| If you have ever considered music lessons for adults, | | | | nursing homes all over the country. Age curtails many |
| perhaps some of the following thoughts have come | | | | activities due to physical constraints, but playing an |
| to mind: "My parents made me take piano lessons | | | | instrument or singing can be safe and enjoyable at |
| when I was a kid and I hated it and never practiced. | | | | any age. Senior adults are often retirees with time to |
| Now I really regret that." "I would love to have a | | | | practice, so they can usually make remarkable |
| grand piano in my house, but I don't know how to | | | | progress. Playing music can be a good source of |
| play." "When I was a child, I always wanted to play | | | | stress relief for the active working adult. A good |
| an instrument, but I never got to." "I played the | | | | teacher will be able to monitor the correct difficulty |
| clarinet when I was in high school and I really loved | | | | level of music in order to make music enjoyable and |
| it." People reminisce about their past experiences with | | | | a source of pleasure for the adult student, and not |
| music and make comments like these. Music teachers | | | | another chore added to a schedule that may already |
| hear them all the time... especially from those looking | | | | be burdened. |
| for music lessons for adults. | | | | Playing music encompasses the body and the mind, |
| Music lessons for adults are easily available for almost | | | | with both brain and hands becoming precisely |
| any instrument, and that includes the voice. But there | | | | connected. Each finger has to be a certain place at a |
| is not as much advertising and promoting of music | | | | certain time, and each note sung is a very exact |
| lessons for adults as for children. This sometimes | | | | number of vibrations per second. The science of this |
| leads to a common perception by the public that | | | | is precise and fascinating. True euphoria can be |
| music instruction is an activity for children only. This | | | | produced by successfully making it through a |
| article will address some of the main reasons adults | | | | challenging passage. |
| take lessons, how music lessons for adults benefit | | | | Music lessons for adults are also advantageous in a |
| them, and ways to avoid some snags when you | | | | social sense. Belonging to a community orchestra or |
| decide you want to begin taking lessons. | | | | chorus, joining a band, entertaining at parties, being a |
| The first question an adult needs to ask before | | | | musically-educated member of a church choir-these |
| starting music lessons for adults is, "Why do I want | | | | activities are all much more pleasurable when you |
| to do this?" Both teacher and student must have a | | | | have the proper training. |
| clear picture of what all the goals are. Just as | | | | Look at bulletin boards in music stores and local |
| important is the choice of instrument. How about | | | | computer lists. They all show people looking for |
| that old saxophone stored away somewhere in the | | | | singers, keyboardists, and all kinds of other musicians. |
| house? What about the piano you inherited from | | | | Music is a performing art, but playing at home or |
| your grandmother? Or is it your desire to go out and | | | | alone, with no one listening can be an entirely relaxing |
| buy a violin because you really want to play that | | | | and enjoyable time. But, music is unique in that it |
| violin? No matter what you choose, there is an | | | | takes three entities for completion. A composer must |
| adventure just ahead of you. Each instrument is | | | | create the music, a performer must perform the |
| distinct and individual in its own way, but there is a | | | | piece, and an audience is needed to hear and enjoy |
| common set of rules for all written music, and that | | | | it. It is these three elements-composer, performer, |
| allows for producing and good performance, which is, | | | | and audience-that make a live performance a |
| after all, the goal of performing art. | | | | distinctively engaging experience between the |
| The "motherboard" of all musical instruments is the | | | | performer and the audience, even if your audience is |
| piano. All other instruments extend from the piano, | | | | just the family relaxing with you at home! Keep in |
| and the playing or singing of music is fun and | | | | mind, though, a good music studio will always offer |
| engaging no matter which instrument you choose. | | | | recitals to its students to allow them to perform in |
| But to produce a good sound and to be accurate and | | | | front of an audience, should they desire to do that. |
| artistic in your performance, even if "performing" is | | | | Dr. Diana Chapman Walsh, former President of |
| just playing for yourself, it is necessary to | | | | Massachusetts' Wellesley College gave a most |
| understand the fundamental principles of playing and | | | | inspiring and memorable speech when she was |
| or singing. It is very stimulating to be able to just | | | | addressing prospective students. Incoming freshmen |
| entertain yourself, or to play on stage in front of an | | | | at Wellesley were encouraged to delay declaring a |
| audience. | | | | major. The philosophy there was to keep all avenues |
| Once you decide you want to begin lessons the next | | | | of self-development open. Dr. Walsh advocated |
| step is to locate a teacher who is in tune with your | | | | taking classes in which you had no experience, and |
| interests and schedule. You need to make your | | | | classes that you considered uninteresting, because |
| needs known to the instructor. Is pop and jazz for | | | | you might discover an aptitude you never knew you |
| your own pleasure what you want to play? Do you | | | | had. I like to compare adults taking music lessons to |
