the Price of Music Lessons

My kindergarten student was given piano and basic music lessons from a trained pianists from the local school. The lessons took place once a week at our home and lasted approximatly one hour each time. The instructor would bring sheets of music and we responsible for providing the piano, which in our case was just an electric keyboard. The instructor taught our child how to read music without having to play it on the piano, how to keep time, about different tempos and a bit about different keys. The instructor would also leave our childe with one or two musical sheets to practice during the week inbetween lessons and this would be what the instructor and my childe would practice during the next lesson. Approximately half the lesson would b taken up with this practice. The instuctor also played duets with my child and showed my child how to play with both hands and all the fingers on each hand. Some time was spent on the proper placement of fingers.

The instructor also provided a music disc that included accampaniment so that my child could play along with it. Besides the accompaniment, the disc also included some actually excerpts of major classical music such as Beethoven and Mozart. These were for the musical history aspect of the lessons.

This was an excellent service. The insturctor was perfectly choosen by the local schoool as part of their arts program. She had just the right personallity to deal with my child's somewhat impatient and easily distracted personality. Also she was very good at staking out a spot in my rather hectic household where she could keep my child's attention. This was in the summer so my other kids were home from school which made for the potential for several distractions, but when one of them interupted their lessons, instead of trying to shu them away, the instructor included them in the lesson so that they became a part of the learnign experience instead of a distraction to it.

The instructor exuded a love for classical piano that was contagious and although my child has resisted continuing with his music lessons, the instructor's enthusiasm did teach my child quite a bit about the discipline that it takes to become a musician and give him an appreciation for classical music. My child will still say things like "That's okay but its not Beethoven!" or "Mozart wrote a whole musical opera by the time he was my age!" Also, I often here my child humming some of the muscial pieces that he studied last summer and will identify those songs by name or composer when they come on the television or radio.

As with everything else it is good to shop around for the best price and quality of service. We did not happen to do either of these since we were introduced to the music instructor via music classes during the school year. Although I felt that the price of the lessons were a touch high, the quality of the instruction made it worth the slightly inflated price. Also, the convenience of the home lessons made it worthwhile.

When choosing an instructor or any one else that provides services for your child it is always good to go through an organization such a public school that will do the proper sort of background checks on the instructor so that you have a certain ease of mind as to the safety of your child. Often private instructors will be self employed and you are left with the time consuming job of checking references and criminal background, etc.

Although our insturctor handled the distractions admirably, I think that are probably best conducted at remote facility rather than in the home. The unfamiliar space devoted solely for music is likely to make for a more lasting experience. There are simply too many distractions in your home, unless you have a particularly spacious house or are the parent of an only child.