This section is not a guide to finding the perfect music teacher.  That person simply doesn’t exist. But we can find someone great.

Find a teacher who displays unconditional positive regard with your child, and you’ve won half the battle.

I’ll be bold and say that, for the most part, people whose main priority is to make themselves a performer shouldn’t be teaching.  Their focus is in the wrong place.

If the brain is like a car, then the music teacher is like a driving instructor.  Therefore, you want them to understand how a car works.

Music is inherently joyful.  If the teacher you find doesn’t believe that, it might be time to move on.

A really great teacher understands that most music practice is going to happen outside of the classroom.   Therefore, it makes sense to invest in helping you as much as they help your child.

Sometimes a teacher will say things like, “Practice is just doing something over and over again until it’s correct.”  And - sure.  Ok.  

But for a student, this is both terrible advice and terribly discouraging.

It is a BIG and enthusiastically waving green flag when you find a teacher who is willing to give individual attention to your child to help them succeed. 

When people believe that they have the “one way” to do something, they usually think that it’s the one right way.  If you see this in a teacher, run the other direction.  They will likely be more interested in their own “one right way” than they will be in your child.