| want to form a woodwind quintet for classical music | | | | Dr. Seuss's character, Sam, who finds that after |
| of the masters? You need to make it known. It will | | | | resisting them, "he LIKES green eggs and ham!" This |
| be a total frustration for both student and teacher | | | | is great advice for people of any age! The point gets |
| to slave over a Mozart sonata for several months, | | | | across in yet a different way in Columbia Picture's |
| when what you really wanted to learn was how to | | | | 1991 movie, City Slickers. Curley, a character played |
| play cocktail piano for a friend's party. Those who | | | | by Jack Palance, is a wise and weathered old |
| take music lessons for adults tell of the enjoyment | | | | cowboy, and his companion is Mitch (played by Billy |
| and fun gained from flexibility in attempting a wide | | | | Crystal). Mitch asks Curley what the meaning of life |
| assortment of music styles. No matter what style of | | | | is, and Curley answers that it is "just one thing," |
| music you want to play, nothing takes the place of | | | | When Mitch asks what the one thing is, Curley replies |
| learning the basics, learning the vocabulary, and | | | | that it's different for everybody, and everybody has |
| grasping the fundamentals, but these are merely | | | | to find it for themselves. No matter what your age, |
| tools to be used to reach the desired results. The | | | | it is never too late to see if music might be your |
| adult student who begins lessons needs to remember | | | | "one thing." |
| that communication is the key. The adult student is | | | | One of the many beautiful aspects of music is that it |
| the customer and that student will experience a real | | | | crosses all cultural, ethnic, political, and religious |
| feeling of accomplishment when they possess a real | | | | boundaries, and it is a constant. In an ever-changing |
| desire to learn. A clear understanding between | | | | world of electronic and digital technology, the |
| teacher and student of what the ultimate goal is will | | | | specifics of how to play music remains unchanged, as |
| produce the most fulfillment. The ideal music | | | | anyone will find who took lessons as a child and |
| instructor will cultivate this process and structure the | | | | starts again years later. (Middle C will never betray |
| material in such a way as to make it user-friendly and | | | | you--it's always right where it was the day before, |
| fun! | | | | just waiting to be played!) |
| After you've found a teacher that meets your | | | | Students taking music lessons for adults come from |
| expectations, you will have to make a determination | | | | all walks of life. A cross-section of my studio's adult |
| of how much time you can devote to this exciting | | | | students includes a medical student seeking |
| project. Keep in mind that music is a journey, not a | | | | recreation and release from studying, a retiree |
| destination. Even the most accomplished professionals | | | | working on a piano sonata, a housewife who |
| never stop being coached and seeking input from | | | | received a grand piano for her anniversary present, |
| their peers. Enter your lessons with the expectation | | | | an attorney who wants to be able to help his son |
| of spending at least a few years mastering the | | | | with his piano lessons, a wife and mother of three |
| basics. | | | | who just turned forty and is taking voice and yoga |
| There is never a time when even the most | | | | for self-fulfillment, and an attorney with a long-held |
| accomplished professionals ever stop being coached | | | | desire to learn piano but never played. There is |
| and getting input from their peers. Music lessons for | | | | another gentleman from the medical industry who |
| adults should be entered into with the understanding | | | | has a complete sound studio in his house, and he |
| that you will spend at least a few years mastering | | | | wants to concentrate on theory in order to compose |
| the basics. Even more importantly, music lessons are | | | | and record original music. |
| most successful when there is time to practice. | | | | Once when housing two gentlemen from the Ukraine |
| Thirty minutes per week is most often the actual | | | | overnight, I had one of the best musical experiences |
| lesson time. It is during this lesson time that the | | | | ever. They were traveling with an orchestra and |
| teacher will check hand position and breathing | | | | chorus across the US, staying in individual homes. |
| techniques, answer questions that may have come | | | | They did not know a word of English, and I knew no |
| up during the prior week, demonstrate how to | | | | Russian. It looked like it could be a long night, until |
| overcome trouble spots, and prepare the student for | | | | they pulled out their violins. I pulled out a flute, and |
| what is coming up the next week. The adult student | | | | the three of us played Bach trios all evening long. |
| must be willing to commit to a few minutes of | | | | Communicating in words became unnecessary. We all |
| practice for drills and repetition of material. Success | | | | understood the language of music, and that can be a |
| will be linked directly to the amount of time dedicated | | | | very rewarding experience for anyone. As an adult |
| to practice, but for the recreational musician, an | | | | coping with today's world of techno-gadgets, |
| acceptable result can be achieved through one | | | | Twittering, time crunches and traffic, learning music |
| half-hour of concentrated practice most days per | | | | through music lessons for adults can be a great |
| week. | | | | outlet. Who knows, you might just discover your |
| There are well-documented therapeutic advantages | | | | "one thing. |
| of playing a musical instrument. Pianos are located in | | | | |