Have you ever thought that “what if I did not choose this music teacher/mentor that I have now?” and then chose the one whom the others said was “ a very scary mentor or disciplined or the jolly or the approachable one”?

Well, I guess some of us have thought about that, right? Well, nobody can blame us with that thinking when as of this moment we feel that we are not comfortable with our teachers/mentors/coach and that we feel that we are not progressing or we feel that we are in so much difficulty right now in grasping our music lessons or learning to play the musical instruments.

Everyone can relate to us with this dilemma. That is why we tackle below some important aspects that we might one to think twice in deciding or choosing our music teachers/mentors/coach.

The most important question here is: “ Is the way or reason we choose our music teachers really a significant factor in our growth as a musician?”

So let us talk about it below.

Factors to consider  in choosing a teacher/mentor/coach:

1. Expertise.
2. Leadership.
3. Communication.
4. Experience.
5. Creativity.
6. Interpersonal Skills.

1. Expertise.

Expertise means that you’ll see to it that the coach or teacher you would be choosing is highly skilled in the field of music he or she is in.

We all want to be experts someday, so we might also want to be taught by someone whom we think is capable enough of making us an expert.

One definition of being an expert is that he or she will be able to “wow” us in his knowledge, skills and talents that he or she will share with us.

2. Leadership.

They say if one wants to be a leader he or she must learn how to obey and follow first. It is very well defined that when we think of someone as a good leader, that someone doesn’t only lead but also knows how to listen and obey.

If you are deciding to choose the teacher whom you think will lead you best to your dream as a musician, then you might consider someone who also knows how to listen and follow.

Leadership means being able to gather a crowd and have their attention focus on him or her. The most important value of leadership is that the teacher or mentor will be able to influence and empower his or her students to be the better versions of themselves and to keep trying.

3. Communication.

When choosing a teacher based on his communication skills, someone must consider his or her ability to deliver his or her ideas clearly to his or her students.

The mentor/coach or teacher must be able to properly explain things that students do not understand so he or she can clear their confusion. The teacher must be able to convey the lessons to his or her students in the simplest way he or she could.

One evidence that that teacher has great communication skills is that his or her students can listen to his or her discussion without confusion and can come up with a great understanding with the lesson.

4. Experience.

If you would be asked which do you prefer, the experienced one or the inexperienced one?

What’s the obvious answer? Well, most of us well prefer someone who has years of experience because we do believe that, that someone can show us a lot and can teach us beyond the lessons we need to learn. 

Most of the experienced teachers are very much expert in their fields already and the way they handle their music lessons seems like they are just having fun on it.

Also, most experienced teachers have long patience since they already know how to understand the struggle of each learning student.

5. Creativity

A teacher or mentor who is creative is a passionate one.  When a teacher is passionate in his or her work, he doesn’t only show effort but also love in what he is doing.

Not everyone can be creative, not everyone can be passionate in every teacher you meet in life, I guess if you can see his or her love for his or her craft, he or she can be considered one.

 A creative teacher is passionate enough to make her or his students enjoy and love their crafts. He or she is passionate in helping his or her students to learn from him or her.

6. Interpersonal Skills.

Every one of us wants someone whom we can easily ask questions and help. We want someone who is approachable and has a very light aura.

For us, it would be very helpful if our teacher or mentor are very friendly and easy going. It’s like we are talking to a friend and then very supportive and always gives us encouragement in our journey to becoming great musicians.

We also want a teacher who has a sense of humor and has a very positive energy, like during the class or training, he or she can be seen laughing with students and enthusiastic enough in teaching her or his students.

Simple quality as this, for us students, could be very much enticing on our part to learn music and become our dream –  musicians.

To conclude, whatever we based in choosing our music teachers/mentors/coaches, the most significant factor is ourselves. We have to have to be determined for something we really want in life!