If you or your spouse teaches your child an instrument...

[EmilyGF]

...how frequently do you plan to have lessons?

 

...how frequently do you *actually* have lessons?

 

...how strong is your music background?

 

Thanks! I'm trying to figure out what we should do for our family.

 

Emily

http://thelearningfamily.blogspot.com/

[Aurelia]

We don't have formal lessons, it's more continuous practice with new songs introduced as old ones are mastered. I try to do the theory book at the same time as practice, at least once a week. Practice/mini-lesson is supposed to be daily, but since Christmas we've been struggling to get to it once a week. I'm trying to revamp our plans so it gets done more frequently, we've just got a lot on our plates this month and next.

 

I have studied piano for about 3 years, violin and viola for about 2 years each, and dance for 10.

[flyingiguana]

We started out just playing together daily, but after awhile the kids just took off by themselves. And I suggest things for them to play.

[crazyforlatin]

I teach DD piano using Suzuki. I used to give her a lesson every couple of days, so essentially dividing a piece into various several parts, and then have her practice it until she became comfortable with it. Now however, I'm incorporating music theory and voice as she is now a second grader and it's time to be more formal. She still has to play all the pieces in both volumes, but I sit with her for about 20 minutes each day.

 

I have had years of piano lessons, and so far, I'm reluctant to pay someone else. Around here piano lessons range from about $25 to $90 per lesson, the latter being ridiculously high but apparently acceptable.

[Tardis Girl]

When my oldest ones were elementary age, I probably prided myself on saying that I didn't really teach them piano but rather facilitated and they were more self-taught. This was largely true in the sense that I did not give them formal lessons. There were expectations in place and they took off with it. But the one thing that really lacked was that they did not address their weaker areas, as I would have done if I had been more involved.

 

In hindsight, and now that I've taught piano to other people's children, I see that I undervalued the individual lesson time. Now, I don't think individual lesson time has to be scheduled (e.g., 30 minute lessons on Tuesdays at 3:30), but I can also see benefit of not letting time run away from me as it has a tendency to do. But for me, I can easily get caught up in doing other things (household, with the other kids, etc.), so my ideal would be to be sure to sit down with them once a week, where I am really giving thought to how to help them move forward. Every other week at a minimum.

 

And when I say "moving forward" I am talking about exposing them to new pieces, new lesson material, something they might not choose to try on their own, addressing areas of weakness for that person, that kind of thing. Certainly teaching your own children affords you the benefit of hearing them practice, being able to correct or model or whatever at the exact point of need -- and that is a huge benefit, to be sure. Those are the things I can and do address (although not as perfectly as I would like) by just being around when they are practicing.

 

Sorry so long winded. Does that once a week sit down happen? No. But it's my ideal. Sometimes several weeks go by (like just recently over Christmas) when I realize they've been playing a lot of the same stuff for a while and not moving forward. Then I get better for a time. But I do really have to make a point of sitting down with them, otherwise it is just too easy to let it pass.

[violamama]

I'm a music teacher, and the one thing I plan to outsource is music lessons most of the time.

 

We practice 5 or 6 days a week (lessons do not count as practice) and we do it together. When the boys are 8 or 9 I'll give them a bit more independence with their practice, but I will not expect them to love playing so much that they want to do it everyday. I run into that a lot with parents, though less with hs parents. It's like any other responsibility; sometimes it's hard to do the work even though you love the outcome.

 

My older kid has been asking me to teach him violin lately. I'll probably write him little practice assignment sheet like I do my other students and will have him fill them out. I assign very specific stuff ("Play the blue practice box three times", "Set up your instrument and check all your positions five times perfectly, then run around the couch twice", etc.) The student fills out the sheet (with stickers, check marks, etc) and their practice partner is supposed to be helping them accomplish the tasks in the specific way I've assigned. It's my firm belief that if a person has learned to practice music well, they have learned to teach themselves anything. So if you're going to DIY lessons, I would recommend a systematic approach to practice, rather than just running through songs until there's a mistake and starting again.

[EmilyGF]

So if you're going to DIY lessons, I would recommend a systematic approach to practice, rather than just running through songs until there's a mistake and starting again.

 

Thanks for the input about how you do practice! I feel like my parents had no idea about how to help me as I grew up and a lot of problems (and waste) ensued.

