Ok, so, you’ve decided your child is ready for a trial piano lesson. Now what? You’ve scheduled a time, you’ve talked it over with the student. Now, how to prepare a productive music space for smooth lessons and practice time? Here are some guidelines that will make lessons flow well!
1. Find a calm, quiet space for the piano or keyboard to live. If you have an acoustic piano in a common room, please be aware of the rest of the family’s noise level during lessons. Learning a new instrument can be frustrating at times, and it is impacted if the environment is noisy!
2. Make sure the height of the chair/bench is good for the student’s height. For proper technique and form, the student’s elbows should be evenly at their sides when facing the piano. Their forearms should be level with the keys, not angled up or down.
3. I need a chair beside the piano in order to be on the same level as the student and to teach well! If you have surface space on the piano, or a side table, that is very much appreciated as well.
4. Since we are just meeting, I would love it if you stayed in the room or nearby during the trial lesson. I want you to get a sense of how I teach and how the student is receiving it. Once we start on-going lessons, I’d prefer if you weren’t directly in the space, as sometimes that can be distracting. But for this first lesson, I want to give you the play-by-play!
5. At the end of the lesson, I will give you an overview and we can talk books, scheduling, etc.
I hope these tips are helpful! Please reach out if you have any questions or concerns prior to your trial lesson!