Group vs. Private Lessons

Group vs. Private Instruction The age old question - which one is best? The answer is - both! They both bring a different style and challenge to the student’s learning experience. Private lessons obviously give a one-on-one attention to the student and their specific learning abilities and desires. For some students this might be perfect. For others, it may be too much pressure. Group lessons allow the student to be in a more relaxed environment where they can draw from the other students playing and experiences to enhance their own. For some students this might be perfect, for others it might not be. Here is the key - group lessons are great for students to learn to work in a group and perform together. It allows for a relaxed learning environment where the pressure is not on them specifically to perform individually for the entire time. If you are looking for one-on-one personalized time you will want to lean towards a private lesson as this is not the purpose of the group lessons. Children are allowed to work at their own pace with a mixture of individualized attention and group direction. Private lessons are great for the student that may need the individualized attention to stay on task and motivated or for those who have specific learning goals that would be better presented in a one-on-one circumstance. Either way, you are not locked into anything forever! Try a group or try private or try both! But, whatever you do, allow your student the ability to complete the program into which you have started. Without that, you will not truly know what the best fit is as you have not allowed for the process to come to fruition and you're also potentially teaching that when you make a commitment to something and it gets tricky, etc. it's OK to just give up. Happy Practicing! The Music Momma