The Tinturin
 Music Studio

What makes a good teacher?  A college education, a pleasant manner, skill and patience are some of the considerations.  There are three items that are so important, they should not be overlooked:

Knowledge – You can’t teach what you don’t know.  A teacher must know what he is doing.  The students’ future is at stake.  A college degree does not necessarily make a good teacher. Training and experience are key.  For music teachers, it is important to be able to demonstrate techniques, phrasing, and interpretation on their instrument.  So they must be advanced players.

Method – A good teacher must have a proven system to present the material in sequence and explain the concepts.  It should offer the most effective and efficient means of helping the student to achieve results. A lesson plan – short or long term, should be created for the student in order to make and monitor progress.

Communication – A good teacher will aim to discover each student’s strengths and weaknesses, and how each student learns.  Knowing the material is not enough – he must know how to communicate this knowledge to each student, for thorough understanding.  He should be able to present and explain new concepts, using analogies that the student can relate to.

A caring teacher who is skilled and experienced and who focuses on theoretical and musical understanding as well as physical development and technique will provide his students with a strong musical foundation.