Does Anybody Know Of Any Good Piano Teachers?

[Histonin]

Okay, I know that I'm on a bit of a roll, what with me taking up dancing (at O School, just so you know) and getting more into the artsy side of my soul. But here's the thing: Before I entered the army, I played the piano. But then I slowly lost interest and got sucked into the life of hard marching, drills, fire movement forward and pumping (no not that sort).

In short, I lost my skills.

Now, with much more time after commissioning, I want to learn the piano again. But I know that I seriously need guidance. My technique was never good to begin with; I'd always feel pain in my forearms when playing fast passages, and I have very uneven rhythm. I doubt that doing Hanon's practices are enough on my own. I have always loved music, and am terribly disappointed whenever I think of my inability to emulate it the way I want to.

I want to learn classical piano. Serious classical piano, like Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, Liszt and all the greats. And I'm looking for a teacher who will teach not for grades or exams; I couldn't care less about those. I want to learn because I love music. I want to learn because I want to play well. I want to stop stuttering at the bench and feeling frustrated every time I make a mistake over and over again. At the very least, I want to reach a level where I can even hope of playing something like this:

As such, does anybody here know of such a teacher? Throw all names you know at me. I'm not factoring in price, not yet. I'm just looking for quality and someone who can help me learn piano the way I believe it should be learned: from the heart.

If this info matters, I was training up for the Grade 8 exams before I stopped. But now I don't think I'd even be able to get a distinction for the Grade 6 (not that I would really know; I've never taken a practical exam before).

Edited June 18, 2011 by Histonin

[Guest Guest]

There is this guy who is living in AMK. I had the same problem as you but he slowly helped me to regain my confidence and love for the piano. U can try him if you are keen......

[Histonin]

There is this guy who is living in AMK. I had the same problem as you but he slowly helped me to regain my confidence and love for the piano. U can try him if you are keen......

Yes I am interested to know more about him. Could you please give me more details about this person? It sounds like a promising lead.

[lct]

it sounds too .... can PM me .... that guy damn big biz by now

[Guest Guest]

you can get a teacher from the Singapore Music Teacher AssociationMy link. My friend is learning from one of the teachers and is very good. But very pricey and personally I cant afford it. The teacher charges about $110 an hour. You can use their database to find a teacher near you and also read his/her credentials. Hope this helps

[Guest Guest]

Yes I am interested to know more about him. Could you please give me more details about this person? It sounds like a promising lead.

Well, after learning with him for 11 years, I still am with him. He is away but will be back end July. And he does not know that I am posting about him here.....

[tyan]

Keen to learn too. As a matter of fact, I am starting my singing class next month. The objective is not to be a pop star.

I just feel that I wanna learn more about my voice and what kind of songs is suitable and how to "open up" my voice.

[Muslex79]

i'm a piano teacher as well... can PM me for more info... cheers

[Histonin]

you can get a teacher from the Singapore Music Teacher AssociationMy link. My friend is learning from one of the teachers and is very good. But very pricey and personally I cant afford it. The teacher charges about $110 an hour. You can use their database to find a teacher near you and also read his/her credentials. Hope this helps

$110/hour?? Oh my gosh is he training up to be a concert pianist or something? That's quite costly. Still.. The results I get on the website look promising..

Keen to learn too. As a matter of fact, I am starting my singing class next month. The objective is not to be a pop star.

I just feel that I wanna learn more about my voice and what kind of songs is suitable and how to "open up" my voice.

Haha you and me both are on similar paths. I also am into singing, but have decided to focus on piano and dancing first. Singing can come later as I figure out that it's easier to pick up than the previous two.

Well, after learning with him for 11 years, I still am with him. He is away but will be back end July. And he does not know that I am posting about him here.....

Hahaha well maybe you shouldn't let him know that you're talking about him here then. Not sure how he'd feel about it. =P

Is there any way you could give me more details about him? Like.. How much does he charge? Maybe even a name and contact number?

Edited June 22, 2011 by Histonin

[Guest Stephen]

$110/hour?? Oh my gosh is he training up to be a concert pianist or something? That's quite costly. Still.. The results I get on the website look promising..

Haha you and me both are on similar paths. I also am into singing, but have decided to focus on piano and dancing first. Singing can come later as I figure out that it's easier to pick up than the previous two.

Hahaha well maybe you shouldn't let him know that you're talking about him here then. Not sure how he'd feel about it. =P

Is there any way you could give me more details about him? Like.. How much does he charge? Maybe even a name and contact number?

[Histonin]

@ Stephen: Sorry but I'm not sure I get what you're trying to say here. You just quoted me and that's it.

@ Guest: Check your PMs, I sent you something.

Edited June 24, 2011 by Histonin

[Guest Guest]

Take a look:

PianoTeacher1

PianoTeacher2

PianoTeacher3

[Guest Stephen]

Take a look:

PianoTeacher1

PianoTeacher2

PianoTeacher3

[Guest Stephen]

Sorry, Please ignore my earlier posts.

Out of the 3 choices, I guess you can give option 2 (Paul) a miss. Find that his playing is so stiff and unmusical.

