3 Ways to Decide on Number of Music Lessons a Week

How many Music classes in a week are sufficient? Does it really help to take session every single day of the week to improve quicker? These are the few questions we will address in this post.

First of all, how many classes does your music institution offer you in a week? Some of them may only take one class in a week while some of them gives 2 classes in a week and there are hardly institutions which offer more than 2 classes a week. So, how do you determine what is the right for you? How many classes should you attend in a week? Let us help you make that decision.

1. Not Everyday

Although there are very few institutions that offer you the facility of attending a session every day, it is not at all healthy for your mental capacity and for your progress. Most of these institution give you everyday class so that you can choose the day(s) best fit for you to come and attend your lessons. You have to understand that your mentor cannot move forward unless you complete the task or the lesson given to you in your previous session.If you keep repeating same lesson every day, it will become monotonous and boring which might lead you to being disinterested. You should keep some days for yourself so that you can work on it yourself  and practice in the comfort of your home. Practicing by yourself develops a healthy habit of you being connecting to your instrument rather than being evaluated by your mentor all the time. So, avoid every day classes and try to attend after giving yourself a break of 1-2 days for practice. Also, keep a few days for practice at home so that you can do your homework on the lessons you learned and then go to your next session ready for the next lesson.

2. Why 2-3 Classes in a week?

There should be a proper gap between your sessions in a week. Thus 2 -3 classes in a week of 6-7 working days is the best solution. You should spend time on the lessons you have learned before going to your next session which will ensure steady and effective growth in  your skills. Now as you go higher in grade, lesser your sessions in a week should be. Let’s say, an intermediate student should attend maximum 2 days in a week as the lessons they get are little complicated and the best way to master those lessons is to give committed time to it and practice as much as you can. However for a beginner student, 3 classes are more apt as they have to make sure they are not doing any basics wrong and should try to get feedback from their mentor little more frequently but nonetheless they should also keep some days for practice and avoid having sessions every day. Also 1 class a week is only helpful when you know your instrument extremely well (at a high level) and playing your lessons to your mentor as a way of understanding where you can do better otherwise don’t keep such a long gap in between your sessions.

3. Getting a Good Understanding of the Lessons

Now that we know how many classes in a week are really helpful to grow effectively as a musician, it is also important that you retain the lessons of your session and not memorize them on weekly basis. Music is a subject where everything you learn comes together in shaping what you play. Every aspect of the lesson you are learning is important for your playing , so get a good understanding of what you are learning and know the application of it in your instrument and practice till you get a certain command before you move to the next lesson. So, as much as possible, you must attend at least 2 sessions in a week, as it is important to get your lessons right. Also, as you get better you will reap the benefit of attending 2-3 classes per week even more so.

BlueTimbre is a unique Music Company that provides Music Education and  Recording Studio services. BlueTimbre also works with schools to provide end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. 

The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running Structured Businesses, Music Curriculum Development, Music Education and Performance.

4 Benefits Of Having Multiple Music Classes In A Week

You have just begun your musical journey with an instrument and you want to learn quick and progress at a rate so that you can discover the artist in you in couple of months. Most of you have questions whether one class per week is enough to acquire the growth you are expecting or if multiple classes will disturb your practice sessions? This article emphasizes on the benefits and the reasons why as a beginning music student, you should attend multiple classes in a week.

1. Frequent Revising of Lessons and Feedback

Every student progresses at a different rate. It depends on how the student reconciles concepts of pitch, rhythm and executes co-ordination alongside their curiosity towards music. But, beside the rate of progress, it is very important for a student to retain the information and lessons taught in class. If you are a beginner student, then you will benefit from attending multiple classes in a week as the lessons will be revised and touched-upon more often and coming across a topic repetitively will help you remember and retain the information better. Also, Frequent Classes would mean that you are in touch with your instrument more often and getting effective feedback from the teacher to help you to progress in the right direction.

2. Better Focus as Gaps Between Lessons are Shorter

The gap between lessons is meant for practice for the student. When the student comes to the next lesson, he/she should have a satisfactory command over the previous lesson. However, for absolute beginners, it could be challenging, thus it is important that they utilize the gap between lessons so that the mentor can help them focus on the lesson as well as progress with new information little by little. This helps the student to have a fresher perspective towards the instrument and avoid mundane practice sessions for too long.

3. Preventing Bad Habits with more Oversight

The beginner student tends to adopt whatever works best for them, and in process, sometimes they break some very basic rules that needs to be applied to the instrument or voice. With a longer pause between lessons, student might develop a bad habit (posture etc.) which in turn hinders their progress. With frequent observation and mentoring from the teacher, students can be corrected as they learn, develop the right habits and the necessary progress in their playing. Learning the right way will benefit their skills towards instrument or voice in the long term.

4. Faster Learning

With keeping all the above points in mind, it is safe to say that they will learn the instrument faster. For complete beginners, it might be challenging to grasp new topics, but with multiple classes which will encourage focus, correct basics and repetitive information, a student gets familiar with the instrument which builds up their confidence and hence their learning progress. Every beginner should be encouraged to take up two-three classes in a week until they reach a level in technicality where it requires more practice time than getting acquainted with the instrument.

While these points may seem obvious, just look at the example of a school. In a school, in the early stages, every subject is covered everyday or every alternate day. All of the reasons listed in this article apply to learning in schools. Simply put, multiple classes a week helps you learn with better recall, understanding, faster and correctly.

BlueTimbre is a Music Company with Music Education spaces, Jam Room and Recording studio located in Whitefield, Bangalore, India. BlueTimbre provides complete end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running structured businesses, music curriculum development, music education and performance.

References:

1. http://drkevguitar.com/2013/09/03/how-often-should-i-take-guitar-lessons/

1. https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2005/07/29/once-week-not-enough