Choosing the Right Teacher
The following article most accurately applies to strings education Pre-K through High School
in the United States.
You know you have asked a great question when the answer to that question is far more complicated than the question itself.
For perspective, a parent will have invested over $37,000 in music education, if the student started lessons in first grade and had weekly $60 lessons through their senior year of High School.
This number is easily doubled or tripled depending on the cost of lessons in your area, attendance of summer programs, competitions, concerts, and more.
Questions to Ask Yourself
Is your child a complete beginner looking to start their musical journey on a chosen instrument?
Are you moving to a new community and wish for your child, who has already developed a fair amount of ability, to continue their lessons?
Have you loved the teacher you worked with for a while, but your child lacks motivation and needs a healthy change to continue their progress?
Has your child expressed interest in pursuing music as a career?
“In all my time teaching, never have I had a family bring their young child in the door seeking to have me turn them into a professional musician,” said Brett Walfish. Often, families are looking to give their children the gift of music as a life-long passion or hobby. Some families are keenly aware of the research that connects music education to enhanced brain development. Others recognize that, like sports, music offers social camaraderie, a unique community of similarly intelligent and creative individuals, as well as a disciplined structure. Luckily, almost all children have some innate interest in playing an instrument!
As a parent, before contacting a music school or teaching studio, it is important that you already have some idea as to why you want to invest in the musical education of your child. This will help you to guide them through their journey and help you serve as the right advocate for them when seeking a new teacher.
(Feel free to pause and think about these before continuing to read!)
If you know what you are looking for, you have probably already done a quick Google search of teachers near you or have contacted a local institution such as a college, youth orchestra, or something similar for a list of potential teachers to contact. This list may be a bit overwhelming…how do you decipher it?
If you are able to view hourly rates, why are some teachers so much more expensive than others? The range of hourly rates can go anywhere from $25 - $250 – What is the difference?!?
If you are considering music lessons, the first step is to ask yourself, why are you seeking a teacher?
“You get what you pay for” may be worth remembering as you continue this process.
So let’s start understanding how and why these lesson rates can vary greatly.
First, there is a common misconception that:
The teacher’s lesson rate should match the playing level of the student.
Teachers who start beginners are/should be less expensive.
Teachers can be less experienced than those who teach advanced, pre-college level students.
This could not be farther from the truth. The teacher’s rate is usually a reflection of their own musical background and training.
What types of degrees do they hold?
Are the degrees even in Music?
Have they earned a Bachelor’s degree? A Masters? A Doctorate?
Was their degree in Performance or Music Education?
Did they receive these credentials from celebrated and notorious institutions or did they attend a local, affordable state school?
The performance standards in higher education for each of those scenarios are vastly different, especially in the field of Music! Unlike in Medicine or Law, where there are nationally-set standards and Board certifications, the standard of excellence in Music is quite open-ended. While this allows for a lot of flexibility in the music business, more specifically in genres outside of Classical, it also makes it challenging to understand the true expertise level of a teacher.
What is a “Music Education” Major?
While it may be more convenient to have your child work exclusively with a music educator, such as an orchestra teacher at a local school, these musicians’ expertise lies in working with a classroom of kids. While they may have a “primary” instrument, they earned a Music Education degree, not a Performance degree in one instrument. With the exception of a few high-level music institutions, Music Education majors generally have a much lower performance standard for getting accepted into college. Unlike Performance majors, who focus exclusively on honing and expanding their skills on one instrument, Music Education majors receive a basic understanding of all orchestral instruments, conducting experience, and classroom management skills. A School Orchestra position is a very important job, but it is essential to understand the focus & strengths of their educational background.
FACT: A Music Education major has likely had only one or two college semesters to learn how to play violin, viola, cello, and double bass!
Take a moment to process that.
A college Junior is expected to learn four instruments in fewer than four months and then expected not just to play but teach all of those instruments to a classroom full of eager middle schoolers. (A topic in itself for another day!)
While music is a universal language and the ability to read music can easily transfer between instruments, the years and skill it takes to truly master one instrument should not be confused with the basic ability to play any instrument. While ideally, the school teacher’s primary instrument is one they are teaching in their classroom, even that is often not the case! That said, the role of a music educator is to lead a large ensemble, making sure the group as a whole progresses gradually together. Rarely do they specialize in individual musical training (such as setting the proper hand positions & developing technique) or have the time and energy to do so in their busy lives as orchestra teachers.
In some school districts, school teachers are not even legally allowed to teach their own orchestra students…
The most successful orchestra programs across the nation require that their students enroll in private lessons, utilize a version of the El Sistema model, or even subsidize the cost of lessons through exterior funding sources. With unfortunate budget cuts to the arts constantly occurring across the country, these programs are struggling more and more to find adequate resources to reach successful results.
What is a “Performance” Major?
