How Many Lessons A Week Do I Need?
When we’re speaking to new enquiries about our lessons, we’re often asked: “How many lessons a week do I need?” Some folk are super-enthusiastic and eager to get started (which is great!), but seem disappointed when we say just one lesson a week will be enough. Here are some of our reasons why:
Let It Sink In
You need time between lessons to absorb the information and work on the material set by your Teacher. You can cover a lot of material in one session, and you need time to process it all and make sure it all makes sense to you so you can put it into action. You’ve heard about short-term and long-term memory? Well, in order to learn a musical instrument, you need all of that important information to make its way to your long-term memory so you can access it time and time again. That can take a little time, helped by regular practice (see below).
The Best-Laid Plans
Quite often, something unexpected comes up through the week and throws all of our best-laid plans to the wind! We know that life can be very unpredictable. If you’re a Singing Student and all of a sudden you develop a nasty cold, you need time to shake it off and rest your voice! If you have a lesson every few days, you probably won’t get the chance to rest, putting you at risk of damaging your voice.
Weekly lessons allow for things to pop up and to give you time to get back on-track before you see your Teacher again. Otherwise you may feel you’ve got nothing new to show since your last lesson.
Practice Time
Unlike a lot of activities, most of the progress you will make in learning to play an instrument will happen outside your lesson. Home practice time is essential to making progress. Your lessons should be seen as an opportunity to touch base with your Teacher. They can help iron out any difficulties you’ve been having as well as give you guidance on how to improve. Personal practice time helps to develop muscle memory (very important if you’re playing an instrument like a Piano)
More lessons usually don’t result in quicker progress, because you haven’t got the chance between lessons to really get to grips with the material and make major improvements. Music isn’t like a school exam, where you can “cram” – slow and steady wins the race, here.
Conclusion
Trust us – we know a weekly 30-minute lesson doesn’t sound like a lot, but once you get going, you’ll be grateful for a whole week between lessons to give you plenty of time to work on and improve your playing, so you can look at new material next time!
If you’d like to book lessons with us, please get in touch.