When it comes to learning an instrument, most students (and even some parents!) assume you should always practice from the beginning of a piece to the end. But as music teachers who work closely with beginner students, we can confidently say this: backwards practice works best. That’s right—starting at the end of a piece and
As a team of private music teachers who work primarily with beginner students, we get this question a lot: “What does it mean to do well at a recital?” And it’s a great question—especially because the answer might not be what you expect. For us, doing well at a recital isn’t about playing a flawless
Make-up Music Lessons From An Economist’s Point of View. By Vicky Barham I’m a parent of children enrolled in Suzuki music lessons. I’d like to explain to other parents why I feel – quite strongly, actually – that it is unreasonable of we parents to expect our teachers to make up lessons we miss, even
As a group of teachers who work with beginner students every day, we’ve seen firsthand how transformative jam sessions in lessons can be. It’s not just about playing notes on a page—it’s about creating music with others, gaining confidence, and having fun. Whether you’re new to guitar, piano, violin, or voice, adding jam time to
YOU’RE DOING WHAT?! Piano Lessons Younger students who practice for their piano lessons are always impressive. It’s a sign of high character and good values. It’s also an indication that someone in the home values the piano lessons and the more people valuing music lessons, the better. Some students have a hard time making time
As private teachers who specialize in beginner music students, we’ve all heard the same sheepish confession at the start of a lesson: “I didn’t practice this week.” While regular home practice is important, it’s not the only way students grow. In fact, there’s a surprising amount that students learn practicing or not, especially when lessons
GREAT TEACHERS – NOT ALWAYS! Very few of the finest music teachers set out to teach. In fact most of us were set on never becoming teachers at all. We are and were performers; wanna-be rock stars (maybe still for me), classical players, jazz artists, composers, singers, songwriters, and anything but music teachers. But that