For a teacher who has attended a prestigious music institution for a Performance degree on their chosen instrument, their journey began long before college. For many, it started as early as three years old and amounted to about 10,000 hours of practicing before ever embarking on the most formal part of their education.
Then, for the first four years of the Bachelor’s degree, these musicians would often:
practice 3-6 hours per day
rehearse chamber music for 4-6+ hours per week
have weekly private lessons and chamber music coachings
have weekly orchestra/opera/ballet rehearsals
It’s important to note that Performance degrees are not limited to practice time; musicians in these programs have rigorous requirements in music theory, history, and pedagogy, as well as the whole gamut of liberal arts courses.
Finally, it is also true that just because someone is a great performer or has extensive performing experience, they are not necessarily a great teacher. The same can be said for great teachers, who are not necessarily great performers. This is a nuanced situation, where ideally, you find an Artist Teacher, someone who specializes (or has specialized in) both areas, teaching and performing. It is helpful also to understand specialized training in Music Pedagogy - the art of teaching and nurturing musical talent. Many institutions in the United States focus either on the Suzuki Method or the Paul Rolland methodology, sometimes even combining them. While I reference these two particular methods, there are many other methods of talent development that have proven effective over the years. Many musicians interested in becoming more skilled teachers spend time in certification programs outside of college in order to deepen their knowledge and understanding of child psychology and various pedagogy methods. Several prominent teachers such as Ivan Galamian, Mimi Zweig, Karen Tuttle, or Hans Jorgen Jensen have developed their own unique teaching methods, which a student can only learn directly from them or through their successors (Teaching Assistants.)
There is a reason why major companies and non-music graduate programs often prioritize hiring people with prestigious music performance degrees whenever they can!
Top 25 US Music Colleges for Strings
The Juilliard School - Curtis Institute of Music - The Colburn School - New England Conservatory - Cleveland Institute of Music - Yale University - Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University - University of Southern California - Eastman School of Music - Northwestern University - Rice University: The Shepherd School of Music - Indiana University: The Jacobs School of Music - Manhattan School of Music - Mannes School of Music: The New School - Oberlin College Conservatory of Music - Cincinatti Conservatory of Music - San Francisco Conservatory - Carnegie Mellon University - Lynn University - University of North Texas - Boston Conservatory - Boston University - Vanderbilt University - DePaul University - Bard College Conservatory of Music
What type of teacher do I want for my child?
Let’s think back to your list of priorities for your child.
Do you want them to dabble in music for the lowest possible cost?
Do they already have a primary instrument and want to add/try a new instrument?
If this is the case, the least expensive teachers, who likely have little, if any, formal training, could be a good option. They will have minimal expectations and will most likely be unable to teach proper hand position or technique. However, if playing around on a new toy is the ultimate short-term goal, then this is the right option for you! It will generally have a low commitment level from both students and parents, focusing strictly on the “fun” of exploring the sounds of a new instrument.
WARNING: If your child truly loves playing, these teachers will not have the background or understanding of how to properly set up hand position or build your child’s technical ability from day one. Should you decide to invest more later to help them reach the next level, the transition time (which ranges from several months to several years) will be spent undoing many of the bad habits developed as a result of improper training from the start.
Are you looking to give your child the best possible education with an option to pursue music should they want to make that choice later?
At the Walfish Music School, every student is held to a high standard of excellence with rigorous expectations that can always be tailored and amended to individual students’ needs and goals.
Questions to ask a potential teacher during the initial phone call or trial lesson:
Could you tell me a little bit about your musical background and education? Do you have a resume/bio/website that you could direct me to?
May I come with my child to observe other lessons of your students? I heard that this could be a great way to understand what to expect in our own lessons and to see what other students are learning.
After studying with you, what have your students gone on to do post-high school?
What are your expectations of your students and parents? Do you have a studio policy?
Cost of lessons
What if you want the best teacher for your child, but their hourly rate is more than your budget allows? For most young musicians, a 30-minute weekly lesson is adequate in the beginning. As a parent, commit to being the best home teacher you can for your child! Consider video-recording your lessons to ensure that all assignments are done correctly and that the next lesson will consist of new information. This will not only maximize the lesson experience but will significantly help reduce the startup cost while you figure out how to budget for this incredible investment as a family!
Teaching Assistants
If a 30-minute lesson with an Artist Teacher is not financially feasible, consider reaching out to us for a recommendation of one of our Teaching Assistants! These students are 16+ years old, have been under our mentorship for several years, and have made a commitment to majoring in Music Performance. They are students who are genuinely interested in teaching and are looking to gain experience working with young children. As their teachers, we offer feedback on their repertoire selection, provide limited oversight on technique progression, and are available for “check-in” lessons if necessary. Teaching Assistants generally have significantly reduced teaching rates, making them a more feasible option for low-income families.