“What does music mean to you?” This opens up the student to tell me what he or she thinks of when hearing the word music and will show me what their interests are. We will also cover the very first basics of the piano; how many keys does it have, correct fingers to play with, and most importantly, just having fun!
After lesson eleven, we are in full swing! We are learning the major scales and all of the correct finger combinations, working on multiple pieces to play, and how to perform, further developing their new found life long love for music. In addition, we will be learning more complex theory studies such as song form and instrumentation. By this lesson, they no longer feel like lessons, but just an amazingly fun and enriching time for the student.
For lessons four through ten, we will further improve upon the piano basics while starting to incorporate musical theory and composition. This could mean learning the major scales or even writing a 10 note song. We will have weekly checks for progress on the learned material. When coming to the end of our lesson, I will give a homework assignment for the student to complete before the next week’s lesson.
On lessons two and three. we will dive deeper into piano basics mainly focusing on correct hand positions, knowledge of all the notes and their names, as well as choose the first song they will learn. At the end, we will do some active listening. This means that we will listen to songs and write down everything we can hear, even if just one thing.
The first lesson will provide me a baseline for the student. This will show me their musical aptitude and overall skill level on all subjects in music. We will be assessing their performance skills, theory knowledge, as well as how well their ears work with ear training exercises.
You’ve made it to lesson eleven, you’re a legend! We will be focused from here on out on what the student wants from the music they’ve learned. Whether that’s playing a certain genre of music or transitioning into songwriting and production, the sky is the limit. Lessons are now more open ended to ensure that the student is learning and fulfilled in their musical journey!
Lessons four through ten are where will dive deeper into new musical concepts and styles. We will focus on further improving their skills while teaching them new and fun ways to practice. Having already developed a system, I will walk them through the crash course of advanced music which includes, theoretical skills, composition and arranging, in addition to instrumentation.
Lessons two and three will be focused on what we learned for the first lesson. We will work on fixing any bad playing habits as well as address any musical concepts they are unsure on. I will also start providing them with specialized exercises specifically for those issues to ensure that we are being specific and organized with our practicing.