Home OR Studio lessons? Things to consider...

​This week’s blog is about how we offer our piano and voice lessons. In my years of teaching, I have always found it fascinating how different students learn in different environments. At Music SO Simple, we offer lessons in the convenience of your home as well as in our home studios. Deciding on which route to take depends on what’s best for your family and how the student learns! There are pros and cons to consider in each learning situation.
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Back in the day when I started teaching, I was hired to primarily be a travelling teacher. Now that my daughter's piano teacher (Ms. Meredith!!) comes to my house, I am now seeing the amazing benefits of being able to cut one more activity out that I have to drive to, and I can get things done at home while she gets her lesson! As wonderful as this sounds, there are also quite a few potential drawbacks to having lessons at home:

• Make sure there is a quiet, clean space for the teacher and student to work. This means parents, siblings, and pets should stay out of the way and quiet. This can be a hinderance if you are used to being in the room your piano is in, so take time to plan what you can do outside of that room so that your student can get good concentrated time at his/her lesson. Just as I make sure my piano room (and house!) is tidy and clean for my students, parents should also make sure that the same happens for the teacher coming to their home.
• Be ready for your lesson! Know when your teacher is coming so that you can take time to prepare. Lessons are short and they go by way too fast; don’t wait until your teacher rings the doorbell to be jumping out of the pool, or finishing up a video game, or whatever you might be doing. It typically takes about 10 minutes to “get in the mode”, so set your alarm and take a few minutes to wash your face, get a drink of water, and get your music ready to mentally prepare for your lesson.

• Understand that your child may behave differently in lessons at your home versus at your teacher’s home or studio. Will they be more distracted at home or more focused? Will they be better listeners? Will they take lessons more seriously? These are also questions to ask yourself before deciding. Sometimes there is a huge difference in a student’s personality and behavior when they are in one setting versus the other.
• Lessons at home isolate the player/singer. It is already a “solo” instrument, but when going to a studio, you see other students, and get to be “social” in that atmosphere- and this really helps with the longevity of lessons. This is part of the reason kids enjoy choir, band, and sports more than private lessons; the social aspect of music making is more important than you think! Think about it- when you are with friends and others doing the same thing, you stick with it longer! We do understand this and do our best to give a feeling of community in our studio, regardless of where you take lessons. It is important to participate in recitals and festivals to be a part of the studio community! Make an extra effort to participate in as many “social” settings as possible within your studio. ​

• Keep your instrument in tune! The other drawback of home lessons is that your piano is the primary piano your student ends up playing on. When going to a studio, your students gets to play on another piano besides their own, which is awesome! Because we are piano players, we can’t just pick up our piano and travel with it like violinist or flute players do. We have to be able to adapt to every single piano we play on; this becomes more difficult if you are used to only playing on one piano at home (and it makes playing on a new piano at recital less nerve-racking if you’ve had experience with others!) So, keep it in tune, and take any and every opportunity to play on any other piano you may come in contact with!

For some people, having lessons at a studio might be a better “fit”. For other, the opposite is true- either way, there are pros and cons. Make the best decision for your family and for your student’s learning style. If keeping the siblings entertained while your student is having their lesson at home, then maybe it’s best to drop your student off for the 45 minutes while you run errands with the other kiddos! Make it worth your time, your money, and your sanity...just my two cents as both a mom and teacher!!