Mozart Concerto for Piano and Orchestra in D Minor No. 20, K.466
Recorded by Antara Hebbar in 02.2015
Tag Archives: study
My child is ready to start lessons…or is she? (Topic 2, Part 1. What is involved?)
There are many people involved in your child’s music study! It isn’t only about her, there are you, parents, her siblings, and of course her future teacher.
Let’s start with some tips of how you can determine if your child is ready NOW, or if she needs some additional time and preparation. And if giving her additional time to mature turns out to be a good idea, then what you can do to make that time fruitful in preparation for her future music study.
There are some signs of readiness which you can see yourself without going for a consultation with professional musician:
- Is she interested? If she said so, very good, but it isn’t enough. Does she stop playing a game or doing a puzzle when you turn on music? Does she react to the mood of what she hears? Does she ask questions about it? Do her the questions show emotional
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My child is ready to start lessons…or is she? (Topic 1, Part 4. What is involved?)
Prepare to change and adjust. It’s very important to keep up with your child’s progress and not let him stagnate.
You are looking at a starting just the way most people do: take piano lessons once per week for 30 minutes. You think you can make a commitment to the driving, keeping up with assignments, and help him at home. Initial requirements are not so overwhelming, you need to establish daily routine of practicing for about 30-45 minutes. The total time can be split into two sessions of 15-25 minutes each, not too bad. It’s very important to keep positive attitude, at the same time be very firm that no day goes without practicing. You teacher will guide you through creative approaches
Continue reading My child is ready to start lessons…or is she? (Topic 1, Part 4. What is involved?)
My child is ready to start lessons…or is she? (Topic 1, Part 6. What is involved?)
In this post we continue looking through some factors which are involved in the initial decision to start music lessons. This post is about obvious and hidden costs of music lessons.
The obvious costs are the teacher’s fees, books and other materials, travel costs, and the cost of obtaining and maintaining an instrument. Teachers’ fees fluctuate and can be checked on line or by calling teachers and music schools around for the most up-to-date information. Books and other printed materials can be estimated at around $100-$250 per year depending on the age of student.
Keep in mind that initial purchase cost of a piano is higher than a violin, or cello, or flute. A decent upright piano will cost you between about $3,000 for used one in good condition to $12,000 for a higher end brand new one.
Continue reading My child is ready to start lessons…or is she? (Topic 1, Part 6. What is involved?)
My child is ready to start lessons…or is she? (Topic 1, Part 5. What is involved?)
In this post we continue looking through some factors which are involved in the initial decision to start music lessons
- Are we as a family ready to make room for it? Again, this is a bit more involved than what you may see from a first quick look.
Of course, piano is the bulkiest choice and requires most adjustment. But in considering space for your child music study there are other things as well to keep in mind. Where she practices needs to be a place which simultaniously gives her privacy and audience. Open space in a two-story family room may be intimidating because the entire household will hear her every mistake and her every stuggle.
Continue reading My child is ready to start lessons…or is she? (Topic 1, Part 5. What is involved?)
My child is ready to start lessons…or is she? (Topic 1, Part 3. What is involved?)
In this post we continue looking through some factors which are involved in the initial decision to start music lessons
- Do we as a family have money for it? it isn’t as simple if you consider the 10-12 years span! No matter how you go about budgeting this project, it will in the end cost your family many 1,000’s of dollars.
Continue reading My child is ready to start lessons…or is she? (Topic 1, Part 3. What is involved?)
My child is ready to start lessons…or is she? (Topic 1, Part 2. What is involved?)
Let’s first consider factors, because those are the easy part (believe it or not, a lot of parents ONLY at those), then later we will move to considering people:
- Do we as a family have time for it? An adult must commit to drive a child to lessons at regular times week after week, every week. Some teachers prefer to work with kids one-on-one, then you have your 30 minutes to check your emails or get some work done while waiting outside. Other teachers have no preference as to who brings kids to lessons, then you can have a babysitter build it into her schedule.
Continue reading My child is ready to start lessons…or is she? (Topic 1, Part 2. What is involved?)
My child is ready to start lessons…or is she?
This is a seemingly simple question, yet the one which needs to be approached with some understanding of what is involved and what are the common pitfalls.
This topic will have several posts, each tackling different aspects of the question. So, keep scrolling for more!
You want your child to learn the beauty and joy of music and be successful, right? This isn’t an “sample things to see what works for you” kind of decision, is it? It better be more serious than that because we can tell you right off that “sampling” music like you can sample sports and other activities will almost inevitably lead to your child failing it. There is simply too much envolved, playing an instrument is too complex a task to hope for a child to never bolt or say; “it’s too hard!”; “I can’t do it!”; or even “I HATE piano!”
Continue reading My child is ready to start lessons…or is she?