Piano Lessons, Trombone Lessons, Clarinet Lessons, and more - A Parent’s Guide to Music Lessons

Music lessons are an incredibly rewarding and exciting experience for any child. Whether through private lessons or through band and orchestra, students are challenged to grow as a musician and as a learner.

Here is a list of tips and tricks to help students get the most from their music lessons, as well as a quick guide for what to know about piano lessons, guitar lessons, clarinet lessons, and violin lessons.

Pick the right music lesson teacher

Finding the right instructor is key! An instructor can be very talented and come highly reviewed, but if they don’t suit your student’s unique learning style, it might be time to seek out another teacher.

For first time students, it can be helpful to try out lessons with a few different instructors, just to see which style best matches your student’s needs.

PM Music Center offers private lessons with no registration fees, which allows students the option to try out private lessons with multiple teachers, so they can find the instructor they feel most comfortable working with.  Check out our Lessons and FAQs page for more information on our wonderful roster of teachers, lesson formats and pricing, and how to enroll in private lessons today. 

Pro Tip: When booking lessons, be sure to ask if there are registration fees so you understand the full cost.

Be realistic when setting their music lesson schedule

Try not to overwhelm new students with too much, too fast. Enrolling your student in too many lessons a week or setting long at home practice sessions can lead to burnout and a lack of focus and enjoyment. Not to mention, the physical demands of learning an instrument can add to the difficulty and fatigue.  Here are a few best practices:

• Start small and pace yourselves
• Work with your student’s instructor to gauge how much they’re ready to take on
• Keep at home practice sessions short to start
• Encourage breaks when necessary to help them find balance.

Getting in the Music Lesson Mindset

One of the more powerful tools parents can use to ensure a productive and enjoyable music lesson is making sure the student has the right music lesson mindset. Here are some tips for how best to prep your student before and after their music lesson:

• Well rested and nourished - Make sure your student is well rested, and if they’re coming straight from school or other activities, try to ensure that they have a chance to have a snack. A hungry or thirsty student may be moody or have a hard time focusing.
• Show up prepared - Check with your student to make sure they have their instrument, practice materials, and anything else the teacher requires for each lesson.
  • ProTip: Keep a checklist by their music bag to help them learn to be responsible for prepared.
• Arrive on time - This helps your student to show up calm and ready to learn.
• Keep positive - Even if your student has a frustrating lesson, try to find the silver linings. Talk about what hurdles they faced and how those types of challenges are all part of learning something new.
• Time to wind down - While checking in with your student post-lesson is a great way to keep up with their lesson growth, remember that your student just worked hard and may just want to relax. If they’re not in the mood to talk about their lesson immediately, try not to pepper them with too many questions, give them some time to wind down if they need it.

Music Lesson Progress

Every musician and student has their own unique learning style, and it’s important to identify how your child is responding to their music lessons early on. Check in with the instructor(s) to see how the lessons are progressing, learn what their initial strengths and weaknesses are, and make a plan with their instructor for how best to support their growth and success.

Maybe they’re struggling with maneuvering their instrument, maybe there is a specific element they find most challenging, or perhaps it’s simply that they need to develop more focus and consistency. Consider your student’s instructor a guide who can provide you suggestions for at home practice activities or other ways you can help them be successful.

Music Motivations

For new students, staying motivated can often be the biggest challenge. Even for the most enthusiastic, it can be hard once they realize that music education takes time and that progression can often be slower than expected. Students can grow disappointed when things don’t immediately sound correct or when they’re met with a challenge they are slow to master. As a parent, your support can be instrumental (no pun intended) when helping them overcome these types of frustrations.

Help your student by encouraging them and reminding them that:

• Practice is the best way to improve
• Patience is key - be realistic about the time it takes to learn something new or master a skill
• Focus on the joy in the learning process even wfahen it may be frustrating  
• Setting a regular practice routine helps advance their progress (see our article on practice tips for more helpful ways to make at home practice consistent and fun!).

