It's the statement parents and teachers often dread: "but I don't WANNA do it!" What happens when I've arrived for the lesson and that's the first thing we hear?

As noted in my previous post people most often want someone to listen to them. Often my first question will be, "Why not?" Maybe the student had a terrible day, they had a disagreement with a friend, they're hungry, they're tired...or they didn't practice much and are embarrassed to play. Asking first, instead of demanding they…

I don't get this question too often, since those who reach out to me have already decided to learn, but it's come up often enough that I'd like to address it for all prospective musicians and music students.  

First things first: there's no one-size-fits-all answer for every single person interested in learning music. I'll likely add additional posts on the topic because there are simply too many reasons to pack into one blog post.  

I read something a few months ago about how music educators should stop…

Following up on my previous post about how much to practice, I want to follow up with a little note on, well, best practices for practicing! As I mentioned, I'm not the type of person who encourages every music student to play for a particular time. I encourage playing a piece a set number of times. 

Last weekend I attended a guitar workshop in Manhattan led by a group of renowned performers and educators and practicing was a hot topic. The general consensus of the educators was that quality, not quantity…

This is a question I'm asked by both new and seasoned students alike. New students and parents want to know what they're signing up for while more advanced students want to ensure their practice routines continue to benefit their musical journeys.  

In an ideal world, my students would practice each piece (or section of a piece) about 5 times per day, every day. That's it. No half-hour of daily practice, no two-hour marathon practice sessions on the weekend.  

Here's why: the brain actually makes the…

Prospective students and parents often ask me "What's the right age to start music lessons?" My answer is an enthusiastic "Any age!" Learning music is beneficial to students of all ages. I've taught lessons to students as young as three all the way up into retirement and I've seen growth and development at every age.  

Before three years old, a private music lesson is probably not the best choice, but group music classes such as Mommy and Me music, music and movement classes, Kindermusic, and others are a…

I'm currently living and teaching music lessons in the Middlebury, VT area, but I haven't lived here forever - we arrived just last November! I've been teaching music for over a decade though, and I've been extremely fortunate that, during the course of that decade, technology has allowed me to continue teaching students, regardless of location! It's amazing to see some of my students grow up (I've now had students not only graduate high school, but graduate college, get married, and have kids of their…