Having been a professional musician and educator for most of my life, I would like to share my experience and opinion on the subject of taking music lessons. When I was 10 years old, my parents bought me a Magnus chord organ from Campbell’s Appliance and Hardware Store located on the Square in Murfreesboro. I began tinkering on the keyboard at home and soon realized my love for music. As I progressed, my parents purchased me a Lowrey spinet organ, a real piano and finally a real B3 Hammond organ. Wow, was I ever excited!
I bought every Booker T and Jimmy Smith record available and started trying to copy their hot licks. I very soon realized my music teacher could not teach me the style of music I wanted to play. I took lessons from a lady up the street but became very discouraged because she could not teach me how to improvise. I wanted to play “Green Onions” and rock ‘n’ roll.
I soon realized music was going to be my profession. The first decision by my parents influenced my music career. Whether you are a parent of a young aspiring musician or a person who has been playing several years, this is a serious decision that could have great influence upon the whole family.
Parents of orchestra or band students will also realize that students who take private lessons progress at a much faster pace. This is due to the one-on-one relationship between student and teacher. Young students are easily influenced by how they are taught and the positive approach of the teacher. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance to choose a teacher that facilitates the pursuit of excellence and a strong desire for the student to learn.
There is nothing more exciting to a young player than to receive an excellent grade in a Middle Tennessee State Band Orchestra Association (MTSBOA) event. Students who take private lessons are typically better prepared to progress on their instruments and are therefore more likely to sit first chair. Being a band director of students from beginner to high school has made me realize the need for private lessons. A band or orchestra director can be of great assistance in this undertaking. There are private lessons available from many pro players.
If you want to take guitar, keyboard or trap (drum) lessons, your choice for a teacher may require a completely different criteria. The selection of a teacher is paramount. Take lessons from a professional player. By this I mean someone who has played professionally for a living. I do not advise taking lessons before the age of ten. Muscle dexterity and attention span should be highly considered. I personally prefer an hour lesson but sometimes an hour can be too overwhelming for a young beginner. I take the first 30 minutes teaching a student how to read right off the paper. In other words, just as it is written.
Let’s face it, the majority of music that is heard on today’s radio and TV is either pop, country or R&B. If you play in a local band or write songs, you are going to have to learn to improvise. There are some teachers that can teach you all there is to know about reading music, but when it comes to teaching improvisation they are completely lost. I have a friend who has a master’s degree in classical piano performance. She can sightread grade 4 Chopin piano sonatas but when it comes to playing by ear she is completely in the dark. My advice is to find a teacher that can teach you both. It is more enjoyable to be able to play songs that are familiar to both student and friends.
I use a set of CDs that utilizes a group of LA session musicians playing in different style grooves. The first CD is devoted to blues and R&B. How cool it is to see a nine-year-old girl playing BB King’s “Thrill Is Gone.” I cannot think of a more enjoyable way to learn diatonic and pentatonic scales. On the CD, a player goes through the groove several times with a part missing. Each time, the students get to improvise on a part of the blues scale. Students get so excited they cannot wait to get home and practice.
Practice? Yuk! Thirty minutes of correct practice is better than one hour of bad habits. Music theory is like building blocks. You start with the foundation, and sooner or later, everything comes together.
Parents with students involved in band or orchestra should go to a quality music shop to rent-purchase the instrument. Instrument manufactures design most instruments in two categories—home line and pro line. A band or orchestra instrument is designed in either beginner, step-up or pro line. I have actually found professional line instruments online for as little as $150. These instruments retailed for as much as $3,500. If you know what you are looking for, shopping online is a good place to start. Do not go to a place that sells toys.
