Before I go on, let me explain what “Best Teacher” means to me. The “Best Teacher,” for your child, is one who will inspire your child to reach their greatest musical potential. This may or may not be a teacher who is a concert pianist. This may or may not be a teacher who has a doctorate in music, charges the highest fee or the lowest fee or is closest to your home. While those are important factors, they should not be deciding factors.

To find the best teacher for your child, begin with a list of teachers to consider. For suggestions, see my article, “How to Find Piano Teachers to Interview.”

After creating the list, consider what you want in a teacher and what your child needs in a teacher. You are looking for a great piano teacher, one with whom your child will want to study for years and who shares your goals and/or those of your son or daughter.

Then, contact each prospective piano teacher on the phone. Do not use email. You want to discover if this is someone, with whom you want a professional relationship. A phone call can tell you volumes more about a person, and your interest in establishing a relationship with them, than an email.

Begin the call by expressing your interest in finding a piano teacher for your child and his or her age. Some teachers do not teach children under certain ages. Then, simply ask, “Can you tell me a little about yourself and your studio.” At some point during the phone call, the teacher should invite you to his or her teaching studio to answer any other questions, for an audition, or for an informal meet and greet. If, after talking to this teacher, you are interested in finding out more, accept the teacher’s invitation to the studio. If the teacher does not invite you to the studio, ask if it is possible for a visit.

Before the visit, create a list of questions you want to ask the teacher. For example, what are his or her teaching philosophies, methods, credentials, etc? What experience does he or she have? When you arrive at the studio, look around the inside and the outside of the studio. Do you feel comfortable in the environment? Does the teacher keep the studio clean and well kept? Does it seem like a place of serious study or a place of imaginative fun? Which is more important to you?

During the interview, the teacher might show you around the studio, talk about other piano students, tell you what methods they use to teach, what your child can look forward to, what the benefits are of studying there, etc. Teachers, also, like to hear prospective students play, even if they have never taken lessons before.

Some things for you, the parent, can be thinking about are:
Do you feel a rapport with the teacher?
Does the teacher make the student feel at ease?
Is your son or daughter responding to the teacher?
Is the teacher encouraging?
Is the teacher listening to you and your son or daughter?
Does this person seem like a good fit?

At the end of the interview, thank the teacher for his or her time. Express your interest in talking to other teachers before making a decision and repeat the process.

Finding the best piano teacher you can afford, takes a little extra time and effort. However, in doing so, your child’s chances for finding their own musical voice, playing the piano with joy and having a lasting relationship, with a great teacher, greatly improve.

However, instead of playing the notes in that order (C, E, G, B), a pianist might just play the seventh (B), root (C) and third (E) of the chord (spelling the chord from the bottom to the top).   This voicing omits the fifth of the chord, inverts the other chord tones to create a certain sound.  Play this voicing now.

Each of the genres I mentioned before have between three and five basic, “go-to voicings.  When we multiply that number by the number of chord qualities: major, minor, dominant, altered dominants, minor-seven-flat-fives and multiply that number by twelve (the number of major keys), we end up with quite a few voicings to learn.

Of course, learning the voicings is not even the hard part, especially for a pianist with a little understanding of music theory.  The challenge comes up when we try to recall the voicings and use them on a lead sheet or in a jam session.

What I would like to do is show you a way to quickly learn piano voicings and have the ability to recall the right voicing at the right time.  For this example, you can use the major seventh voicing I spelled out earlier, B-C-E or, you can use any voicing of your choosing.  This system works for all voicings.

To begin, sit at the piano and clear your mind.  Quieting the chatter, take two or three deep breaths.  Play your voicing.  As you do this, relax, hold the notes and let them ring.  Then let go of the keyboard.  Place your hands in your lap.  Using the same notes in the same register, repeat the process again: breathe, play, hold, relax, let go.

Now, close your eyes and picture the keys you just played in your mind.  See the letter names of the notes in your mind’s eye and then say the letter names aloud.  Play the voicing again.  As your holding the notes, sing them from the bottom to the top.  Sing the B, then the C then the E.  Play them individually if you need help finding or checking the pitches.  Continue this process for five minutes, even if you are tempted to move on.  Remember: “Practice” is short for Practice-Doing-It-Right.

After five minutes, take a break, come back, and play your new voicing. Repeat this process with one voicing at a time.  After an hour, you will know that voicing in all twelve keys.

When we learn to play the piano, using many different parts of our brain helps ensure that the information will always be there.  I have found the best way to learn voicings is simply relax and use different parts of the brain.  This way we only have to learn them once.

If your child is just beginning, you have a wonderful opportunity to receive free piano lessons; bond with your child; and ensure every piano lesson is prepared for. A great piano teacher will encourage your attendance at the lesson, if not your participation in the lesson.

During the lesson, actively listen to the teacher and to your child. Review the lesson with the teacher. Ask questions, if necessary. Make sure you know what the practice assignment is.

The best time to practice the piano is right after the lesson. Sit down with your child and practice together. In your child’s piano book, you will find very easy to follow instructions on how to find the notes used in each song, which fingers to use and so on. Play the song together with your child. Try playing the song slowly, quickly, high on the piano, and low on the piano. It is okay to be creative and make the songs fun and silly. Feel free to let your child play the roll of teacher if he or she wants to, but do not reverse rolls. You are the parent. You have a different roll.

A parent’s roll, in the world of piano lessons for kids, is simple: support, encourage and allow. Support your child by creating time to practice. Be there during practice time and supply the fun. Be the “practice buddy”.

