Lessons

I sometimes get asked why people should take lessons. Honestly, it was hard for me to really put into words why I felt lessons were important. So, let me start by asking a question. When it comes to home repair, do you do it yourself or do you call an expert. Depends on the situation, right? So, when it comes to lessons, I think it really depends on what you want to accomplish (or what your parents want you to accomplish.) I grew up in a very musical family, where my mother played flute, and my father played clarinet. When I joined the band in 4th grade, it took them about 3 or 4 months before they considered getting me lessons (at the recommendation of the band director.) When first starting lessons, my plans were simple, just get better. How do you judge getting better? Is it tone production, range, dynamic control or something completely different? For me, getting better fell into 2 categories. Overall improvement on the instrument, and my own personal growth as a person. I feel that growing as a person is just as important as growing as a musician. When I teach lessons, the first lesson is very similar to most teachers, I try to do some basics and warm-ups to see where my students are in their own stages. I also want to get a sense of them as a person. I ask questions that seem not to pertain to music at all, but it helps me get to know who you are. Each week, I ask if anything new has happened in their lives, such as musical events, passing or failing a test, scoring the winning goal, etc. I use this to sort of get a sense as to where they are in their head today. All this information goes into the lesson process. So, back to the main question today, why take lessons? Well, I think it is a personal reason more than anything. Lessons helped me accomplish what I wanted to be, a better person. I think that is the reason to take lessons.