So, you’ve decided to learn an instrument. Now, you are on the hunt for music lessons. Whatever you do, only settle for the very best music teachers.

If you end up with an unreliable, unskilled, unprofessional music teacher, you aren’t giving yourself the support you need to reach your goals and excel.

Here are four detrimental impacts of learning an instrument with a bad music teacher.

1. Develop bad habits

Learning an instrument is all about building your technique from the ground up. There is no quick fix. It takes practice, hard work, and patience. Unfortunately, if you put your trust in a poor-quality music teacher, you could end up developing bad habits.

Unless you’re some kind of prodigy, the first time you pick up an instrument, you will find it confusing and counterintuitive. Your muscles will try to take shortcuts because that’s what feels easiest at the time. If these ‘shortcuts’ go unchecked, they will fast turn into bad habits, habits that make it extremely difficult to take your playing technique to the next level.

A good music teacher, on the other hand, will pick up on mistakes and shortcuts, nipping them in the bud sooner rather than later.

2. Lack self-confidence

Playing an instrument is a vulnerable act. You’re putting yourself out there, and there’s nowhere to hide.

The best music teachers will build up your self-confidence so that when it comes time to perform, you don’t crumble under pressure. Instead, you nail the performance, impress your audience, and experience the joy of sharing music with others.

3. Improve at a slow rate

Some music teachers take an unstructured, haphazard approach. They don’t recognise the importance of building a strong foundation. Nor do they believe in teaching their students to read music.

At first, this might seem preferable to a newbie. You don’t care about theory, composition, and technique – you want to play your favourite song, not scales! The problem is, if you don’t develop a technical foundation, you’ll improve at a snail’s pace. And what’s worse, you are sabotaging your ability to reach your full potential as a musician.

Here at the Liverpool Academy of Music, we follow the world-renowned Trinity College London system to give our students the skills they need to excel.

4. Despise your instrument

Worst-case scenario: a lousy music teacher causes you to despise your instrument. Your experience with music lessons is so bad that you want to quit. You aren’t improving, you don’t feel good about yourself, and you dread showing up.

The solution? Ditch the bad teacher and reignite your passion for playing music. Find a friendly, supportive teacher that truly knows what they are doing. With their assistance, you can achieve your goals. Don’t give up on yourself.

Find the best music teachers

The Liverpool Academy of Music is home to a professional, dedicated team of experienced music teachers from around the world. We only hire the best of the best, giving our students every opportunity to become the talented musician they were destined to be.

Get in touch with our friendly team today to learn more about learning an instrument with us. We’d be more than happy to answer your question and help you schedule your first lesson. Call on 02 9602 9774 or fill out the form on this page.