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I am dedicated to ensuring that children who study piano with me will develop both the appreciation of music and the skills of musicianship that will make music a part of their lives for years to come. Your assistance as a parent can facilitate your child’s study and reinforce the support that he or she will receive at lessons. I require each student to bring a notebook to lessons. I provide detailed notes on each lesson, explaining the following week’s assignments, identifying areas of success and of needed improvement, and outlining all other information communicated at lessons. I will review these notes with you and your child at the end of each lesson. I may also ask your child to teach you any new musical concepts that have been introduced at the lesson. This simultaneously gives you the tools to assist your child in the upcoming week’s practice, while reinforcing new concepts for your child by placing him or her in the teacher’s role. There is no specific amount of time that a beginning student must practice each day. Enough practice to solidify the concepts and skills introduced at lessons without overburdening your child’s attention span should be sufficient. Often, several short practice sessions per day are more effective than one long session. Most important is the quality of concentration and attention given during practice. The practice room should be free of distractions during practice time. Likewise, you can be of the greatest assistance by making yourself available during practice, but remaining at a slight distance so that your child’s work can be self-directed. A
child with a solid musical education and parental support has
the opportunity to have an active lifelong relationship
with music. I look forward to helping you to offer this opportunity
to your child.
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