How can I tell if my young child is ready for music lessons? You are your child's first and most important teacher. I consider parents to be the "expert" on their children. I will consult with you by telephone to help you determine whether or not your child is developmentally ready for private music lessons. There are some clues to help you decide if your child is ready. Think about your child's attention span. Can s/he stay engaged for an extended period of time in story-reading, playing a board game, or painting a picture? A yes is a sign that your child will be able to stay focused through a 30 minute lesson and during daily practice sessions. Is your child beginning to read English (or any other language)? A yes means that your child's brain is developmentally ready to decode symbols and will be able to master music notation. How does your child's hand-writing or drawing compare with that of other children of his/her age? If it is as good or better than average, your child has developed enough hand-eye coordination to begin training his fingers to play an instrument. Most children are ready for private music lessons sometime between ages 5 and 8.
Is there a time when a person becomes too old to learn to play an instrument? No. We human beings can learn new skills throughout our lives. It is never too late to learn to play a musical instrument.
Do I need to have an instrument? Yes. Most of the "learning to play an instrument" takes place in regular practice sessions at home, not at the weekly lesson. The teacher acts as a sort of coach during lessons. Concepts introduced by the teacher must be mastered by the student through daily practice.
Can I begin taking lessons with a keyboard instead of a piano? Yes. Many families have their beginning piano students start with a keyboard rather than a full-size piano. Though owning a piano is ideal, a keyboard with full-size keys is acceptable for the first couple of years of lessons.
What are the advantages of a piano over a keyboard? There are 3 primary advantages. The first is that a piano allows a student to control how loud or soft s/he plays by how fast the fingers strike the keys. A piano is "touch sensitive". Some of the better keyboards are somewhat touch sensitive, however, none have the same degree of sensitivity as an acoustic piano. Most less expensive keyboards are not touch sensitive at all. Students who practice on those keyboards cannot practice dynamic control (loud vs. soft), a technique that is introduced in the early weeks of instruction and which receives more and more emphasis as students grow and mature as musicians. The second advantage is that pianos possess a full 88-key keyboard. Most keyboards are smaller. As students move into more difficult piano literature, they will need to use keys that smaller keyboards do not possess. Even before the student literature requires use of the full range of the piano keyboard, students who practice on a keyboard may find it difficult to orient themselves at the piano. Students can find it difficult to determine where a particular note is located on the piano because it will be farther from either the right or left edge than on their smaller keyboard. The third advantage is that pianos all come with foot pedals; many keyboards do not. The most important piano pedal is the damper pedal, which is the one on the right. The damper pedal allows pianists to play with a connected sound as they move from one chord to another. It is a very important part of piano technique during the second and subsequent years of instruction.
Can I rent a violin, or should I purchase one? I generally recommend that parents rent a violin rather than purchase one. Children who are less than adult-size in stature need to play a violin that is sized for them. Violins come in 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4, and full sizes. As children grow they will need to replace their small violins with larger ones. If you purchase a small violin for your child, s/he will eventually outgrow it and you will need to buy a new, larger instrument. If you rent a violin, your local music store will replace the outgrown instrument with a violin that is the correct size when the time comes. Violins can be rented for around $23.00 per month. I will assist you in locating music stores that have rental instruments.
Will I need to purchase or rent anything other than an instrument? If your student plays the violin, s/he will need a shoulder rest and a music stand. Piano students who begin on a keyboard benefit from having a specially designed keyboard stand for the instrument to sit on. The stand (unlike the dinner table or a coffee table) places the keyboard at the correct height. Both violin and piano students will be asked to purchase a metronome around the 3rd year of lessons. Method books will be needed for your student. I purchase those and you will be billed.
What kind of maintenance will my instrument require? Pianos need to be tuned regularly (at least once a year) by a trained technician. Violins will occasionally need to have a string replaced. The cost of new strings is usually covered by your rental fee. Strings break through no fault of your student! Simple daily care of the violin is discussed during your student's first lesson.
Is daily practice required? Yes. Students need daily practice to reinforce music reading skills, to strengthen their muscles, and to help them master technical skills on their instrument. Beginners are eased into the practice habit. I ask that new, first year students begin by practicing for 5 minutes each day. By the end of the first month, the time requirement is increased to 10 minutes per day. By the end of the second month, students should be practicing around 15 to 20 minutes per day. By the end of the first semester students should be practicing for 30 minutes each day. More advanced students who are taking longer lessons (45 or 60 minutes) should be spending even more time in daily practice.
Can practice sessions be broken into shorter segments? Yes. In fact, that is the ideal way to practice. A student who does three 10-minute practice sessions each day will probably accomplish more than a student who does one 30 minute session. It is easier to stay focused during short practice sessions. However, many students prefer to do all of their daily practicing all at once. That's okay. I work with all students to help them develop practicing strategies that work for them. I do stress that it is very important to do some work every day. The frequency of practice sessions is critical. A student who practices 25 minutes a day on Monday through Friday (a little more than 2 hours for the week) and takes the weekend off will usually accomplish more than a student who skips Monday through Friday and practices a whopping 1 1/2 hours on Saturday and 1 1/2 hours on Sunday.
Do I need to help my child practice? Maybe. It depends on your child's age. If your child is age 7 or older, no. If your child is younger, s/he may need a little help at the beginning to read the written instructions in the method books. You do not need to know how to read music or how to play a musical instrument in order to help your child! Your primary job is to assist your child in forming the daily practice habit. Many parents find it very helpful to tie practicing to some other activity that happens daily. For example, you might try having your child practice immediately after supper or right after s/he eats an after-school snack.
Do you teach the Suzuki method? No. The Suzuki method emphasizes music instruction by ear. Students are taught to play by rote when they are very young. Music notation is introduced at a much later time. I teach the traditional method in which students are taught to read and play simultaneously. Students who are ready to learn to read and write their native language are ready to learn how to read music. Music reading is far easier than reading any other language!