Shouldn’t children be able to read & understand math before starting music lessons? No. It is not a requirement for learning music. In fact studies have shown that children can learn music best if they begin at a very young age. Very young children because they are developing language have very active ears and have the opportunity to learn music as a language.

Aren’t private lessons better than group? No. Private lessons get very lonely very quickly and 80% of all children who begin them drop out before the end of one year. Children actually progress at a faster rate in group lessons and tend to continue their music lesson over a longer period of time because: 1) they have an hour instead of a half hour with the teacher; 2) they are in a mildly competitive situation and want to keep up; 3) they enjoy their lesson and learn quickly and easily; and 4) if they miss a lesson they have to catch up rather than do the same lesson over.

Do the children need to practice? How long? Yes. The children need to practice. Children’s attention span is about one minute for each year they are old, so we recommend 5-10 minutes maximum every day.

Wouldn’t it be better just to have a teacher some to our home? It sure would be easier on me. No. Having a teacher come to the home is one of the least successful ways to learn music. There are many distractions in the average home: dogs barking, siblings interrupting, telephones ringing, etc. Additionally, children do not take the music lesson as seriously when it is in the home.