Teacher # 3 (music school)seem to be the most promising.

If you are having pain with your wrist, you probably lack good techniques and are playing with a lot of tension.

A good teacher should be able to teach you how to utilize your wrist/arms to play the piano without pain and tension.

Maybe you could consider this teacher (Min Min Tay) at http://www.learnpianolessonsingapore.com/piano-blog/min-min-tay-plays-liszts-transcription-of-widmung/

CAll to find out if you could have a free trial lesson

[Histonin]

Sorry, Please ignore my earlier posts.

Out of the 3 choices, I guess you can give option 2 (Paul) a miss. Find that his playing is so stiff and unmusical.

Teacher # 3 (music school)seem to be the most promising.

If you are having pain with your wrist, you probably lack good techniques and are playing with a lot of tension.

A good teacher should be able to teach you how to utilize your wrist/arms to play the piano without pain and tension.

Maybe you could consider this teacher (Min Min Tay) at http://www.learnpianolessonsingapore.com/piano-blog/min-min-tay-plays-liszts-transcription-of-widmung/

CAll to find out if you could have a free trial lesson

Haha well believe it or not I've already seen all those links and given due consideration in sending out mails to them. Yes I do agree that Paul doesn't seem promising, so I skipped him. Also, I emailed Min Min Tay, but she hasn't replied... I might give her a call one of these days, I'm currently very busy with work...

Edited June 30, 2011 by Histonin

[Guest Guest]

anyone take classes at http://www.play-by-ear.net/ before??

thinking of picking up improvisation or jazz

[Guest Stephen]

Haha well believe it or not I've already seen all those links and given due consideration in sending out mails to them. Yes I do agree that Paul doesn't seem promising, so I skipped him. Also, I emailed Min Min Tay, but she hasn't replied... I might give her a call one of these days, I'm currently very busy with work...

Just wondering, how's your search for piano teacher ? Any luck ?

[Histonin]

Just wondering, how's your search for piano teacher ? Any luck ?

I'm getting some really promising leads actually! No concrete decision yet, but I'm moving much closer towards one!

[Guest yoshiki]

Hi mind sharing who you chose and how is your experience so far? I am also looking for one at the moment... but Im a total beginner

[justgymguy]

let me know if you need another lead. She's a friend's friend. A very seasoned teacher as far as I know and her week are like jam packed with students going to her house for lessons. Was told she has students ranging from 4yo to as old as 20+. Let me know ok? I too was thinking of getting her to teach me piano (brand new beginner) but then that is not my priority now, furthermore am hitting the big 4... guess might be too late to pick it up. fingers are all crossed... haha.

Edited September 11, 2011 by justgymguy

[Histonin]

Hi there guys, I currently have gotten a good teacher. Unfortunately for most he's extremely pricey at $140 per session. So far he seems quite worth it, but if any others do come along which could teach me just as much for less then I think I may just move on. After all, this is a lot of money.

[Guest Stephen]

Hi there guys, I currently have gotten a good teacher. Unfortunately for most he's extremely pricey at $140 per session. So far he seems quite worth it, but if any others do come along which could teach me just as much for less then I think I may just move on. After all, this is a lot of money.

Hi Histonin,

Wow that is very expensive to be charged $140 per lesson.

My teacher (graduate from Yong Siew Toh) charges me $90 per hour for grade 8 level & above.

Care to share more about his qualification and the method of teaching ?

Did he make you learn Hannon or Czerny (op. 740) ?

[Guest guest]

Hi there guys, I currently have gotten a good teacher. Unfortunately for most he's extremely pricey at $140 per session. So far he seems quite worth it, but if any others do come along which could teach me just as much for less then I think I may just move on. After all, this is a lot of money.

Extremely pricey. I know of teachers from SMTA, some of them are highly qualitied and they only charge only $110 per sesson

[Histonin]

Hi Histonin,

Wow that is very expensive to be charged $140 per lesson.

My teacher (graduate from Yong Siew Toh) charges me $90 per hour for grade 8 level & above.

Care to share more about his qualification and the method of teaching ?

Did he make you learn Hannon or Czerny (op. 740) ?

Extremely pricey. I know of teachers from SMTA, some of them are highly qualitied and they only charge only $110 per sesson

Yes I know he's extremely expensive. It seems almost hypocritical, especially when I first balked at hearing that certain teachers from SMTA teach for $90 per session. But after talking with family and thinking for a while I decided to go for this guy. But my teacher isn't, like Stephen's one, a graduate from Yong Siew Toh. He works at Yong Siew Toh.

So far he's pretty dang good. He isn't prescribing me specific pieces to be honest, just letting me bring pieces I want to learn and going through them with me, teaching me technique and how each specific composer should be played. The only thing he's specifically making me focusing on are scales, chords and arpeggios because I need to significantly increase my finger strength and dexterity.

He's also pretty positive, which is a good thing in any teacher, although sometimes I do doubt him. I'm like, "Oh come on, are you sure I'm that good?". But hey, I'm getting results. So until my finances somehow run out, or something terrible and/or drastic happens (*knocks wood*), I think I'm sticking with him.