More tools to keep motivated:

• Make a recording of your child after a few lessons, and then again after a month or two. Play the recordings back for your student to show them how much they’ve improved and celebrate those accomplishments.
• Make a list of their favorite music genre and songs and if your instructor is open to it, provide them the list.
• Ask your student to play for you at home and provide positive feedback.
• Encourage them to play along to their favorite tunes to add a bit of fun to at home practice sessions.  
  • Looking for some fun ideas for your student?  Check out our selection of sheet music which includes favorites from Chappell Roan, Taylor Swift, Wicked, and Minecraft!

Get instrument specific!

What to know about Piano Lessons

The piano is exciting and versatile, but like many instruments, learning piano can require developing some unique skills. It is helpful for beginner students (and their parents) to know what to expect, in order to allow for a smooth and enjoyable journey.

Hand eye coordination

One skill new piano students face is mastering hand eye coordination. For those starting out, it’s totally normal to feel like your hands are moving completely independent of the brain. Luckily, there are a range of hand exercises available to improve dexterity:

• Try practicing finger stretches, hand squeezes, and wrist rotations to activate and strengthen the muscles
• Use fingerboard and scale drills, tapping exercises, and playing arpeggios (broken chords) to strengthen coordination and develop rhythm.
• A book like Charles-Louis Hanon’s method provide exercises and routines that progressively increase in difficulty and technique, and can help structure practice sessions for new music learners.

Get to know the keyboard

Another great way for new students to gain familiarity with the piano is through acquainting themselves with the keyboard itself! Learning any instrument is like learning a new language, so taking the time to get to know the notes of the keyboard and their respective chords is crucial. Challenge your student by calling out or randomly selecting notes and see if they can locate that note on the keyboard. Then switch it up and do the reverse, play a note on the keyboard and see if they can name it. The quicker your student can begin to associate the notes and keys, the more comfortable they’ll feel tackling new notes and tunes.

Pick the right keyboard for at-home practice!

For students who don’t have their own piano, there are great keyboard and practice keyboards that can allow for at-home practice. If you’re looking for a great keyboard, here are a few ideal things to look out for:

• 88 keys - A keyboard with 88 keys is great, as it mimics the number and placement of keys on a standard piano. If that size is not available, fear not! Many modern keyboards come with the option to adjust the octave, meaning you can still access a full range of sounds on a machine with 49, 61, or 76 keys as well.
• Weighted keys - having a keyboard with weighted keys (meaning the amount of pressure required to make the keys respond) is important to those learning to play with proper technique. Trying to find a keyboard with standard key weight and velocity will allow students the opportunity to get the most out of at-home practice, and transition seamlessly between traditional pianos and keyboards alike.

What to know about Guitar Lessons

For those students wishing to learn guitar, one of the key first steps is deciding what type of guitar to play.

Electric guitar, classical guitar, or acoustic guitar?

• Electric guitars:
  • Can be a preferable starting place, because the string gauge is not as tense or strong as acoustic guitars and can be easier for beginning fingers when getting comfortable with basic chords.
  • Require an amp to produce full sound, when unplugged, it can be practiced at just about any time or place, without making tons of noise or disrupting friends, family, or fellow students.
• Classical guitars:
  • Portable, cost-effective, and don't require any additional gear.
  • Often have softer nylon strings and a wider neck, great for beginners who are getting comfortable with instrument handling. 
  • The wider string spacing is also well-suited for fingerstyle playing, great for those interested to play genres like flamenco, mariachi, and bossa nova.
• Acoustic guitars:
  
  • Can achieve a very versatile sound, making them suitable for many different genres, including folk music, blues, pop, and country.   
  • Like classical guitars, they are portable, cost-effective, and don't require any additional gear.
    
     

Get comfortable with your guitar

Once students have settled on a guitar type, the easiest way to get familiar with the instrument is to get comfortable picking, strumming, and fretting the guitar (pressing a finger against a fret on the guitar's neck to change the pitch of a string). While music stores like PM Music can provide great exercise practice books, there are also some simple yet effective training exercises you can do at home.

