Music Lessons - Parent Report

Five Ways to Get The Most Out of Music Lessons

These guidelines will help you to have a successful, rewarding experience learning to play an instrument. These are practical tips that we have discovered from years of teaching and our experiences with teaching hundreds of students over the years. Also, all we do is teach.  We do not sell or rent musical instruments. This leaves us free to specialize in one thing – providing the highest quality of music instruction.

 

How young is too young? - Starting at the right age

Adults can start any instrument at any time.  An adult’s success is based on how willing they are to commit to practicing.

 

For children, starting at the right age is a key element to the success of their lessons. Some people will tell you “the sooner the better,” but this attitude can actually backfire and be a negative. If a child is put into lessons too soon they may feel overwhelmed and frustrated and want to stop. The last thing you want to do is turn a child off music just because they had one unpleasant experience that could have been prevented.  Sometimes, if the child waits a year to start lessons, their progress can be much faster.  Children who are older than the suggested starting age usually do very well. The following are guidelines we have found to be successful in determining how young a child can start taking music lessons.

 

3-4 Years Old: If a pre-schooler has a keen desire and wants to start music lessons, a group preschool music class will give them a good foundation in music basics that will be helpful in later private lessons.  At this age, private lessons generally do not work as the child has not experienced the formal learning environment of kindergarten or school, and learns more effectively through the game oriented preschool environment.

 

Piano/Keyboard: At our school, 5 years old is the youngest age that we start children in private piano lessons.  At this age, they have begun to develop longer attention spans and can retain material with ease. They are also beginning to get the visual symbol concepts that will allow them to read music, such as knowing their alphabet and counting.

 

Guitar- Acoustic, Electric and Bass: 8 years old is the earliest we recommend for guitar lessons. Guitar playing requires a fair amount of pressure on the fingertips for pressing the strings.  Children under 8 generally have small hands and may find playing uncomfortable.

 

Voice Lessons: 10 years old is recommended as the youngest age for private vocal lessons.  Due to the physical nature of voice lessons (proper breathing techniques, development of the vocal chords and lung capacity), the younger body is generally not yet ready for the rigors of vocal technique.  For children younger than 10, we recommend a children's choir (ages 6-9) and a preschool singing program (ages 3-5) that teaches them how to use their voices properly, in a fun, relaxed environment.

 

Flute, Clarinet & Saxophone: Due to lung capacity (and in the case of the saxophone, the size of the instrument), we recommend that most woodwind beginners be 9 and older.

 

Trumpet: The trumpet requires physical exertion and lung power.  10 years and older is a good time to start the trumpet.

 

Violin: We accept violin students starting at age 5.

 

Private Lessons Age Summary

 

Piano= 5 years old
Guitar= 10 years old
Voice= 8 years old
Trumpet= 10 years old
Flute, Clarinet and Saxophone= 9 years old

 

Insist on Private Lessons When Learning a Specific Instrument

Group classes work well for preschool music programs and theory lessons.  However, when actually learning how to play an instrument, private lessons are far superior.  It’s hard to miss any details in a private lesson. Each student can, within their own learning style, proceed at their best pace.  This means the teacher does not have to teach to the “middle of the class”, but has the time to focus and work on the individual student's strengths and weaknesses.  For that lesson period, the student is the primary focus of the teacher.  The teachers also enjoy this as they do not have to divide their attention between 5-10 students at a time, and can help the student be the best that they can be.

 

Demand on Lessons Performed in a Professional Teaching Environment

Learning music is not just a matter of having a qualified teacher, but also having an environment that is focused on music education.  In a professional school environment T.V, pets, ringing phones, siblings or anything else cannot distract a student.  With a 1/2 hour of lesson time per week, a professional school can produce better results since the only focus at the time is learning music.  Students in a school environment are also more motivated by hearing peers who are at a different level, and by being exposed to a variety of musical instruments.  In a music school, the lessons are not just a hobby or a sideline for the teacher, but a responsibility that is taken very seriously.

 

Tips for Making At-Home Practice Easier

As with anything, improving in music takes practice.  One of the main problems with music lessons is the drudgery of practicing and the fight between parents and students to practice every day.  Here are some ways to make practicing easier:

 

1. Time – Set the same practice time every day so it becomes a part of a routine.  This works great with children. Generally, the earlier in the day the practicing can occur, the less reminding that is required by parents to get the child to practice. Set your first practice time of the week as close after the lesson as possible.
2. Repetition – We use this method quite often when setting practice schedules for beginners.  For a young child 20-30 minutes seems like an eternity. Instead of setting a time frame, we use repetition.  For example, practice this piece 4 times every day, and this scale 5 times a day. The child then does not pay attention to the amount of time they are practicing their instrument, but knows if they are on repetition number 3 then they are almost finished.
3. Reward – This works very well for both children and adult students.  Some adults reward themselves with a cappuccino after a successful week of practicing. Parents can encourage children to practice by granting them occasional rewards for successful practicing. In our school, we reward young children for a successful week of practicing with stars and stickers on their work. Praise tends to be the most coveted award- there just is no substitute for a pat on the back for a job well done. Sometimes we all have a week with little practicing, in that case- there is always next week.

 

Use Recognized Teaching Materials

There are some excellent materials developed by professional music educators that are made for students in a variety of situations.  For example, in piano, there are books for very young beginners, and books for adult students that have never played before.  There are books that can start you at a level you are comfortable with and then proceed incrementally.  These materials have been researched and are continually upgraded and improved to make learning easier.  These materials ensure that no important part of learning the instrument can inadvertently be left out.  If you ever have to move to a different part of the country, qualified teachers and institutions will recognize the materials and be able to smoothly continue from where the previous teacher left off.

 

Have Fun!

Music should be something that you enjoy for a lifetime.  So, try not to put unrealistic expectations on yourself or your child to learn too quickly.  Everyone learns at a different pace, and the key is to be able to enjoy the journey.