with a Yamaha U1, widely reported as a great entry-level, will hold it's value, will last a long time, etc., quality piano. There are cheaper Chinese-made pianos, low-end instruments that can't be maintained/repaired over time, etc., but a near unanimous message from research was to get something that will last. They are easier to play, more enjoyable to play, etc., while cheaper units will turn off a student who can't get good sound/play-ability out of it. Unfortunately, ours was $2,500, and that was a late 1990's model (which our tuner tells us was the best era for Yamahas), and was a decent deal based on the market we saw.

    I suppose this is the same as any instrument - she had a cheap rental flute through school for a couple of years until she decided she wanted to continue with it. We invested in a quality flute (also a Yamaha), and she finds it much easier and enjoyable to play. From some quick poking around, both Yamaha instruments sell today for same/more than we paid, where her rental flute can be found for $50 on Ebay.

    A piano is obviously more challenging to buy cheap/short term and then invest/buy-up later, due to the size/cost of moving/delivery/etc. If you think she's serious about a multi-year effort to learn, I'd invest in a quality unit, if possible.

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    I can't figure out your DD's skill level from your post but a teacher auditioning a new student will have that student play a couple of pieces, which I presume your DD would do from memory. Since she can read music (both treble clef and bass clef?), it might make sense to see how she sight-reads written music from beginning level piano books (I, II).

    You know, she knows bass clef somewhat because her band teacher teaches music fully with tests/theory, but she isn't used to playing in it. She'd have to learn. She may have done this already. I really don't know how she learned to play all the little bits and songs she knows. I know that some of them she learned by ear (pop songs she wanted to play). How unusual is this ability?

    It's a good idea to buy some beginning books. Can anyone recommend a cheap one??

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    Originally Posted by ultramarina
    I know that some of them she learned by ear (pop songs she wanted to play). How unusual is this ability?
    Learning by ear is somewhat unusual in the general population, but not that unusual in the musician population. Probably half the people I went to music school with couldn't read music (including some piano performance majors, though this subset was otherwise heavily slanted toward vocalists), and literally learned everything by listening. One of our DC learned quite a bit on an instrument without formal instruction simply from YouTube. There is lots of instructional material there, including dedicated piano tutorial channels.

    Depending on what kind of music she wants to play on the piano, you might also consider interviewing teachers for their approach--e.g., classical, from the score, with a focus on finger technique; vs, pop/rock/jazz, from chords, with a focus on improvisatory technique. (Though neither, of course, should be entirely free of finger technique.) One of ours started lessons in a new instrument as an adolescent, after having attained a reasonably high skill level in another instrument, and has had good outcomes with a flexible teacher who generally is just a very laidback, kind, not condescending person. Critically, the formal teachers this DC has had were deeply appreciative of existing skills and musicality, and of DC's quickness in acquiring new skills. Consequently, they adapted their teaching to the student, rather than following a pre-planned curriculum strictly.


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    flexible teacher who generally is just a very laidback, kind, not condescending person. Critically, the formal teachers this DC has had were deeply appreciative of existing skills and musicality, and of DC's quickness in acquiring new skills. Consequently, they adapted their teaching to the student, rather than following a pre-planned curriculum strictly.

    This, 1000X this, is what we need. I thik it will be a disaster if we end up witha teacher who is a by the book, lesson a, lesson b, type of person. I mean, I don't know how much one MUST do this, with piano? Is there "wrong technique" that must be fixed when having self taught? She does know chords, which she learned somewhere... online I guess? She tells me can read bass clef, but she is slow. Not like reading treble on her main instrument. This seems pretty expected. (She was actually like, duh, mom, of course I can play bass clef. lol.)

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