Parents, we want to make you aware of a great opportunity your student has to learn from an experienced educator who can set up times to teach your student virtually this year. Emails are being sent out this week providing the contact information, biography, and rates of our private lesson staff that can offer more one-on-one help on your student’s instrument. Parents are responsible for communicating and setting up lessons directly with the instructor, and please fill out this form to let us know as well: Private Lessons Form. Here is some more information about our private lesson program:
Private lessons are the fastest way our students improve on their instrument. Lesson rates are set by the instructor, and these are paid directly to the lesson teachers. Students enrolled in private lessons usually make All-Region Band, earn first division superior ratings on solos, sit at the top of their section, and eventually make the Texas All-State Band in high school, which usually results in big scholarships for college. Private lessons are vital to any quality band program, and are strongly recommended for all members. Here are a few specific benefits of taking lessons:
1. Private lesson teachers model a professional sound on their instrument. How do babies learn to talk? By listening to people talk. How do instrumentalists learn to play with a characteristic sound? By hearing a characteristic sound.
2. Students are able to perform by themselves weekly and get concentrated feedback. In Band, students don’t get to perform by themselves a whole lot and if they do, feedback is usually limited to 10-15 seconds because of class size. Performing weekly for a teacher helps them become a more confident and independent player. They also have more time to give feedback, try again, and continue to work on a program until it improves because it is in an individual setting.
3. Students are able to focus on supplemental exercises written specifically for their instrument. These fundamentals are crucial for development later and for more advanced playing ability.
4. Method books written just for their instrument are far superior to band music for developing well-rounded players. Method books, because of their methodical nature, do a much more complete job of covering the full range of the instrument, new key signatures, complex rhythms, duets with their instructor, learning alternate fingerings, and advanced styles than the curriculum in band class allows.
5. All-Region Band auditions can be approached on an individual level. Teachers can meet a child where they are to begin the region band music, and help them develop an individualized game plan to prepare them fully for the audition. This helps students learn how to set goals, both long term and weekly.
6. Instructors give students a chance to play a unique solo that they love at solo contest. Lesson teachers, experts on solos for their instrument, are able to offer students a number of solos that are ideal for their developmental level. They can also choose solos that work on goals for that student that focus on objectives, such as extending range, improving articulation, or foreign key signatures. Giving students more options means they are more likely to find a solo that fits their personality and they enjoy playing.
7. Private lesson teachers provide a role model for students that can be a strong motivator for students to continue in Band and excel on an individual level. While students move through different classes, grade levels, and schools, it is possible they would have the same lesson teacher for 7 or more years. Lesson teachers often have a long term plan for each student’s development. Private teachers can guide a student all the way from the first sounds in beginning band through a professional level solo as a senior in high school, and they know how to get them from one point to the next.
Belton Middle School Band 