Approach and Methods
The atmosphere at the lessons here at the studio is professional and friendly. To ascertain what the student needs, a teacher must be sensitive to the experience of the student. The music education here strives to integrate the study with life. There is a time to be serious and a time to laugh. We do both at these lessons.
Music is enjoyable to listen to and fun to perform. Nevertheless there is work involved in learning to create and perform musically. There is skill involved in musical performance, and that skill can be taught. The materials and music choices will be tailored to the age, experience, learning style, goals and interests of the student.
Teaching the art and craft of music is the job of the teacher. Listening to the teacher and practicing the music is the job of the student wanting to improve their technique. It should be an enjoyable and rewarding endeavor as well as a challenging one. Progress and improvement are to be expected. That progress is measurable.
Assessing progress is a constant activity at the lessons and makes the teacher accountable for what is presented. Because there is a lesson/assignment book that is used by the teacher at the lesson, there is a means to chronicle the objectives as they are being taught, assigned and mastered. For example, a student might not be able to see their progress in general until we look at was happening say 6 months before and compare it to the present. Then the progress is obvious. That achievement should be continuously acknowledged. The teacher is always aware of the progress.
If an objective is not mastered it is taught again in a different way the next time or at the same lesson. There are many strategies for teaching the same concept. This is the basis for competency based or outcome based education. Teacher accountability is key.