What Lesson Type Delivers the Best Learning Experience?
Today there are more lesson type options for you or your child to learn to play music than has ever existed before.
Lesson Types
- Self-guided and On-Demand Learning
- Corporate Lesson Facilities & Group-Based Programs
- Online Live Lessons
- School-based Music Programs
- Independent Local Teachers
Each category has its pros and cons. Its a matter of deciding your priorities and goals and which option fits your needs best.
And if you or your child isn’t sure about which instrument they wish to choose for their first lessons, I invite you to look at my blog on the subject:
What Instrument Should My Child Start With?
And if you’re wondering if your child is ready for lessons, I invite you to read this blog post:
Is Your Child Ready to Start Music Lessons? How to Recognize Their Love and Discover Its Joy
Self-Guided and On-Demand Learning
The Pros
The biggest pro tends to be cost. These are usually the cheapest option for learning an instrument. YouTube tends to be free. Apps can be free while offering in-app-purchases. Patform-based lessons are often fairly cheap and offer videos on any number of subjects on an instrument or in music in general. This is great if you’re testing the waters of playing an instrument and don’t want to commit to lessons or if your schedule is all over the place and you can only fit in some time when it becomes available to you or if you travel a lot but have some time to pick up your instrument.
The Cons
Although it can make lessons a bit more fun by gamifying the process, there isn’t the accountability that a teacher provides. There is no chance of a teacher correcting faulty technique or clearing up a question you may have. These types of lessons also just present the concept and may not walk you through the process of implementing them. They also don’t give you any feedback on your progress when you learn about something particularly tricky and need to be reassured that you ARE making progress though it may not seem like it. Then there is also the issue of getting stuck on something, getting frustrated and just giving up because “you can’t do it like in the video.” Lessons with an in-person teacher can provide all of this for you.
Corporate Lesson Facilities & Group-Based Programs
Structured Group Environments
This lesson type option are really helpful if you’re just starting out on an instrument and/or you thrive in social situations. They are also great for young students who are used to school-type situations. I’m actually gearing up to teach a program through the YMCA and have taught at several camps and as an afterschool enrichment programs. As valuable as this truly is, it isn’t for everyone.
Group lessons can foster a sense of teamwork and camaraderie among students, which is beneficial for those who thrive in social settings. Read more about the benefits of collaborative learning.
Corporate and Local Chains
Corporate facilities and group-based programs tend to have a much more strict curriculum based on the fact that there are certain metrics that must be met. Also, your teacher can, and often does, rotate due to teacher availability. This rotation can cause quality fluctuations in situations where your “normal” teacher is quite high quality, but maybe the substitute is much more new to teaching or the sub just doesn’t know where the class is at. The amount of time each student will receive is often relatively small due to class sizes or because a performance or recital is coming up. Additionally, pacing is often more strict and makeup lessons are harder to accommodate, especially in group lessons because its very hard to back-track to catch a student up and the extra time a teacher must give the student takes away from other students.
Drawbacks of Standardization
Another downside for corporate facilities is that much of their budget does not go to the teacher, these facilities have a fairly high overhead, so although they tend to be cheaper for the student, the pay-scale for teachers is a step or two above minimum-wage. And that tends to lead teachers to devote less time in planning and working out solutions for their students. The harsh truth is that corporate facilities can sometimes feel like a factory; students in, students out, with less time and energy for individual growth.
Online Live Lessons
Why Online Lessons Work for Some Students
These are provided through platforms such as Zoom, Skype, FaceTime, WebX, etc. These are a big step up from YouTube, apps, and platform-based services. You can ask questions, get verbal feedback, and each lesson can be based on the student’s goals, questions, and mood. These are also excellent for the teachers who can afford to invest in the required equipment to stream well. Another upside is that your lessons can be taken from anywhere you have access to a smartphone or computer and your instrument.
The Downsides
For teachers on a tight budget, getting the cameras, microphones, computers, and other equipment needed to create a high quality learning environment, this might be unattainable. But for teachers who can afford the investment, especially for high-quality teachers, this can be a good solution for everyone involved. However, some other downsides are that the teacher cannot show you where or how you place your fingers on the instrument by physically moving you into the proper position. Another downside is switching between cameras can take time out of the lessons that would otherwise be avoided in an in-person lesson. Another is internet bandwidth. If you or your teacher’s internet connection is bad, you can miss a key statement or be unable to see what each other are doing, affecting feedback. When I was teaching online, there were multiple lessons where the student’s computer was connected to a very slow internet connection and the lesson was almost entirely wasted trying to troubleshoot the situation. I was forced to figure out some kind of value I could give the student. Then there is the issue of giving the students exercises for specific issues that usually involved me creating and writing down a custom exercise and then getting that exercise to the student. In my opinion, this is a good option, but not ideal for a lot of teaching situations.
