Will Music Lessons Work Out?

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Happy Saturday!

Are you taking music lessons with a paid teacher? Are you thinking about it? Are you thinking about enrolling your child? If so, you should really take a look at whom you chose to instruct you.

For nearly 10 years, I faithfully went to my music classes. It all started when I was around 4. My parents purchased me a little toy keyboard. In no time, I was playing full songs. So what any parent would do, they became excited and immeadietly enrolled in me into a music class. I was pretty small, but I remember the first day. I was put with a teacher named Diana. She was a great, kind, caring young woman.

I was working with her until age 12 when she suddenly disappeared. The music store where I went was owned by an older man who himself is a great musician. I was soon ripped out of my comfort zone, and had to be taught by the owner. Lou. Not that he was mean, or bad, but he was way less humorous and kind. Diana and I would have conversations about things that didn't even relate to music, but it all changed. When I would walk into Lou's classroom, he was unwilling to engage in any conversation besides music. Point is, I started losing interest in lessons.

My 12 year old mind had better things to do than listen to an ol' fella talk for an hour. It was hard to understand him a lot, which made me just cease my learning. My father became upset with me because I told him I didn't want to go back. I did anyway, and eventually took classes at my public schools. After I turned 16, I went back to Lou's for another couple of lessons. It was never the same since Diana left.

So now that I'm done blabbering, I want to explain the whole reason for this post. There are some questions that you need to ask yourself before enrolling.

• Is the establishment ran by friendly people?

That's the whole starting point. If the staff or owners are rude, unwilling to cooperate, demanding with scheduling times, ect. that means the teacher you are working with will not be as friendly as you like.

• Are they willing to let you meet your teacher before you sign up?

I think this should be a requirement. It would be a waste to be stuck with someone who clashes with you, or your child. When you are looking for qualities, you have every right to ask. How many students does this teacher work with? What are they educated in? Are they willing to be patient? (Unfortunately, That's actually a very common problem.)

• Are they overcharging?

It all comes down to the package. Are you getting ripped? Anything around $25 dollars an hour is the average. Some start as low as $5 or 6 bucks an hour- while giving you the same amount of information and skill.

• Would they lend you an instrument? (Piano is an exception :)

A lot of music schools are full of rental instruments. Let's say you wanted to learn the flute. You go enroll in lessons and they sell you a brand new flute (which probably bit you on the wallet). You go to flute lessons for 3 weeks and decide it isn't your thing. What are you going to do now? You could sell the flute for a small profit, probably only half of what you paid for it.

If you have a rental, it's usually not a problem to give it back to the store for other students. If you do decide to buy before you learn, try a used instrument first. Sometimes they might now look the best, but they work great. Some even work better with wear.

• Are they reliable?

Do they carry a lesson plan notebook, or some other means of organization? Will they actually show up on time? Does the teacher take great pride in keeping their lessons and students organized?

• Is there someone working who is specifically there to work with children?
  

This is important for two reasons. If you want to enroll your child in a class, it's pretty obvious that the teacher needs to have a great deal of patience and a love for children. It's VERY important for you to make sure your child is comfortable around this person, and you feel same leaving them in the teacher's care. (Most classes discourage parents from sitting with the child because it causes a distraction. Nothing personal to the parents!)

The teacher should have the same kind of personality as the child's school teacher. They should not overload the child with practice work, but at the same time have an strong appreciation for a job well done.

One more thing I would like to stress is to make sure that you or your child is willing to take on the challenges. Don't force yourself to do something you don't want to do, but at the same time don't give up. It may seem stressful at first, but trust me- it pays off big time in the end.