First off, I’d like to address the strong push these days toward taking music lessons out of the teaching studio and onto the internet. Focusing just on the musical issues, I’d like to point out the advantages, and a few distinct disadvantages, to each approach, specifically for parents whose child wants to take up formal music instruction.
Advantages to online lessons
Flexibility in scheduling is perhaps the greatest advantage to online lessons. Without the need for both teacher and student to get themselves and their gear to the teacher’s studio, the time and expense of travel is removed. It’s much more convenient to simply connect at home via computer, do the lesson, and then get on with your day.
As a teacher, I have worked with students online halfway across the planet, and also with local students on vacation who don’t want to interrupt their progress. In addition, when making a trip to my studio, I like to have at least a few students scheduled for the day to make the trip more worthwhile, whereas when doing remote lessons from home, it’s much easier for me to work a single student into my day at the time they would prefer.
Disadvantages to online lessons
Compared to meeting in-person in the teacher’s studio, online lessons (AKA remote learning, e-learning, etc) can sometimes be a bit frustrating for both student and teacher. Besides the technical distractions of web-cam placement, lighting, audio quality etc, by far the greatest obstacle is the inherent latency resulting from sending and receiving audio over the internet, making it impossible to play duets in real time.
Since the push towards online lessons has been given considerable urgency in 2020, I’m personally considering a workaround where I prerecord the parts and make the MP3s available for students to download and practice with on their own.
How parents can get more bang for the buck
I’ve always been very sensitive to parents getting good value for their investment in lessons, whether online or in the studio. The cost of a single lesson doesn’t sound like much, but multiplied weekly for months (or years) on end amounts to a sizable investment… which doesn’t include the cost of the instrument, upkeep, etc.
The key to making lessons a worthwhile investment
is for parents to closely monitor their child’s practice time!
There’s an old musicians’ saying that goes, “It’s not how many years you’ve been playing that count, but how many hours.” Daily practice is essential to learning any musical instrument, so I always recommend that parents make daily practice a precondition for the luxury of music lessons. If a student doesn’t practice their materials, they cannot move forward, and multiple lessons become necessary to cover the same material. This frustrates the student, and makes the teacher, in essence, an over-paid babysitter. Not a good dynamic.
Be firm and tell your child, “If we do this, then I need to see you commit a half-hour every day to practicing… otherwise, we’ll have to discontinue the lessons.”
When I’m working with a young student who is clearly not practicing as they should, and repeated attempts to encourage more practice gain no traction, then my instinct is to simply remove the pressure for awhile. Being forced to take lessons and perform poorly week after week can leave a student with a disheartening memory (“I tried to learn to play when I was a kid, but it was too hard… I guess I have no talent for it”). Such a negative experience with music can haunt a person for the rest of their lives. In my opinion it’s better to give the youngster a little more time to develop the patience they need to succeed.
So yes, I have been known to recommend that parents discontinue their child’s lessons for awhile, until such time as the student is ready to commit to a daily practice schedule (I always emphasize “daily”, but in reality if a student reports getting 5 days of solid practice in a week, I consider that a win).
Discontinuing music lessons for neglecting practice may sound harsh in a world where kids are given participation trophies just for showing up, but it is also a lesson in something I personally consider even more important — self-discipline and accountability. Sometimes even a few months off can make a huge difference as a maturing child becomes more willing to accept responsibility for the things they really want in life.
So before you enroll your child in formal music lessons, have a serious discussion with your fledgling musician, emphasize the need for diligent practice, and watch their response. If the desire is strong, they’ll jump at the chance to learn to play music. And as they proceed with lessons, stay aware of the assignments your child is given, and keep an ear on their practice, making sure they’re actually working on the assigned material, and not just noodling around on stuff they already know.
We’ve all seen the studies demonstrating the many benefits that accrue for young people studying music. The study of music as a child has enhanced the development of countless fantastic minds over the centuries, and it’s a fortunate kid whose parents have the desire and resources to provide that benefit. Working together, parent, child and teacher can together experience the abundant joys of nurturing the development of youthful raw talent into something of great value in this world.
For additional tips and ideas to ponder, check out my article, The Importance of Good Practice Habits.
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