LESSONS

There are lots of reasons to take lessons, from better preparing for chair tests, concerts and competitions at school, to just plain having the support to move forward on personal musical goals. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you're deciding whether to plunk down the money when the economy is scary already.

One: studies have repeatedly shown that students who study music perform better on math and language tests than those who don't. A variety of explanations abound, but my theory is that basically, we're exercising the same parts of the brain. Applying a key signature to a piece is basically the same as an algebraic equation. Keeping track of the beats in a measure (vertical) and the notes on the staff (horizontal) is like reading a multiplication table. This is also similar to keeping track of gender and plurality in grammar. And of course, training your ear to imitate sound applies to music and spoken language equally. Food for thought.

Two, and I don't mean to spoil the secret for any teenagers reading this, but adolescence can be a difficult time. Band is fun. Band kids tend to be both fun and so occupied with music, rehearsals, practicing, concerts, that they may (hopefully) have less time to get in the kinds of trouble that stick with you for life. Plus you learn creative ways to deal with frustration, anger, excitement, the works.

I strive to assign tasks in manageable chunks, provide tools so the student is very clear on how to reach that goal as they practice, and provide lots of encouragement for each thing they're doing RIGHT as they continue to wrestle with the hard things I will continue to pile on them. Hopefully this helps build a set of skills to reaching goals throughout life, whether musical or not. This should also increase confidence, as music provides very clear rewards for each success.

Most importantly, and this applies to adults coming later to music as well as kids, this is supposed to be FUN! To that end, I try to balance reading music and technical proficiency with playing by ear and creating your own music. You'll find, by coming to any of my gigs, that I'm totally winging it at all times. I believe that reading music is invaluable; it is akin to reading books. But playing by ear is like opening your mouth and speaking whatever comes out. This is where the greatest creativity emerges.

I continue to take lessons myself and will do so all my life. I do this when I have something I clearly want to get better at, and I do it when I'm just in a slump and need someone else to push me along a little. Figure out what works for you and go for it.

And don't forget to keep it fun!