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***MUST READ ARTICLE FOR STUDENTS & PARENTS***
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**5 WAYS TO GET THE MOST OUT OF MUSIC LESSONS**
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-These guidelines will help you have a successful, rewarding, and FUN experience learning an instrument.
-These are practical tips that we have discovered from over a decade of teaching.Also our experiences with
teaching hundreds of students that will show you how to get the MOST out of your music lessons.
1. How Young Is Too Young – Starting At The Right Age
Teenagers and Adults can start an instrument at any time. Your success is based on what you would like to get out of lessons and how closely you practice and communicate with the instructor. We have had students learn an instrument in their 60’s, their 70’s, and yes, even some 80 year old students.
As far as children go, a lot is up to the child’s desire, ambition, and also their size. Children have started as early as 4 or 5 and have been taught fun & simple skills. (writing & playing notes, playing songs, naming musical symbols, etc) Children as young as 3-5 can learn a lot as far as strong basics. The basics are counting & tapping to music, playing various percussion instruments in rhythm to a song, and identifying music symbols and instrument names.
***MUSIC IS A LARGE PART OF A CHILD’S LEARNING***
* MUSIC can help to raise SAT scores and more!!
* MUSIC improves language, math, and creative abilities, school grades, and better social behavior!!!
* MUSIC teaches the habit of EXCELLENCE : as the students learn music history, music theory,
GREAT studying & learning skills, and their favorite songs!!!!
Exposing a young child to music is a great way to spark their interest, which may continue, or to help them in the following years when they’re interested in music again.
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2. Insist On Private Lessons With A Qualified Instructor Who Will Teach What You Want
Group classes may work for pre-school music programs or perhaps music theory classes. But when it comes to a student wanting to excel at their instrument, one-on-one lessons are the best choice. The instructor simply has his 100% undivided attention to give to that one student. And when a lesson is ½ hour or 1 hour in length, the student can be assured that all his questions, progress, and next lesson’s assignments will be addressed properly and not in a hurried manner. It is impossible to do that in a group lesson and the student’s progress and excitement for their instrument may suffer.
When looking for the right teacher you want to ask for referrals and qualifications. Are there any students or parents that have comments on that instructor, have they played professionally in groups, and have they received Degrees in Music from Colleges or Institutes? Does the teacher have specific lesson plans already written out or do they take up much of the time writing during the lesson? Our teacher has 15 years teaching experience, a 4 year B.A. Music Degree, played professionally, references, and has pre-written song & work sheets ready for the student. This gives more time for dialogue and playing between the teacher and student.
When looking for the right teacher you also want to ask about their teaching style. Do they teach you songs from the 1st lesson, reading music or TAB, and stress the fundamentals? And will they write out songs that you bring in the form of a CD or tape. Can the teacher show you everything from the ground up if you choose? (songs, reading, theory, writing & recording your own song, performing, etc) Is the teacher patient with beginners or children? These are very important questions to ask because you need to be taught EXACTLY what is right for you. After all, you are paying your hard earned money and you should be taught the music lesson that fits you the best.
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3. Take Lessons In A Professional Teaching Environment
Finding a qualified Instructor is very important. But you also want to see where the teacher & student will
be conducting the lessons each week. Students can learn music so much better when they are surrounded by
a large & comfortable Professional Music Learning Environment. Sometimes students are taught in a place that has several small and crowded lesson rooms next to each other, like work cubicles. These small rooms can be cramped, educationally stifling, and sometimes have noise from adjacent rooms leaking in. Which really doesn’t give the student ALL that they could have. The best choice for a student is to be given a lesson in a large room or studio, free from outside noise, that has been Professionally prepared for music playing and learning.
ABBEY Music Studio is not only large & comfortable but has various musical instruments and equipment around for students to learn about, play, and even record a song and make their own CD. The studio not only has several styles of guitars, (strats, Les Paul, Telecaster, Ibanez, Kramers, acoustics, 12 string, classical, electric bass, banjo) but there are wind instruments, piano keyboards, and percussion instruments available to the student’s who show an added interest. ABBEY MUSIC Studio also has a 16 track digital recording system, Korg Triton Keyboard Workstation, drum machines, and effects that are available to students who wish to record their playing or learn about Multi-track Recording & making a CD.
All of this extra music equipment is all well & good and fun for students to see or learn about after they’ve practiced their lesson. But the main part of lessons is to teach the student how to play their instrument and acquire good learning habits so that they can climb to whatever musical heights they have for themselves.
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4. Practicing Tips And Secrets
Everyone wants to learn as fast as they can and become great on their own instrument. But everyone has occasional problems and questions about practicing. How much? How Long? Etc. Here are some tips.
Time - A good rule of thumb is to practice 3-4 days a week for at least 15-30 minutes each day. Some extra hints are to try and practice at a set time every time so that it becomes your routine or habit. For example, from 7:00-7:30 after dinner. This works well for children to avoid arguments with parents because they know when their practice time is.
Habits – 2 great keys to improving are Visualizing and Memorizing. It is a good habit to visualize your instrument in your head. This way you can quiz yourself on your lesson when you are away from your instrument. For example, when you wake up or go to bed, when you are eating a meal, watching a commercial, driving, or when you are in a line or are just sitting somewhere. These 2 keys are very important because not only can you quiz yourself anytime or anywhere, but you strengthen your ability to visualize and memorize which is key to getting better.
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5. Renting Or Buying Your Instrument
We rent and sell instruments to get students going right away. Students who are not quite sure, but would love to try an instrument, like the rent-to-own policy where their monthly rental fee goes right towards the price of the instrument. For example, a $100 guitar would be paid for after 4 $25 monthly rental payments.
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HAVE FUN!!! The most important part of lessons is to have as much fun as you can. What you learn will be with you for a lifetime and you can pass it along to family or friends. Everyone learns at a different pace so make sure that you enjoy your lessons and tell the instructor what you would like to get from each lesson.
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For more information:
ABBEY MUSIC STUDIO
Email: psnstudio@yahoo.com
414-541-8401
98th & Lincoln
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© Copyright 2008 ABBEY MUSIC. All Rights Reserved.
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