 

I had 7 years of piano growing up, my husband less than 1. I consider piano extremely important, he doesn't. We're trying to find a middle road we can both be happy with. I'm not sure yet what that road is. I do know that parents I know who teach their kids piano have a lot of issues with consistency. I'm not sure if that is generally a problem.

 

Emily

[LMD]

I'm teaching my 7 yo piano this year. Lessons once a week, daily practice built into our schedule. I'm also taking on another non-family student, at a similar level to dd (beginner), so it helps to force me to be professional.

I'm still studying piano myself and hope to get my teaching qualifications in about 2 years, they expect that you have students during the teaching certific ation part.

Dd has had 3 years of violin as already which was invaluable in allowing me to observe a teacher.

[MrsH]

I've really enjoyed weekly flute lessons I teach my dd10. We've been doing that for a little under a year and both really love it. I have a music ed degree but haven't formally taught (or even played regularly) in almost 10 years. I do sing in the church choir, which helps me keep up a bit, musically.

 

We do have a scheduled time each week and try to stick with it, mostly because it's a rare moment that the two younger kids are otherwise occupied. Dd practices daily (sometimes she misses a day on the weekend), and like violamama, I assign very specific things for her. I fully agree that if a child can truly learn how to learn music, then they can learn anything. It's certainly been true for me.

 

I very pointedly stay out of her practice times unless she asks for help (which happens occasionally). However, I do notice and then address issues during her lesson. For example, I realized she wasn't actually isolating problem sections even though we'd discussed that. For a few lessons we practiced that and now she's much more consistent about isolating them. This week she was getting lazy with a specific rhythm and I just grabbed her later and did a bit of echoing w/ the piano and her singing it back. It took all of 2 minutes and I just said "that's the rhythm you're working on in flute, do you hear that it's different than how you did it?" She did, and the next day she played the rhythm correctly. I love having that insight, but think it's very important for her to practice independently from me.

 

A book that I loved is "Raising Musical Kids: a Guide for Parents." It affirmed a lot for me, and also gave me fresh ideas specifically on practice and how to have music around outside of specific instrument study. I didn't read every chapter, just the ones that were most interesting to me.

[violamama]

 

Thanks for the input about how you do practice! I feel like my parents had no idea about how to help me as I grew up and a lot of problems (and waste) ensued.

 

I had 7 years of piano growing up, my husband less than 1. I consider piano extremely important, he doesn't. We're trying to find a middle road we can both be happy with. I'm not sure yet what that road is. I do know that parents I know who teach their kids piano have a lot of issues with consistency. I'm not sure if that is generally a problem.

 

Emily

 

The nice thing about piano (as opposed to violin & some other instruments) is that you can do quite well in terms of form on your own. It's a great starting instrument in lots of ways.

 

One last thought- you will probably be much more successful in terms of consistency if you build in some performance opportunities. My little music academy has a concert every 14 weeks or so. You could find ways to make this happen even in your home by inviting friends or skyping grandparents. Hands down, this is one of the best practice motivators. That and stickers, dollar store glow sticks, etc. My boys earn these little prizes by completing their practice sheets for a week or two. My young outside students get a sticker if they fill out five days of practice each week. My own kids don't have the option to skip practice (unless I forget it) but I have no problem adding in these little incentives. They may even remind ME when they know we're close to completing a practice sheet.

 

Your middle road- you might choose a piece that you consider a mark of proficiency at the piano. Many violin students choose the Bach Double concerto, which generally takes years to get to. If you have something similar, perhaps that takes the pressure off and gives you all a goal to reach. Then the kids can decide where they go from there.

 

There are forums for parents on the Suzuki Association of the Americas website- you can read and search them without logging in and there might be some more info there.

 

Have fun with it!

[UrbanSue]

We teach ds8 and ds6 violin and ds6 also just started piano. I was a music major in college (flute). Dh comes from a family of professional musicians and, though he chose a different professional path, he is excellent at several instruments.

 

If we had the money I would definitely outsource music lessons. It's a lot of work getting them to practice every day at a young age and, even for practice, the younger the kid, the stronger the parent has to be, musically. And it adds quite a layer to the friction when I'm the mom AND the teacher AND the music teacher.

 

I also think that problems with form and posture need to be addressed very early and very carefully. We are really careful about this but it can be a problem later on if you have a child who could be really able to excel but can't because of various bad habits and form issues.

