Choosing the right Teaching Studio

4 points on how to get the most from your music lessons

1. Starting at the right age – Adults can start instruments at any time.  Their success is based on how willing an adult is to commit to practicing.  We teach many beginner students in their 50’s and 60’s. 

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 lessons.  The last thing you want to do is turn a child off to 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.  Children who are older than the suggested earliest starting age usually do very well.  The following guidelines we have found to be successful in determining how young a child can start taking music lessons. 

New Born – 5 years old

A group pre-school music class will give them a good foundation in music basics which will be helpful later in private lessons. 

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. 

Guitar- Acoustic, Electric, Bass

7 years old is the earliest we recommend for guitar lessons.  Guitar Playing requires a fair amount of pressure on the fingertips from pressing on the strings.  Children under 7 have small hands and generally find guitar playing to be too uncomfortable.  Bass guitar students are usually 10 years old and older.

Drums

The average age of our youngest students is 8.  They have to be able to reach the pedals and the cymbals. 

2. 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.  If a professional school environment a student cannot be distracted by TV, Pets, Phones, siblings or anything else.  With only ½ 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 at hearing peers that are at different levels and are exposed to other instruments.  In a music school, the lessons are not just a hobby or sideline for the teacher but a responsibility that is take very seriously. 
3. 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.  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.

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 repletion 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 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.

    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.

Guitar Union Music Studio  313-926-8742    Bringing Music to the People...