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To contact us:  (610) 444-1948

5 WAYS TO GET THE MOST OUT OF MUSIC LESSONS

These guidelines will help you to have a successful, rewarding experience learning an instrument.  These are practical tips that we have discovered from years of teaching students of all ages and levels of experience.

 

1.  How Young is too Young – Starting at the Right Age

Adults can start any instrument at any time.  Their 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, frustrated, and want to stop lessons.  The last thing you want to do is turn a child off music just because they had one unpleasant experience which could have been prevented.  Sometimes if the child waits a year to start lessons their progress can be much faster.  The following are guidelines we have found to be successful in determining how young a child can start taking music lessons.  Children who are older than the suggested earliest starting age usually do very well.  These are good guidelines, but remember every child is different.  If your child is younger than the recommended start age, but you think that he or she has a good attention span and a strong desire to begin lessons, we recommend taking a one time trial lesson.  Following that lesson, if the instructor feels the child is ready for lessons, you can enroll.  If the instructor feels the child is too young, he or she will make a recommendation of how long to wait before trying the lessons again.

 

Piano – At our school 5 years old is the youngest age that we suggest starting children in private piano lessons.  At this age they have begun to develop longer attention spans and can retain material with ease. 

 

Voice – Some people believe that you should wait until the child is older, but nobody told Shirley Temple’s parents that.  We have had success taking vocal students as young as 5 and 6 years old.    

 

Violin/Viola – We accept students from the age of 4.  Some teachers will start children as young as 3, but experience has shown the most productive learning occurs when the beginner is 4 or older.

 

Flute & Oboe – Due to lung capacity, we recommend that woodwind beginners start at age 9 or older.

 

2.  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 (including the instrument of one’s voice), private lessons are far superior since in private lessons it is hard to miss anything, and each student can learn at their own pace.  This means the teacher does not have to teach a class at a middle of the road level, but has the time and focus to work on the individual student’s strengths and weaknesses.  For that lesson period, the student is the sole focus of the teacher.  The teachers also enjoy this as they do not have to divide their attention amongst 5-10 students at a time and can help the student be the best they can be.

 

3.  Take Lessons 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, a student cannot be distracted by TV, pets, ringing phones, siblings, or anything else.  With only 30 minutes to one hour of lesson time per week, a professional school environment can produce better results since the only focus at that time is learning music.  Students in a school environment are also motivated by hearing peers who are at different levels and by being exposed to a variety of musical instruments.  In a music school the lessons are not just a hobby or side-line for the teacher, but a responsibility which is taken very seriously.

 

4.  Make Practicing 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:

            

             a)  Time – Set the same time every day to practice so it becomes part of a routine or habit.  This works particularly well for children.  Generally the earlier in the day the practicing can occur, the less reminding is required by parents to get the child to practice.

 

             b)  Repetition – We use this method quite often when setting practice schedules for beginners.  For a young child 20 or 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 they are almost finished.

 

             c)  Rewards – This works very well for both children and adult students.  Some adults reward themselves with a cappuccino after a successful week of 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.

 

5.  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 with which you are comfortable.  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 missed.  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 children to learn too quickly.  Everyone learns at a different pace and the key is to be able to enjoy the journey.

Carousel Performing Arts Center

Kennett Square, PA

Building Confidence Through the Arts!