How to get the most out of music lessons

Practice

Practicing is the best way to encourage musicality and motivate yourself, so you will progress quicker.

Ready to learn

Being ready to learn, on time, and in the right headspace to work hard.
Bring your practice notebook and a pencil.
Wear appropriate clothes—please don’t come to your lesson in pyjamas or a dressing gown.

Practice with your child

For younger students (years 1 and 2) or students who need extra help to focus, it is helpful if you can sit with your child while they practice.
This could be as simple as just being in the same room. You can also read out each task for your child (especially if they aren’t a confident reader yet) so they know what to do.
Older students might want some more independence in their practice, but every now and then ask them to play you something so you can hear how they’re getting along.

Remember your books

Students who remember to bring their music books (and instrument, if you’re a violinist) to the lesson will progress much quicker.

Play in concerts

This gives your child a goal to work towards, an exciting performance opportunity, a chance to hear their peers and older children play, and will boost your child’s confidence.

I run concerts every term for all my students to take part in.

Stay organised

Use a folder to keep your music organised. This can be a plastic wallet, a folder, or you can get music book bags from shops like The Music Room or Amazon.

Music exams

Exams give your child a great goal to work towards, and it’s a great introduction to exams without too much pressure.

Listen to music

Radio, Spotify, TV, live music. Classical, pop, jazz, whatever you’d like! If you’re listening to music, talk with your child about how much you enjoy the music, how cool the piano is, how much you like the violin solo, how the music makes you feel ... Conversations like this encourage your child to think musically and to appreciate music.

Read lots of books

A key part of playing an instrument is reading the music. Reading any books at all will improve your reading/eye tracking skills, and this transfers over to reading music as well.

Have fun

Enjoy the process of learning an instrument. I see so much progress in my students, and I’m so proud of how much they achieve.