Ah, summer! No school, longer days, beach days, grilling, gardening, swimming, reading, riding bikes, time with family and friends, and time to decompress (I could go on and on…) It’s no wonder the kids start counting down the number of days left of school before May comes!
The question is: Should a child (or adult) be expected to take summer piano lessons and maintain a practice schedule during the summer? As a piano teacher and parent I say, ‘yes, definitely’ and as a piano teacher and parent I also say, ‘absolutely not’. We LOVE it when our students take summer lessons and practice. Since summer is less scheduled, there is more time to practice and advance, the lessons are more relaxed and there is extra time to explore different styles of music and to focus on theory and technique. It’s a time too where we can chat a bit more with the child and their family before and after the lesson. All in all, summer can be a time for strong musical growth.
And, kids need a bit of structure. Freedom is wonderful but an idol mind is not. A diet of only TV and friends is unhealthy to say the least. Parents need to moderate and encourage brain work. Since music is a language, if it is not used it’s lost. When a student does not take summer lessons, depending on the age of the child, it can take up to a month to retrieve skill and establish a practice schedule.
But a child absolutely needs a “break” during the summer! So this year we will be changing up our summer piano lesson structure and give our our students a refreshing break from routines while maintaining progress and motivation. Each week we will have a different summer theme. “Road Trips”, “Popsicle Piano Practice”, “Piano Museum”, “Sight-reading Sunglasses”, and “S’more Chords” to give students a little pizzazz and to keep them learning. And, back by popular demand is our Piano Olympics Camp for students entering grades 5-8
PS If you would like to sign up for summer lessons, here is the link to register online:
Art Piano 