School-Based Music Programs
Structured Foundations
These are a lot like the group lesson type I’ve talked about above. They are great, mostly free, and are many, many people’s first experience with structured music lessons. They teach the fundamentals, give students opportunities to perform in front of family and friends, and can take you a long way down the path.
The Cons
The curriculum is highly structured. There is little to no flexibility on what a student can do and limited time for student-teacher discussion. And if a student doesn’t get a concept or misses a class or doesn’t have the chance to practice, then they fall behind. Also, there is an element of competition because these programs, especially in band and choir programs, rely on a seating structure where the students who work the hardest or are the most gifted get the better and/or more desirable parts. Another downside is that not all schools offer music as an elective. Budgets are tight and likely only getting tighter so the more affluent areas tend to have high-quality programs and other areas tend to depend on programs offered by non-profits as afterschool enrichment programs.
Filling the Gaps
Many times, if a student wants to get better at their instrument in their music program, they’ll take private lessons in addition to the class where they can get the one-on-one instruction and mentorship they need to thrive. If your school has a music program and your student wants to play an instrument that is supported by the program, then by all means, have your student join the program, but you may still want to supplement their learning with private lessons.
Independent Local Teachers
Why Local Teachers Can Be the Best Fit
These teachers are generally local to you, play out professionally, and have vast experience in music and can, therefore, offer insight into music making and recording on a high level (I’ve played and recorded professionally for around 20 years). They usually graduated from an accredited college for either performance or music education (I am a graduate of the University of Florida with a Bachelors degree in Music and a Certificate of Completion from the Collective School of Music in New York City). Additionally, teachers who start up their own practice have grown through working at a lesson facility and see the pay structure they offer as unsustainable to their living. For this reason, these this lesson type tends to be a bit more expensive. But what they offer is long-term mentorship, a fully fleshed out playing and teaching tool-kit, and the flexibility to meet their students exactly where they are in all aspects of music education and even sometimes function as a kind of trusted confidant. Had a bad experience with an audition? Lets hear about it, maybe we can give you a bit of insight into the situation and new tools to help you do better the next time. Had a hard day at work or school? Maybe we’ll take today a bit more relaxed and informal and treat it like a music making stress relief session. Private teachers can go in whatever direction you need them to and they can react to your needs and goals as they change and evolve.
Private lessons offer tailored instruction that can adapt to a student’s individual learning pace and style. This study outlines several benefits of one-on-one music education.
In-home verses In-studio
These two lesson type options offer essentially the same pros and cons. The biggest issue with in-home is that because the teacher has to travel to you, they have to charge more for their lessons for the teaching time they lose due to travel. Another issue is that the student’s instrument (for instruments like piano, drums, and percussion) can vary greatly, sometimes limiting the teachers range of what they can teach.
The biggest issue with in-studio teaching is that the students have to take the time to travel to the teacher. Though this isn’t necessarily “lost time” since the student can do some listening or even sing or air-drum (please keep your eyes on the road and make sure you’re safe at all times). This enables the teacher to keep prices a bit lower because they can line up students, one after the other. Also, the equipment the teacher has in their classroom can be higher quality since they won’t be traveling with it as much. This gives the student an opportunity to play on equipment they may not have at their disposal at home. In some studios, like mine, there are also ways to have music playing loud enough to play with, giving the student the change to practice with their heroes while still hearing the feedback of their teacher.
So… Which Lesson Type Is Best?
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to which lesson type you should choose. Every student’s goals, learning style, and schedule are different. That’s why the best lesson type is the one that supports those goals consistently, and with the kind of relationship that encourages real growth over time.
Some students thrive on flexibility. Others need accountability. Some want to explore multiple instruments before settling in. Others already know what lights them up. No matter where you’re coming from, the most important thing is finding a lesson environment that feels supportive, inspiring, and adaptable to your needs.
Obviously, I’m a bit biased, since I teach in-person lessons at a studio. But that being said, I don’t want to answer this question for you. The decision should always come down to your needs, goals, and limitations and how well a teacher or program can meet them.
If you’re unsure, I invite you to reach out and ask questions. Or better yet, try a lesson and see how it feels. If it clicks, we’ll build from there. If not, that’s okay too.
If you have any questions, please feel free to submit the Contact form or sign up by submitting the Trial Lesson form.
I hope to hear from you soon.
-Chris
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