[CandaceC]

I have a music degree and have taught in various capacities in the past, including private piano lessons and regular classroom kindergarten. I have not had success with teaching mine piano!! Ugh! We tried it for a few years and just were not consistent...so when a wonderful opportunity opened up for us with another teacher, we took it. :) piano is very important to me also, but it wasn't happening on my own...just our experience. :)

[EmilyGF]

Thank you for all the insight! This is really useful.

 

I think we're going to hold off on any decisions until next school year and stick to learning to read music (we sing aloud a lot) and keeping our lives on a better schedule now. I'm going to use these pointers when practice time comes eventually.

 

Emily

[Dmmetler]

I'm a music teacher, and I "kid swap" with a colleague for piano. It simply works better for me to be able to be DD's mother for piano, and for her to have someone else to be accountable to on a weekly basis. I found when I tried to teach her, every single practice session turned into a lesson, which wasn't giving her the time she needed to really practice and go through the process before I tried to leap in and refine. Now, I guide as needed, and reinforce, but for the most part practice is HER responsibility, not mine. I think a major difference is that in almost any other subject, it's the two of us doing it together, with the book and other resources as the expert. In music, she's just plain too aware that I WROTE the book and that changes the dynamic.

 

 

Her teacher's DD also does better with someone else teaching her, so both girls benefit from the arrangement.

 

I will say that DD did do Suzuki recorder with me, and that worked a little better-but I only did book 1 with her and then have moved to playing ensembles with her, so it's now something we do together. Having said that, she was also doing recorder at the same time in her Kindermusik class, so it wasn't a case of her doing it just with me, although the sequence of notes for Suzuki differs -she'd often go in and show her Kindermusik teacher what she was doing with me before class and get feedback that way.

[Roadrunner]

One of my kids takes a piano lesson once a week. In addition I sit with him daily for up to an hour for practice. I do the same with my younger son. So in essence they have daily private lessons at home. I am a conservatory grad in piano performance.

I would love my kids to practice alone, but I just don't see it happening until they are a bit older. They wouldn't be able to progress as fast without daily guidance.

[duckens]

My music background:

--A couple of years of piano as a kid, but I never practiced, and had no structure from my parents.

--Several years of violin as a kid, but I never practiced, and had no structure from my parents.

--On-and-off a few years of recorder lessons as an adult, with the goal of practicing every day.

--Exposure to Suzuki methods for piano and recorder.

 

I decided that if my children took music lessons, they would have more support to practice nearly every day.

 

Dd just turned 6, and she has been learning piano for about 2 years. We started with group lessons at the local music studio, but it was not a good fit. The price was very expensive for our budget, the teacher had no plan, and the teacher kept arriving late.

 

So I started teaching dd myself. We have "lesson" every day. I sit with her and guide the practice. A timer is set for 20 minutes. (We had started at 15 minutes, but dd knows too much).

 

Dd plays a warm up song, then we play through the songs she knows. We used to play through everything she knows, but that easily ate through the whole time with no practice for new songs. Now her songs are divided into three columns, and she plays one column each day. It is a beautiful thing to see her play with these songs that she knows so well. She changes the fingerings; she jumps from one octive to another with ease; she plays the melody with both left and right hands on neighboring octives; she switches hands. This has all occured naturally and on her own. And really, she is not a child who is naturally wired for music. As a toddler, she never danced to music.

 

When new songs are introduced, we do just one phrase at a time. Dd is 6, so I challenge her to play the new part 6 times, and she seems to like that. Or we roll a die to determine what to play. We play through what she knows so far. We discuss the theory parts of the new song each day it is worked on: a flat, a tie, a pick-up note, and parts of the song that repeat are marked by shapes in colored pencil. If I think that she needs to strengthen what she knows already, we play a dice game to practice the parts.

 

We also play lots of music games for fun and to teach theory, but that's another post.

 

So our lesson:

Set timer.

Play warm-up song (first song in the book).

Play review songs (~5 minutes).

Work on new songs (~5 minutes).

Theory book (some days)

Game (~5 minutes)

 

If we get to the last minute on the timer, and we are still at the keyboard, we just play mixed up notes of whatever we want.

 

We practice nearly every day, but dd earns 25c for every day that she practices. When she was taking lessons for $20/25minutes, I realized that an extra $1.75/week is a small price to pay to have her well practiced between lessons.

 

The time will come that dd will outgrow my meager musical abilities, or she will be self-disciplined and focused enough to practice on her own, but this is how we do it for now.