Music lessons for Beginners

These guidelines will help you to have a successful and rewarding experience studying music. These are practical tips that we have discovered after years of teaching and from our experiences with teaching hundreds of students each year.

1) 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, TV, pets, cooking, siblings, or anything else cannot distract the student or the teacher. With only ½ to one hour of lesson time each 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 from 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 a side job for the teachers, but a career and a responsibility, which they take very seriously.

2) Insist on Private Lessons When Starting to Learn an Instrument: A group class works well for intermediate and advanced students. They are also great for theory and preschool music classes. However, when first learning how to play an instrument, private lessons are superior. The advantage of private lessons is the one on one communication between the teacher and the student. In private lessons, it is unlikely that the student will miss anything. Each student can learn at his or her own pace. This means the teacher does not have to teach to a class at the middle of the road level. The teacher 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. The teacher also enjoys this because they do not have to divide their attention between 5 or 10 students at a time. The teacher can help each student reach the highest level of performance.

3) Customized Lessons: There are some excellent materials developed by professional music educators, but there is no specific method that works for everyone. While all musicians need to learn the same things, the order in which you learn it varies from person to person. Your teacher should be flexible enough and understand your needs and goals, and ultimately help you learn to play the music you want to play.