Encourage your child with phrases like, “You can do it;” and “Way to go;” “You are doing great.” These phrases quickly become a part of your child’s self-talk. Children naturally love to “do it again.” Encourage this. Moreover, be sure to end each practice session by gushing praise, hugs and kisses on them.

Finally, allow your child to find his or her own way. Mistakes are okay. Your advice is okay, if sought. However, remember, you are there just for fun, support, and to answer any questions your child might have. A parent’s job is to correct behavior. As your child’s practice buddy, though, try to avoid correcting. Especially if you hear, “But teacher Jeff said to do it this way. . .” Let it go. You might be right, but having fun at this early stage in learning how to play the piano is far more important than being right.

As a parent, you might feel a little out of your element when it comes to helping your child practice. However, remember, your roll is to support, encourage and allow. If you still have questions, a great teacher knows that a parent’s involvement is vital to successful practice sessions and is always willing to help.

Improvising is a skill that takes a lifetime to master, yet even a child can do it. Improvising strikes terror in hearts of some yet is the source of bliss for others. Improvising creates music where there was none before, yet it could not exist without the music that came before.

Improvising on the piano can be approached many different ways. One of the easiest ways to improvise is to play just the black keys. You cannot miss this way. You can create rhythms (long and short notes), melodies (one note at a time) and harmonies (more than one note at the same time) using just the black keys. Using just the white keys might work, but be aware that there are some notes that do not get along well with other notes. This is dissonance. Some listeners enjoy it-some do not.

Another way to improvise on the piano is to play a game I call “Finish the Melody.” To do this, play one note. Then, let go of that note and play it again, followed by another note. Then let go again and play those two notes adding another note. Continue in this fashion until you ca not remember all of your melody. Then start a new one. Maybe this melody starts on a new note. If you are a good singer, singing helps develop your melodies. So, sing.

Finally, if you do have experience playing the piano, but you are afraid to improvise, allow yourself the freedom to play what you want. Allow yourself the freedom to experiment. Begin with a simple triad. Play it in both hands one note at a time then as together. Add some rhythm and creativity and your improvising.

The most important key to improvising is to be kind to yourself. Avoid judgments of what you are creating. Statements like, “That’s no good;” “That’s too simple;” and “Yeah, but it’s not _________” (fast, fancy, pretty) can shut down the creative process before it even gets started.

Improvising is the easiest way to play the piano and there are a number of ways to approach it. The challenging part is being patient and kind to yourself while you become aware of what works and what does not work; what you like and what you don’t like; what you know and still want to learn.  

One great way to find a piano teacher is through your local Music Teachers Association.

This association can be found by using Google to search “your city Music Teachers Association”. For example, someone who lives in Seattle would Google: “Seattle Music Teachers Association.” Being a member of the Music Teachers Association shows a commitment to the teaching profession and the teacher’s interest in continuing education. In addition, members must adhere to a code of ethics that ensures, among other things, personal integrity, clear communication, and a personal responsibility to the musical development of the student. The Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) even offers a search for “Certified Teacher.” Becoming certified is a lengthy process through which teachers go show their commitment to teaching.

Another benefit of taking lessons from a piano teacher, who belongs to the Music Teachers Association, is their ability to enter school-aged students into festivals, recitals and competitions at the local, state and national level. If your child is interested in competing, this is something to consider.

Other sources for finding piano teachers to interview are colleges or universities, music stores or word-of-mouth, churches or synagogues. Be sure to approach any of these sources with the clear communication that you are looking for piano teachers to interview. Avoid teachers who discourage interviews, seem surprised at the idea of an interview or teachers who try to set up a lesson schedule right away. A respectable teacher will invite an interview and even encourage you to interview other teachers.

Finding a great piano teacher requires more effort than setting a lesson time with the first piano teacher you call. Create a list of teachers from your local Music Teachers Association; from talking with friends; or from talking with professional musicians. From these sources, you should be able to compile a list of about four to five teachers with whom you will talk to see if they are the best fit to help you or your child learn how to play the piano.

Before you decide to take up an instrument, or enroll your child in private lessons, you want to make sure that there will be time to practice. The amount of time set aside to practice will determine the speed with which results are realized. One to three hours a day is the best way to see results quickly. Of course, the attention span of young children might only allow for ten to thirty minutes of practice a day. For either situation, if time is available, you still might need a piano.

In the search for a piano, my advice is this: Purchase the best piano you can afford. The size, shape and color are immaterial if your instrument doesn’t perform and inspire. There are several misconceptions when it comes to purchasing one’s first piano:

“A piano is a piano.”

“The quality doesn’t matter; I just started taking piano lessons”

“It’s for a child.”

Starting with a quality piano shows a commitment to yourself or your child; ensures that the sound and touch are pleasing; and will inspire you or your child to come back to it again and again. This is definitely something you want when you are learning how to play the piano. Once the piano has been chosen, it is time to find a piano teacher.

Again, in your search for a piano teacher, choose the best teacher you can afford. I emphasize the word teacher, because a good performer doesn’t always make the best teacher. A good teacher may or may not have a degree. A good teacher may or may not teach classical piano. A good teacher does have years of experience; a piano studio of great students; and great relationships with his or her students. That relationship is cultivated by good communication and clear expectations of both the teacher and the student.

Having decided to learn how to play the piano may be your gift to yourself. Or, a gift you want to give your child. In either case, making sure time is available to practice the piano and that you have the best piano and teacher you can afford will help ensure your gift has a good foundation.