piano teacher - Bethesda area

[Anonymous]

Hi - looking for updated recommendations for a piano teacher in the Bethesda area. This is for a 6th grader with some experience. Prefer someone who will be teaching to read music. Thanks so much...

[Anonymous]

I can make recommendations but your post isn’t very specific. Are you looking for something relaxed or a competition studio? What kinds of experience does your DC have, since they don’t yet read music? Classical music/training only or a broader approach? Do you want someone to come to you or will you go there? Any budget concerns?

[Anonymous]

James Hillis at Capital Piano Conservatory https://nationalpianoconservatory.wordpress.com

[Anonymous]

Call the Washington Conservatory of Music

[Anonymous]

I recommend the teachers at International School of Music.
We wasted a couple of years with teachers from music shops and UMD - the ISM teachers really know what they're doing and they actually have more than one teacher per instrument so you have a greater chance of finding compatibility.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can make recommendations but your post isn’t very specific. Are you looking for something relaxed or a competition studio? What kinds of experience does your DC have, since they don’t yet read music? Classical music/training only or a broader approach? Do you want someone to come to you or will you go there? Any budget concerns?

Hi - sorry, here are a few more details. I am looking for something relaxed, but I do want my daughter to learn to read music and get progressively better. I would like her to have a foundation in music and enjoy it. We have had previous teachers where - either the focus is just quickly moving through songs in the book without actually mastering anything, or then another teacher who is having her learn songs by seeing the chords written as - C Major; B flat Minor; and so on (which I guess is useful in terms of learning the theory behind music, but for a child who has been playing for one year already is not terribly motivating though I think for a more advanced student it would be a lot of fun). I took piano lessons from age 7 to 21 so I guess I had sort of anticipated that a teacher would do something like - start the class with scales and warm up, and then use the provided book to learn songs (perhaps repeating the songs for multiple weeks until it is mastered).

Hope that helps. In terms of cost, I am unsure about the regular rate around here. We are paying (in Bethesda) $46 for 30 min lesson right now.

In terms of location, since my child is unvaccinated, we probably would like to stick with virtual for now, though honestly, we could go to someone too. We'd be looking for something like 30 minutes per week.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I recommend the teachers at International School of Music.
We wasted a couple of years with teachers from music shops and UMD - the ISM teachers really know what they're doing and they actually have more than one teacher per instrument so you have a greater chance of finding compatibility.

thank you, this is helpful.

[Anonymous]

I would contact Musical Expressions. They have a variety of teachers and most are still doing some remote lessons. Our family loved Sara Cronan, but she might have a waiting list.

[Anonymous]

With most piano teachers, you can try a session for free to see if it's a good fit before signing up for a long haul.