Category Archives: In Tune

1.  Music Lessons Are Hard One of the biggest misconceptions about music lessons is that it’s going to be hard to learn to play an instrument.  Yes, it does take time and practice to learn, but that’s true of every skill, from learning how to skate, to becoming a good cook.  Learning takes knowledge and dedication, but in reality, isn’t that exactly why people admire a musician’s abilities?  You can’t cram lessons.  Think about dancing: it takes a great deal of physical exertion and co-ordination, but the more you dance the more fit and confident you become, and the better you dance.  To really learn how to play any instrument, it takes equal amounts of practice and persistence, as well as a good teacher. 2.  Music Lessons Are For the Privileged Music lessons used to be an exclusive hobby for the rich, the privileged or the super talented.  It was a sign Read More...

Summer Music Lessons – Yes or No? Ah, the sweet freedom that summertime brings! No school, longer days, warm breezes; freedom. There’s time for swimming and riding bikes, time with friends, time to read, time without a schedule, time to do absolutely nothing at all. Freedom is wonderful, but an idle mind is not: kids need a bit of structure. Music is considered a language as well as a fine motor skill, so if you don’t use it, you lose it. In the land of swimming pools and Xbox, it can be all too easy for kids to forget all the songs they’ve learned in the last 9 months, and rapidly lose the agility and technique they gained. After a two-month long summer break from lessons, it can take up to one month to recall the skills previously learned and re-establish a practice schedule. No matter what instrument your child plays, it is important not to Read More...

Today’s parents are faced with a wide assortment of choices when it comes to after school and extra curricular activities for their children.  There’s  music lessons, martial arts, private tutoring, scouts, sports and an endless list of after school programs to keep you child, happy, engaged and growing. But how do you choose? You Child Asks for Lessons Back in the day when I was growing up, families were much larger.  I’m one of five kids, so my parents didn’t have the luxury of being able to give us everything we wanted.  They had to make tough choices, and as a child, I had to prove that I wanted what I asked for.  I had grown up with a piano in the home, and I had been drawn to it even as a very little child.  I’d sit the piano and just try to make sounds, not really understanding or knowing what Read More...