Should piano teacher teach child how to read music?

[here_nor_there]

I have a 10 year old disabled child learning piano. She's very good, but the teacher has not focused on teaching her how to read music. She has been handing her sheet music and expecting her to play it. My child has no idea what to do with it. I have my 15 year old write down the letter notes for her. The piano teacher keeps telling me to have my 15 yr old teach her how to read music. To work with her at home. The teacher hasn't spent any time teaching her how to read music and it seems like she's leaving the job up to my teenager. Is this normal? I don't know anything about music and I'm not sure how this works, but it seems strange to me to hand my child sheet music when she has not been taught to read music.

[parkermbg]

one question,...is your older child one of her students too?

One trick that other respondants are not aware of,....the more you teach, the better a musician you become. So if your older child is one of her students-she may be setting your oldest up to grow by teaching.


BUT;
if it is what every one else has assumed & the teacher is being lazy, go get another teacher that is worth your investment! local college music departments can be a good untapped resource instead of the paper or the local music store. many starving college music students would love the extra cash as well as an opportunity to stretch their skills!

[Rachael]

She should be teaching your child how to read music, that is what you hired her for. It is good to work and practice at home, but there is no way she can learn it all by her self. I would suggest getting another music teacher, if this one isn't going to take the time to actually teach her the notes.

[luv2teach]

Of course she should be teaching her to read music, that's the point of hiring a piano instructor. I taught piano for several years and the first things we worked on was the key, the letter names on the keys, then reading music. There's really no way for her to learn to play the piano without learning to read music. Your 15 year old is not getting paid to teach her, the instructor is! I would find a new instructor ASAP! It's wonderful to practice at home, but it should only be practice! The learning should be done with the person you are paying for the service.

[OTOTW]

Since the basics of music is theory (learning to read music, the mechanics of music and how music works), it is important that your child learn to read music. Please find a new piano teacher for her soon before she becomes so frustrated that she no longer wants to learn music. Music has so many benefits to learning and life (math skills, problem-solving skills, relaxation, and so forth) that it would be sad to have one teacher discourage your child.

I have listed a couple of websites that your child might enjoy visiting to learn more theory in an enjoyable interactive manner. Just let him/her choose one he/she likes and stick to that website.

I hope this helps. God bless.