What kind of students do you teach?
We have taught all kinds of students, various ages and talent levels. From beginner to accomplished. We individualize our teaching with each student to go at their own pace and inspire them to love music. Many of our students are musical theatre lovers and performers but they also like pop, jazz, and a variety of other genres, which we can include in our teaching.
When will my child be ready for piano, flute, or voice lessons?
If your child shows an interest in music, now is the time! It is better to feed that hunger for creativity than to let it die out. For a very young child, the most important part of lessons is learning to love music. Classes such as Musikgarten or Kindermusik are wonderful for toddlers and preschoolers until they are ready for individual piano or voice lessons.
Students can start piano as early as 5 years old. For voice, we recommend no earlier than 8 years old as their voices are still developing and reading is an important qualification. The basic prerequisites are knowing numbers 1 through 5 and letters A through G, and also being able to focus their attention for 10 minutes at a time. That doesn’t necessarily mean sitting still, because 4 and 5-year-olds need to move! The student also needs to have a piano, or at least a keyboard, available for daily practice.
The teachers will work with the students to choose and rehearse age appropriate music. For piano, there are books that will start at the very beginning.
Do I need to buy a piano/flute?
For piano and flute lessons, you definitely need an instrument to practice on!
For voice lessons, a piano is always good but is not a requirement.
For Piano:
A decent acoustic piano is the best for developing good technique and being able to play with beautiful musical expression. Our recommendation would be, if possible, to start out with a real piano from the very beginning. The finer the piano, the better it will respond to your touch, the better it will sound, and the more you will enjoy playing it and be more likely to keep up with piano studies. If students have to “fight the instrument” to try to make a poor quality instrument do what they want it to, they will become frustrated and discouraged without even knowing why. It is also important to keep the piano tuned annually.
In today’s world, some students do start out with a keyboard and buy a piano later as they advance in their musical studies. If you are buying a keyboard or digital piano, be sure to get one that meets the following criteria (listed in order of importance): 1. a full keyboard of 88 keys, or as close to that many as you can afford
2. touch-sensitive keys, so they will play louder or softer depending on how you press the key
3. a sustain pedal, or at least a place to plug one in
4. weighted keys, so they feel a little more like piano keys
Time to time we find out about pianos for sale or free. If you are interested in finding out about these instruments please let the teachers know.
For Flute:
A beginners flute is good for beginners. There are some school bands and music stores that will rent instruments for the school year. If interested, please let me know.
How much should I practice?
Consistent, daily practice leads to good progress. Subjects in school, such as math, reading, etc., are studied and practiced almost every day, and this consistency is what develops your skill. Playing a sport well also takes frequent practice. If you are a basketball player, for example, how often and how many times do you practice shooting a basket before you can score with almost every shot? The same holds true with practicing an instrument, whether than be piano, flute or your voice.
The best way to ensure consistent practice is to set up a routine. Pick a time of day when you are available, alert, and can focus well. Make an appointment with your piano at that time each day, and be sure to show up! A general rule of thumb is to practice each day the same length of time as your lesson. If you take a 60-minute lesson, practice an hour a day; for a 45-minute lesson, practice 45 minutes a day; for a 30-minute lesson, practice 30 minutes a day. Any student who wishes to practice for a longer period of time is more than welcome to do so! Just don’t plan on skipping two days of practice and then trying to make it up by tripling your time on the following day! It’s better to practice just 5-10 minutes on a really busy day than to neglect it entirely.
How you practice is even more important than how long you practice. Remember, practice makes permanent.
Do I have to participate in recitals?
The joy of music is one that is even better when shared. Why do you think so many people go to concerts? Performances give students an opportunity to work towards the goal of perfecting a piece of music to the best of their ability, to share their music with others as a vehicle of self-expression (or to just plain show off!), and to become inspired by listening to other performers.
We strongly encourage all our students to perform but will work with each student to make sure they are comfortable. If the student would prefer to sing with one of the teachers that is also a possibility.