“Use it or lose it!”
You have made a substantial investment in your child’s education.
Music is like exercising; If you exercise your body regularly, there has to be a great health benefit. But just because you’ve been exercising for 10 months straight doesn’t mean you can stop exercising for 2 months and keep your health exactly as it was the last day you exercised!
Of course not.
What REALLY happens is that your health slowly begins to deteriorate. Do that for several months and all your hard work will pay off.
The same thing happens in MUSIC. Your child (and you!) have worked hard on your instrument/voice all school year, and if you take the summer off from lessons, YOU WILL LOSE IT because you didn’t USE IT all summer.
Imagine what would happen to your waistline if you didn’t exercise and eat whatever you wanted for 2 months! (If you’re one of those people who can eat cheeseburgers and fries all the time and never gain a pound, don’t tell me!)
So USE IT (your music lessons, of course) and keep the momentum going throughout the summer so you don’t LOSE IT! Learn new things in a more relaxed setting, when your child has more free time to practice without juggling homework.
Why When you don’t “Use” it, you “Lose” money:
Many parents believe they will “save money” by cutting music lessons for the summer. This is actually a pretty big short-sighted decision, because it doesn’t take into account “wearing out” of skills and techniques, and having to relearn these things when it’s fall “Back to School” time. If you have to learn something TWICE, you’ve wasted your money.
This is how you “lose” when you don’t “use”:
January 2011 – Pay $100, Learn Middle C, Play Multiple Songs in Middle C, Learn Notes and Rests
February 2011: Pay $100, stay in middle C, play hands together and apart, learn a C scale of opposite motion, brushing up on 2010 music terminology.
March 2011 – Pay $100 Tuition, Learn C Major Position, C Major Scale, Using Chord Progressions
April 2011: Pay $100 tuition, continue in C major position, learn F major position and scales
May 2011: Pay $100 tuition, continue above, learn transposition in C and F; learn rest values
June 2011 (3 weeks only): Pay $75 tuition, prepare for recital; continue up
Total: $575
July 2011: OFF (no tuition, no apprenticeship)
August 2011: Deactivated (no tuition, no apprenticeship)
September 2011: Pay $100 tuition, wrestle with June 2011 songs, relearn C major position, do 2010 hand exercises because fingers have lost some dexterity and independence, student is frustrated and losing moral
October 2011: Pay $100 tuition, relearn F major position, continue with C major position, practice 2010 and 2011 scales to get his finger strength back to where it was in June 2011. Still frustrated, the student wants to quit. Parents are now frustrated too.
November 2011: Pay $100 tuition, prepare for winter recital, but have to choose song learned from May 2011 because student hasn’t been able to learn any new material; he’s stuck re-learning material from March to June. , 2011.
December 2011 (3 weeks only): Pay $75 tuition, perform at Winter Recital. The student feels better about his playing, now back in a constant practice routine. Play a song from the winter recital that is at the same level as the student in June 2011. The teacher can now plan to learn new material after winter break in January 2012.
Total: $375.
However, if you check the above, you will see that this is the SAME $375 that they ALREADY PAID between March and June. Nothing new was learned, everything was learned again. So this was a loss of $375.
TOTAL PAID 2011: $950
However, $375 was a waste – parents paid TWICE for the same material learned!
In addition: motivation decreased; parents had difficulties and stress at home between lessons; student misses the opportunity to make the Studio CD for the holidays, the general satisfaction of the students has decreased.
What would have happened if the student took classes in July and August?
January – June 2011, same as above: $575 total
July 2011: Pays $75 (took vacation); learned the position of G major, scales in G major. Since the student has no homework and therefore more time available, they are assigned duets with another student and some fun and popular pieces that encourage them to practice more. Technique skyrockets, motivation increases!
August 2011 – Paid $75 (took a week off): Learning Transposition in CMajor, FMajor, and GMajor; the scales are fluid, finger dexterity and independence have increased, the practice routine has been consistent throughout the year, and the student loves playing duets.
Summer Total: $150
September 2011: Pay $100; The student is adjusting to the new school year, so the teacher cleverly assigns challenging but fun pieces, gives the student finger technique exercises, asks the student to write a song in C, F, or G as a relaxing project .
October 2011: Pay $100; The student is already thinking about the winter recital, so the teacher begins assigning Christmas pieces to work on; since the student’s technique and practice have been consistent, the teacher also assigns a Christmas duet with another reliable and consistent student. He begins to learn hand-over-hand techniques, including arpeggios, in C, F, and G.
November 2011: Pay $100: Continue to work on duets and Christmas songs; refining marks of expression like legato, staccato, marcato, sforzando, and dynamics like crescendos and decrescendos.
December 2011: Pay $75 (3 weeks only): Get ready for holiday recitals, work on stage etiquette and audience etiquette, do a fun “recording project” with GarageBand in the master’s studio; participate in the “Holiday Studio CD Creation Project” with the other students who are ready; give the CDs as gifts to family members.
Fall Total: $375
Total for the year: $1050
AND: Student motivation is consistent and thriving, time back to school was an easy transition as student was used to practicing year-round, stress at home is limited, and student was able to make substantial progress in their material. The hands of the students have been improving and advancing in their abilities. The student has had encouraging and motivating new experiences such as playing duets, playing new and more advanced material at the winter recital, and is SO proud to be a part of the Holiday Studio Make a CD project! Students practice with little or no effort from parents. The student identifies himself as a musician to his friends at school and is happy to show him off to his class.
Conclusion:
Although in Scenario II, the parent paid $100 more for annual tuition, the student has made steady progress and is much closer to having “music for life” rather than just “music for now.” The parent has made an INVESTMENT in the child’s future and in the future of their grandchildren: this child is likely to continue in music until he or she is fluent enough to play for fun, at parties for friends, and maybe even make money on music. this or go to university and study. there. This is an enriching, consistent and educational experience, part of the fabric of the child’s life.
In Scenario I, it appears that the parent paid $100 less, but actually paid $375 MORE due to repetition. The boy had a rough start to the school year because he had to re-create a practice routine while adjusting to his new grade level. Parents were stressed at home between lessons and even contemplated quitting altogether at times. The boy does not see himself as a “musician” since he is not consistent in his life. If this continues for a few years or more, the child is likely to reach high school and lose these skills forever: he did not make “music for life.”
Conclusion: Don’t take the summer off!
