Parent Report

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 experience, teaching hundreds of students.

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. We have taught many students between the ages of 40 and 70.

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 become 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 music just because they had one unpleasant experience, which could have been prevented.  Sometimes if a 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 are guidelines we find to be successful in determining the best starting age for lessons:

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

Guitar - Acoustic / Electric:
7 to 8 years old is the earliest we recommend for guitar lessons.  Guitar playing requires the ability to hold the guitar properly and the fine motor skills to manipulate the fingers on the neck of the guitar.

Electric Bass:
Students start at age 10 or older.  Because the nature of the bass is one of a supportive instrument (i.e. playing in a band), it is usually chosen by a child drawn to the instrument itself.

Drumset:
The average age of our youngest drum student is 8.  This varies greatly depending on the size of the child. They have to be able to reach both the pedals and the cymbals.

Piano / keyboard:
At our school, 5 years old is the youngest we can start children in private piano lessons. At this age they have begun to develop longer attention spans and can retain material with ease.


2. Insist on Private Lessons when Learning a Specific Instrument.  

Group lessons will work well for preschool music lessons and theory lessons.  However, when actually learning how to play an instrument, private lessons are far superior since in private lessons, it is hard to miss anything.  Each student can learn at their own pace.  This means the teacher does not have to teach a class in the '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 primary focus of the teacher (and the teacher is the primary focus of the student).  The teachers also enjoy this as they do not have to divide their time between 5 to 10 students at a time and can help the student be the best they can be.

3.  Taking 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 education.  In a professional environment, a student cannot be distracted by television, phones, siblings or retail foot traffic. With only one half hour of lesson time per week, a professional environment can produce better results since the only focus at that time is learning music.  Students in this type of environment are also motivated by hearing peers who are at different levels and by being exposed to a variety of musical instruments.  In a professional teaching environment the lessons are not just the teacher's hobby but a responsibility that is taken very seriously.

4. Making Practicing Easier.

As with anything, improving in music takes practice.  One of the challenges with music lessons is the perception of practicing as work.  Sometimes there can be tension between parent and student when it comes to practice.

• TIME - set the same time every day to practice so it becomes part of a routine. Generally, when practicing occurs earlier in the day, it can prevent two possible negatives - the tension that can build from constant parental reminders to practice and the child's perception that they are being taken away from something fun they are already doing.