Lessons

Lesson time should be one of the most important parts of the student's music education. Learning to play a musical instrument requires almost daily work at home and support of parents, put together with regular lessons with a qualified and experienced teacher. The teacher's role, we believe, is to guide the student's progress, teach technique and artistic interpretation and oversee the overall musical education. The student should come to each lesson prepared, having had learned and practiced thoroughly the set homework. The teacher should not need to "practice" with the student, but rather to explain new concepts and do work with the student that he would not be able to do themselves. This way the student can benefit the most from the teacher's expertise. Playing stylistically, with dynamics and details like articulation, rhythm and correct holding of hands are things that the teacher needs to show the student so they can play the songs or pieces artistically.

The beginner starts with easy songs, folk tunes and modern pieces taken from a tutor book. Each week, new pieces and songs are started, which the student can practice throughout the week and the teacher can add dynamics or details in the following lesson. Beginners can start at five years old, or older. With a five or six years old, we would start with a book specifically tailored for a very young beginner, and while learning slower than an older beginner, a lot of time is devoted to games and playing short fun songs. Starting at this age gives the student plenty of time to learn the basics and have lots of fun while learning them. We find most very young children enjoy learning to play. Beginners who have already been going to school for some time learn a bit faster and we start with a book tailored for the age group of the student. There are also books suitable for adult beginners.