Once you have a shortlist of teachers you have found online we would highly encourage you to dig deeper, keep in mind that music teaching is deregulated and anyone can say that they are a music teacher, put a page up online and look like the real deal.
First steps:
Arrange a meet and greet.
Ask them to play live.
Pay attention to their communication skills (or lack thereof).
Ask a bunch of questions, here are some good ones:
- What experience do you have teaching music?
- What instruments do you teach?
- What are your qualifications and educational background?
- What is your greatest personal musical accomplishments?
- Do you teach full time? Are you a student yourself?
- What age groups do you teach?
- Do you hold concerts/recordings/band-programs/workshops during the year?
- Which teaching materials do you use? How and why did you choose them?
- How do you evaluate a student’s progress?
- How much practice time do you suggest or require of your students?
- How much do you charge for lessons and how do fees work?
- How long is each lesson, and when and where will they be held?
- How many students do you currently teach?
- What do you expect of parents?
- What are your terms and conditions?
If you aren’t getting the answers you need we recommend going with a music school. A good school will have answers to all of the questions above and more and will speed up the process for you. Happy researching!