I am a songwriter and musician who has released two original music CDs. I have played music all of my life. A lot of parents ask me where their child should attend private music lessons. I usually ask about the level of interest and the circumstances surrounding the seriousness of this endeavor. At some point or other many children have an interest in learning to play a musical instrument. An interactive guitar game may peak a childs interest to perform in a rock band. Playing a real guitar is a whole other story. This is where the problem lies. The perceived notion of rocking out with the band may take years of playing. There are many naturally gifted musicians who breeze through and master an instrument more quickly than others are. Most of the time this will not be the case.
There are many great music teachers. There is a perception that any teacher can successfully instruct your son or daughter to play an instrument. This is where it gets more complex. Children can learn in a variety of ways. Some kids can learn by reading music. Others learn by ear in a less structured method. Some need a combination of methods. Your child may be coupled with a teacher who utilizes sight-reading and theory. If your child isnt very good at learning that way, chances are they will find it cumbersome and quit. Some children will excel with a theoretical approach. They would tackle it like math or any other analytical process. If you present rote theory learning and repetition to a hands-on learner, they can fail miserably. As an example, my son has special needs and at this time is very limited in reading skills. He can watch a concert DVD, or watch me play drums, and pick up drum parts and play them. He will play them on my drum set as we map out a less conventional way of learning. We kept doing this through the years to great success. He is a terrific drummer, but cant read music. If we had relied upon sight-reading and rote instruction, he would have never played the drums. That would have been a tragic mistake. Im so excited to see the enthusiasm and progress hes made. Its fantastic! Enthusiasm is a key component for kids to learn music. It is something that they choose to undertake, so its important that its fun. This is typically an extra-circular activity and should be enjoyed.
It is so fun and emotionally rewarding to play a musical instrument. It is a world many people never get to enter because they had a poor first impression of instrument instruction. Then there can be the additional pressure from parents who frequently complain that the child does not practice or take it seriously. If your child is truly interested in playing an instrument, then you need to be serious about choosing the right music teacher. You don’t need to know about music, just how your child learns and succeeds. Ask questions to see if the instructor can provide an appropriate learning method for your child. Ask potential teachers questions about the process they use. Do they use the same method for every student? What if your child has natural ability, but struggles with theory, can you still teach my child to play? Is it a fun or serious lesson? Do you have a high turnover rate of students? Can you give me some success stories of students that you have taught? The key is to find the right match between the music teacher and child. You could have a meet and greet with the teacher (without a lesson) to see how the interaction goes.
Monitor the lessons and your child’s progress. Talk to your children and ask them how they are doing and ask their thoughts on this undertaking. Remember that a change in teacher is always an option before they would throw in the towel. The good thing about learning an instrument is that you have flexibility. Some kids have to abide by the rules to learn, but others don’t have to. Do what works for you child. You’ll know if they are progressing, or its if its been just another pipe dream that they weren’t serious about. Ask your child if he is having fun. If you are a kid and learning an instrument isn’t fun, most wont be doing it that long. If you hear your kid playing smoke on the water and skipping his music scales, I wouldn’t go berserk. The teacher will know when lessons are being practiced. Let your child be creative, take part in their own course of success, and keep their enthusiasm. If two years go by, and all he plays is smoke on the water then maybe you should buy him that tennis racket!
When you look at the great artists and creators, many of them have come from a variety of backgrounds. Today, an untrained novice can make music on a computer sound quite good. If you want to play in the philharmonic, then practice and traditional studying will be more of a must. If you are happy repeatedly playing happy birthday or Mary had a little lamb thats fine too. Some kids dream of playing Beethoven and some others may want to play like Slash. Let them follow their musical dreams, not yours. Let your child have fun with a musical instrument and most importantly, set them up for success.
To listen to free music samples of expressing ones feelings in song go to
http://www.dommusiconline.com