2. Q: WHAT ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES FOR
THIS JOB?
A: As a music teacher, my primary responsibility is to teach my
students. At a basic level, this means arriving to work on time
(or preferably a bit early), teaching for the full duration of the
lesson, and assigning pieces or excerpts that should be
prepared for the next lesson. However, I also need to structure
my lessons in a way that helps the student the most (I don’t
want to use cookie-cutter lesson plans where all of my
students are learning the same pieces at the same time just
so I have less work), and need to learn the pieces I assign so I
can better help my students with them.
3. Q: WHAT IS THE MOST REWARDING THING
ABOUT YOUR JOB?
A: The most rewarding thing about my job is seeing my students’
happiness at their own success. I love watching student
recitals and seeing proud parents and teachers, and love the
exclamations of happiness that come when students are first
able to play something difficult.
4. Q: WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO
SOMEONE JUST BEGINNING A JOB AS A MUSIC
TEACHER?
A: Patience is a virtue and is also absolutely necessary when
dealing with little children, some of whom might not want to be
there. Also, parents will want to see credentials so be
prepared for that. The more you can overwhelm them with
whatever achievements you have earned, the better.
5. Q: WHAT IS THE THING YOU FIND MOST
CHALLENGING ABOUT YOUR JOB?
A: There is so much room for interpretation and I sometimes
worry that I might be forcing my own ideas or interpretations
onto my students. Also, you have to accommodate students’
schedules, and don’t always have a lot of work at a time; if
you only have one student with a half-hour lesson in a day,
then it can sometimes be a lot of work and effort to get to work
for such a short lesson.
6. Q: WHAT SKILLS ARE REQUIRED IN YOUR
POSITION ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS?
A: Patience and understanding are very important because for
the most part I work with young children. I need to, of course,
be proficient with my instrument and be knowledgeable about
piano pedagogy (the study of teaching piano). I also need to
be able to analyze a student’s performance as they’re playing
piano, and be able to quickly respond and give constructive
criticism so that they can improve.
7. THANK YOU FOR VIEWING!
This presentation has been brought to you by Sue
Wang for Planning 10.