Some of the most common guitar training exercises and tips are:

• Fretting-hand warmup - great for lesson warm-up and at-home, practicing basic fretting warm-ups can help new students get comfortable on their instrument. A great and simple one is the basic fretboard walk; place your first finger on the first fret of the six-string or the thick “E” string. Play that note and then put your second finger on the second fret and play that note. Next, put your third finger on the third fret and play that note. Next, put your fourth finger on the 4th fret and play that note. Continue on by doing the same thing for each of the other strings. Play each note until you’ve gone across all six strings, then reverse it!
• Spider Exercises - Named for the appearance of the fingers crawling across the fretboard, basic spider exercises are great for building technique. These types of dexterity drills require the guitarist to move their fingers across multiple strings, one finger per fret, in order to build finger independence and coordination, as well as ease when transitioning between strings.  
• Use a metronome. Metronomes not only help beginning guitarists gain better awareness of rhythm and timing, they also help maintain a good pace for students at-home practice as well. Utilizing a metronome can help young musicians develop musicality and coordinated control, both of which are key to improving accuracy and technical skill.

What to know about Clarinet Lessons

For those looking to master a woodwind instrument like the clarinet, there are a few key things to consider and learn:

• Find a clarinet best suited to a student's skill set - Getting to know the physicality of the instrument is key! Woodwinds like the clarinet have multiple components and equipment (i.e. mouthpieces and ligatures), so to start, make sure to work with a trusted expert or your child’s private lesson’s instructor to find a clarinet best suited for your student’s skill-set.
• Master assembling/disassembling - Instructors and sales experts can also help students get comfortable assembling and disassembling their instrument, which is especially important for students who will be transporting their clarinet to and from school and/or lessons.
• Instrument care - Learning how to care for and clean all the separate parts of the instrument will help maintain its longevity and sound.  Check out PM Music Center's video library for video resources for clarinet assembly and care!
• Tuning a clarinet -  Tuning requires learning how to adjust the length of the clarinet to match the reference.  The shorter the length, the sharper the tone will be; the longer the length, the flatter or lower the tone will be.  Your student’s instructor can help them learn the basics of barrel and joint adjustment.  With practice, your student will develop the skills to recognize pitch perception on their own. To help them get familiar with pitch and tone, check in with your student’s instructor about recommended apps, digital education services, and electronic tuners, which can help improve your clarinetist’s musical ear 

Pro resource: Check out PM’s video on proper assembly and care for more information on how to get your student well prepared before their first ever clarinet lesson. 

What to know about Violin Lessons

Achieving a great sound from a violin can be incredibly rewarding. It may take some time to get there but it is well worth it. Here is a list of what you can likely expect during a lesson along with a few tips:

• Selecting a bow - Work with your local music retailer or student’s instructor to select a bow that fits well in your student’s hand, and is sturdy but flexible, as well as balanced.

The first few months of lessons will likely focus largely on:

• Learning the parts of the violin and technique
• Proper violin posture (how to support the bow, how to hold the violin with your chin and left hand, how to apply the bow to the strings, and proper hand techniques).
• For a beginning violinist, at-home practice sessions should include not only practicing playing the instrument, but also practicing their best posture. Have your student show you the proper techniques and postures they’ve practiced in their lesson, by re-explaining and demonstrating to you how to stand and hold the instrument, they can become even more confident in their own mastery of their playing stance.
• Pace - Because the violin is such a challenging instrument to learn, encourage your students to pace themselves. If they’re eager to progress faster, they need to prioritize mastering their assigned work.
  • While it can be fun to move on to new and exciting tasks and musical pieces, it is important to take it one step at a time. Violin lessons will not have your student moving arbitrarily from piece to piece. Instead, instructors will focus on making sure your student has fully mastered their current assigned work, meaning they can play it from memory, with good intonation, rhythm, and sound (including all the expressive markings).
  • As the parent of a violinist, it’s important to help them keep focused, understanding that they can tackle new challenges once they’ve conquered the ones at hand. Encourage them to stick with their assigned piece, have them play it over and over for you at home and help them understand.
• Filming technique;- filming your students at home practice can help them notice any adjustments they need to make in their posture, as well as their playing, on their quest to master one assignment at a time.

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