A lot of parents start thinking about offering their children the opportunity to learn piano at a pretty young age – and that is the best age to start. The earlier the better 🙂 However, they are not always sure that their child is ready to focus on an entire lesson at the piano. Other kids could be old enough, but not knowing what they are getting into, they might feel a little overwhelmed or intimidated by a full one on one piano lesson with a teacher they don’t know.
The Deluxe Lesson is a great format – for these reasons and so much more. It allows new students to ease into the world of music through a variety of learning experiences, takes into account the shorter attention span of the beginners and just makes it plain fun to come to the studio!
So How Does It Work Exactly?
During a deluxe private piano lesson, 3 students will rotate through different learning stations, each lasting 20 minutes. After the first 20 minutes, they rotate and start their second portion of the lesson in a different station, and then finish the lesson with the remaining station.
Each student will start and finish with a different station, but they will all go through the three of them at some point in the hour.
Station 1 – Piano Lesson
One of these 20 minutes will be spent with a piano teacher at the piano. This is the piano lesson station: warm ups, technique, reading music.
Station 2 – Music Theory Games
A second teacher is at the station we commonly refer to as the “game time”. There, the student will be presented with a bunch of little challenges and activities touching on various music theory elements, turning the learning process into a game. It’s an approach that demystifies music theory and helps students getting familiar and comfortable with all kinds of important musical terms and concepts.
Station 3 – Sight Reading at the iPad
At the third station, the student is sitting at one of our digital pianos with earphones plugged into an iPad. On the tablet are various applications that teach sight reading in video game form. While the student is at the station, they are working alone, but under the supervision of the second teacher who is nearby and can help if there is any need. But we know how kids are savvy at working with applications and video games; they get it faster than adults and they usually get the hang of this station pretty quickly… and they love it!
If these little descriptions failed to paint a clear picture for you, please click on the video at the top of this article, where you will see our kids in action in the context of a deluxe private piano lesson.
Is My Child A Good Candidate For Deluxe Lessons?
Most children 6 years old and up can easily participate in a deluxe Lesson and benefit from its variety of teaching styles. It is a great introduction for a complete beginner, but even children who already know how to play could find this format a fun and dynamic way to learn more.
If you don’t know if your child is ready for this type of class, you can always arrange a trial to see how it works. We cannot encourage you enough to take advantage of this great formula! It’s fun and it works!