One good choice is the Devlet Konservatuar at Kadiköy. It is run by the Univerity of Istanbul and located at Kadiköy harbor, thus easy to reach from the European side. They have good teachers for almost any instrument and some speak English; if there is no english speaking teacher available, the conservatory will find one for you within a week or so. Lessons are 300 TL per month, per instrument. For that you get a nominal 40 minutes (in fact rather 45 to 60 min.) every weekend (pick your day and time, Friday-Sunday). Plus 4 x 40 min. "solfege". It works out to 75 TL per lesson but with the solfege (music theory) included - in Turkish, but the teachers speak English and are willing to deal with the occasional foreigner. This is a good deal for classical instruments, but not for guitar or traditional Turkish instruments - for that you will find cheaper teachers in many places.
There are two ways you can cut a deal on the price: Opt for retaining the teacher without involving the middleman (the conservatory) or discard the music theory lessons. Then you will only pay 250 TL per month instead of 300. Find the conservatory's website (turkish) here
Another way to find teachers is to visit the many small shops for musical instruments on Galip Dede street, between Tünel and Galata Tower. Most of the shop owners speak English and are musicians in their own right, and will probably be able to fix you up with a teacher. Just walk into any of the shops and ask. If you need a starting point: Try Berkant Kaya at Barok Müzik 2 (Galip Dede Cad. 64). Nice and decent guy, he teaches the traditional Turkish Baglama and the Oud, lessons come at 35 TL per hour or 50 if he comes to your house. These prices are pretty much standard for Turkish instruments and guitar, including electric guitar. If Berkant doesn't know a teacher for your particular instrument, he will know someone who knows one. His cell phone number is 0537 957 53 61 and his website is here. Obviously, if you need not only a tutor but the instrument you want to learn, Galip Dede street is the place to go to.
If your kids are at an advanced level, you may hit another snag: It is hard to come by musical scores for classical instruments, beyond beginner level. Two shops offer a very limited choice: Zuhal Müzik and Varol Müzik, both at the Tünel end of Galip Dede Street. At Zuhal, climb the stairs to the second floor. Varol specializes on making and selling violins but that doesn't mean you will find scores for violin.
So what to do if you need, say, the piano part of Kabalevskis violin concerto? There is only one way - you must go to the library of one of Istanbul's conservatories and photocopy it there. Or get the teacher to do it for you if you have enrolled your kid at the conservatory.
Currently Active Users
Upcoming Events
Section Widget
Categories
vBulletin Message