FAQ
What benefits are there to learning to play a musical instrument? How old are your pupils?Musical learning engages all the areas of the brain making it a super-charged workout for the mind what ever your age! It often impacts positively on other areas of learning, such as speech and language and fine motor control. Passing practical music exams at Grades 6-8 can earn you additional UCAS points to support university entry.
Most importantly, learning an instrument is a lot of fun, extremely rewarding and can be a fantastic way of meeting like-minded people. |
I teach piano to children as young as 4 years old using age-appropriate, multi-sensory materials including puppets. Violin may be started as young as 4 or 5 using a small version of the instrument – these are named ¼-sized or ½-sized. I also teach older children and adults. I welcome any new learner of any age as long as they are willing to embrace the challenge and practise regularly.
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Do I need to have my own instrument?If learning piano, you will need your own piano at home in order to practise between lessons and make consistent progress. You may wish to use a traditional acoustic ‘upright’ piano or you may prefer a digital piano designed to have the same touch sensitivity and a very similar sound to an acoustic instrument.
Local music retailers offer rental schemes allowing you to ‘try out’ the piano. Money paid in rent can then be put towards the final purchase cost. Alternatively, there are always very reasonably priced second-hand acoustic and digital pianos available for sale online – I can help you in finding something suitable once you have decided to make the commitment. You can purchase second-hand starter violins through local music retailers or online at very low cost. There are also hire schemes available should you wish to spread the cost. Once you have been playing for a while, it is likely you will need to upgrade to a superior model and I can help you in moving forward with this. If your child learns violin from a very young age, they will also need to move onto larger instruments as they grow, eventually reaching ‘full-sized’ (4/4). |
Do I need to buy anything to support my own or my child's learning?Acoustic pianos will need tuning from time to time – I can put you in touch with professional tuners as needed. A stool with a height-adjusting function is also very useful. With violin, the instrument you buy or hire will come with a bow, resin and carry case. I recommend also purchasing a shoulder-rest for more comfortable playing and to maintain good posture – again I can help you in choosing a suitable model very reasonably. A folding music stand is also very useful for practice sessions.
You will also need to buy music books containing the pieces to learn. I will select books that are appropriate for your or your child’s age and learning level. |