Soccer, Piano, and Guitar – One Of These Things Are Not Like The Other

While there are aspects that make being a musician a lot like being an athlete, Piano and Guitar Lessons are not like signing up your child up to play soccer. There’s no game on Saturdays and music lesson students don’t have a group practice two times a week.

At Lessons In Your Home we get a lot of questions about how music lessons work. The logistics if you will, on the where, how, and when of music lessons and how they function. This article will examine the differences between music lessons and sports from a parent’s perspective.

Music Lesson Season Is All Year

I’d say the biggest difference between piano and guitar lessons and Soccer is that there is no end to the music lesson season if you will. While the kids who love soccer the most rarely put down the ball, their coach does take a rest a few times a year in-between the games and practices. Your Piano Teacher on the other hand, does not.

Taking music lessons is a year round event and there’s a reason for it. Music needs consistency to survive in a student. Most students, just like most soccer players don’t sleep with an instrument in their hand, when the activity goes away so will it in their head and hearts. With music though, since we’re solo, we can’t blow a whistle and have everyone run into a circle and get motivated again.

Each week in lessons we build, even on the weeks where the average student might not get to practice, the time piano teachers have with their piano lesson students is quite valuable. The constant encouragement and example of consistency is part of a musicians education in itself.

Practice Is Everyday Not Two Times A Week

When my children played soccer we had so much fun. Practice two times a week and we had a game on Saturday afternoon. That’s a little different when it comes to guitar lessons. Guitar Teachers ask their students and set a practice plan in motion for them, to practice everyday. And as far as a game goes, most guitar students get two recitals a year to show off their moves not an opportunity each weekend.

One Session With Your Teacher or Coach Each Week

While piano and guitar lesson students are asked to practice each day, their teacher or coach only sees them once each week. It’s been like this with private lessons for a long time. Here’s how it works:

• A teacher comes to your home once each week.
• The student learns a concept, an idea, or a technique on their instrument.
• Each lesson touches on Performance, Technique, and Music Theory.
• The teacher insures a general understanding on the new concept and leaves the student with a practice plan to work on what was covered in the lessons.
• The teacher comes again next week to reinforce the last week’s lesson and starts again with a new or modified concept, growing based on the students needs.

The Cheerleaders Are The Same

In Piano and Guitar Lessons, just like soccer, students and players need cheerleaders. This is one place where music lessons and sports are exactly the same. Students need their parents, friends, and family to cheer them on. In lessons, what we cheer for can look a lot different then a goal or a great defensive play. In music lessons, a good play worth cheering may look like one or more of these examples:

• A strong participation and effort during practice or a lesson.
• A small part of a song that’s really coming a long.
• A explanation from a student that can actually express to you they have a knowledge of what they are doing or working on.
• A knowledge or Music Theory.
• A demonstration from a music lesson student they know how to use their ears!
• A recital performance.
• A positive comment from your students music teacher.

While Soccer, Piano, and Guitar may not be exactly the same they all help with a child’s development. We all want our children to experience both physical and Musical growth. As parents, a simple understanding of the differences can help us make the best choices for students. Make a great choice; take a Lessons In Your Home Music Lesson!