No teacher wants to have a teachers pet, but there are certain qualities that make students a joy to teach. No, it won't get you special treatment, but here are some qualities that will make you a joy for your piano teacher to teach.
1) Have a good attitude. If you come in each week ready to learn, listen to your teacher, and put in a good effort, you're teacher will be happy to see you, more able to adjust the lesson to your learning style, and make it more fun for you. Besides, the more you try, the better your results will be, so it's a win win!
2) Demonstrate that you put in the time at home. Some teachers require a certain number of minutes of practice per day, some require certain assignments to be completed no matter how long it takes, but we all want to see you have put in effort and improved since we last saw you. Yes, some weeks will go better than others, but I would much rather have you ask questions about specifics of a song before you play or give me a heads up on what you struggled with before you play the assignment. That shows me two things: First, you spent enough time with the music to have questions or struggles. Second, you want to play it correctly but may not be able to this time because you didn't know how to before. What will not go over well is complaining that you don't like the song, it's too hard, or that you didn't know what to do for one part and demonstrate that you didn't put in any effort on the rest.
3) Bring all your music with you. If it is in your current level of the method book series or a supplemental song that we haven't finished yet, bring it! I've planned what you need to do and need to be able to show you which pages to work on, play through parts with you, etc. Also, if we have YOUR music, we can write in notes to help as you practice and know we are one the same, literally.
4) Make schedule change requests early. It's very frustrating to try to accommodate last minute schedule changes. If you need to reschedule, ask as soon as you know there is a conflict. That will help ensure that your teacher can find an opening for you and potentially be able to fill the hole in his/her schedule that your not being there leaves.
5) Pay consistently. If you have a choice in payment methods or schedules, stick to the one you agree to. If you want to change or do something different, talk to your teacher about it. Your teacher's bills do not go away if they are not paid on time so they are counting on you upholding your end of the bargain.
6) Be on time to lessons, but not too early. A few minutes before your lesson is fine, but showing up fifteen minutes before and expecting the teacher to be available to you. Expect to wait outside. Whether the teacher is in another lesson or not, that is not your time, so do not interrupt.
These are six things that your piano teacher will appreciate, and they will put you well on your way to being your piano teacher's pet.
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