I played piano from the ages of 6 to 11 and have wanted to restart for a while now, but had lots of trouble finding a teacher who had any timetable slots. I've just managed to find one and I'm having a trial lesson with her on Tuesday evening - very exciting!

Combined with the fact I just finished a drawing for art coursework which took a total of 6 and a half hours, that's made me happy!

Good Luck Rosie. I started back to the flute 4 years ago this summer. I passed Grade 5, and am due to take 5 theory next week. Then I started piano a year ago and got Grade 1.
It's all so exciting. Hope you enjoy it as much as many of us here do.
Bev.

Hopefully you enjoy the lesson

Well done for spending 6 hours on a drawing, i think i'd have got fed up by then!

Hope you enjoy your piano lessons - which grade are you on?

I was grade 3-ish when I stopped 5 years ago. Since then I've only played the violin so my bass clef reading is very shaky, and coordinating the hands is a bit of a problem.

Didn't get on terribly well with the teacher I had on Tuesday, so I'm still looking...the thing is, everyone who's good seems to not have any vacancies - obviously I can see why, but it makes things a bit difficult!

Same level as me - I'm doing my Grade 4 in July.

I'm wanting to start playing the violin again soon as well, but am only at Grade 2ish level with that - or was when I stopped 30 years ago!

Would any of the other teachers be prepared to give you a trial lesson - maybe at short notice, if they had a cancellation - and put you on their waiting list?

What didn't you like about the Tuesday teacher?

Trial lessons is what I've been trying to do - didn't think of your waiting list idea though, thanks.

The teacher last Tuesday just seemed very exam orientated and there were just a few things I found a bit iffy, for example the lesson was pretty expensive as music lessons go, but we spent quite a lot of it listening to a CD of exam pieces, which I could have easily done without her...or she could have played them herself (correct me if I'm wrong but I'd think it was a bit odd if a teacher couldn't play the grade 1 jazz syllabus, even as sight reading, so I wonder why she didn't.)

I think there are some good peris at school, but the catch is there is one who I know I don't want (several friends have lessons with her) and it seems a tad rude to say "I want piano lessons but not with X" when I don't actually know her!

Phrase it differently. Don't say "I don't want lessons with X" say "I would like lessons with Y or Z". This is what I did when I enrolled my daughter for piano lessons at the local music school, where there was not one but two teachers who I knew wouldn't cope with my daughter. Unfortunately, although she was given Y as I requested, Y was pregnant and has been on maternity leave and then parental leave and she has had two replacements (but at least she didn't get X)

Could your Head of Music or another classroom teacher at your school teach you? (rather than a peri) Our Head of Music helps people with their piano and I think would do private lessons (although we don't have peri piano teachers here .)

Little update: we emailed the head of instrumental studies at school to ask if he could recommend any teacher who taught outside school. The one he thought was best also teaches in school and lives a bit far away for it to be convenient for me to go to her out of school. Turns out she has time to teach me in school though so I am starting after the Easter holidays. I'm really looking forward to it because I know having heard her play that she's an amazing pianist, and I know a few people who have lessons with her who think she's great!

Now I need to get practising something to play for the first lesson!

Thanks for your advice everyone.

So pleased to hear that things seem to have worked out so well for you. I hope the new teacher is really inspiring and makes you even more enthusiastic about piano.

P.S. How is the art coursework going? Never-ending, I expect!

Ah, art...I have 7 drawings and could probably do with about another 3. I've also done 4 A3 sides (fairly large writing) of analysis. Tomorrow I'm going to do my critical essay and possibly start my colour ideas. I need to do a few layout ideas for the final piece, a commentary explaining my development of ideas and probably one or two larger preparatory pieces......so I'm getting there, thanks for asking. the exam is on the 14th and 15th April.

Not long to go then, Rosie! What a lot of work to do in the next 2 or 3 weeks - I suppose it gets it out of the way though.