This post is dedicated to the idea that all piano lessons are NOT created equal.
In a traditional music lesson you’re paying for the received knowledge of the teacher. I urge you to look at the lessons I offer in a different way. Look at the learning experienced by your child, or the learning experienced in yourself if you’re an adult student. That’s the value I offer, and that’s what you should be paying for. That’s the + in Piano Lessons +.
$200/month is quite a bargain when students learn music, compared with lessons for half that price when a student gives up after many years only after they’ve “learned” that they can’t play an instrument.
It’s my understanding that in the past, public schools offered more to young people in terms of musical foundational experiences. Kids also developed a richer music vocabulary from listening to popular music that was very sophisticated harmonically, and from listening to varied styles of music on radio stations that weren’t genre-locked as they are today.
Back then, it might have been more appropriate for private instrument instruction to focus on technique and theory, because many students already had a listening and performance vocabulary for that to stick. This is no longer the case.
For whatever reason, the idea persists that theory and reading should be primary goals of music lessons, even when functional application of those skills by students has plummeted. This is a topic I plan to explore further in a future blog post. For now, consider that music reading IS an important goal. For students to achieve that goal, their lessons are going to have to look different from what has become the norm.
It’s reasonable to be skeptical about lessons that look different from the norm. A savvy parent must be equally skeptical about lessons that purport to teach theory and reading but are ineffective at achieving real learning towards those goals.
Luckily there is a wealth of groundbreaking research that shows effective paths for directing students toward these important goals. Much of of this research was done by renowned teacher and author Edwin Gordon. Through lessons using his verified ideas, students can be guided to achieve.
I’d like to close with a few bullet points of ways that piano lessons at Music Foundations Piano Studio are more than what you might expect from traditional lessons. These additions are vital to give students a great chance of success. Thank you for reading.
Piano Lessons + peer to peer learning
Piano Lessons + a logically sequenced curriculum
Piano Lessons + music vocabulary acquisition
Piano Lessons + rhythm instruction based in movement
Piano Lessons + tonality instruction based in singing
Questions? Please call, text, or email. I’ll be glad to discuss music learning with you.