If a student has been moved out of group lessons, or has been encouraged by a teacher to do so—this is a good thing! This means that the teachers at the Omaha School of Music and Dance believe the student is advancing in their skills and will benefit from private lessons.
Private lessons are like a fast-track towards technical proficiency and musicality. In private lessons, a student will:
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Experience an increase in teacher’s expectations
Students will be challenged to read music accurately, with correct note names, fingering placements, and rhythm length. This almost certainly won’t be perfect the first, second, or even third time. But that’s what private lessons are for: working with the teacher to learn the tricks of the trade in order to read music accurately.
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Spend more time in lessons on detailed, technical work
Having trouble getting your finger over the D-key, or reaching that octave? Do some notes crack when you sing? Private lessons are for problem-solving these sorts of issues. In a private lesson, the instructor can spend the time working on the best way to fix little problems with big impact. This sort of instruction also benefits at-home practice. Through this kind of work face-to-face with a teacher, a student learns the most effective ways to work on problems during the precious few hours available for practicing.
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Start to perform music from memory
In order to work on finer-tuned problems, teachers will often break down phrases of music or even notes, into very small patterns and repetitively go through them. Eventually, this becomes regular motor movements without looking at the notes being played on the page. Being able to memorize helps a student focus on the technical problems they might be trying to fix, without being caught up in reading correctly.
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Practice more often at home
As a beneficial side effect to increased expectations by teachers, detailed technical work in lessons, and memorization, the student will have moved beyond the beginning foundations of music lessons. Once a student is confident in their ability to read music, and to use whichever instrument with good technique, a student starts progressing exponentially. It’s in private lessons that the creativity and self-expression is developed—and the student gets excited about the music being studied!
So if the Omaha School of Music and Dance calls a parent to suggest that a student move into private lessons, it’s because we see great potential for progress with individual attention from a teacher, or that the student is already progressing beyond the level of a group class. We want to make sure every music student at OSMD is reaching their full potential and achieving their goals. The Omaha School of Music and Dance believe that moving from a group class into a private lesson is necessary for advancement.
Looking to advance in your own musical practice? Call the Omaha School of Music and Dance to register for private lessons today!
