Summer Lessons
Summer lessons… Yes or No? For some of you, the question “Should I take lessons during the summer?” isn’t even something you think about. Naturally, you’ll continue your lessons: Why even stop? When I took lessons, I took them all year long, with a small one or two week break at Christmas. I believe that this commitment to weekly music lessons is what made me the musician I am today.
Nowadays though, there seems to be a trend among studios and teachers (in Canada anyway) to follow the school holidays and have a two month break from piano lessons too. All I can say is, “Why?!”
To me, summer is the perfect time to further your music education without distraction from school or other big time commitments. Everyone is more relaxed because pressures of exams, schoolwork, and recitals have eased up. By all means, make special arrangements for scheduling around vacation times. Most teachers are pretty flexible when it comes to fitting summer lessons in around vacations. (Hey, we’re people too!!) Besides, music lessons are a great solution to the summer-time blues, a.k.a.: “The-I’m-bored-syndrome”.
During the summer, you can discover some new repertoire, try out some different styles of music, and keep building on what you’ve been working on all year!! It’s a little bit like taking vitamins: you don’t notice the difference it’s making in your life until you stop taking them!
For those of you who are trying to decide “Should I take lessons during the summer?”, here is an interesting thought: “If you were an athlete, training for the Olympics, would you take two months off from training?” “No!!!!” What got me thinking about this was an article by Matt Johnston on the Business Insider called ‘We asked an exercise scientist how long it takes to get ‘out of shape’ — and his answer is surprising“. Even though the article is written specifically for athletes, it applies to piano!!
Have you ever heard the following quote?
‘‘If I miss one day’s practice, I notice it. If I miss two days’ practice, the critics notice it. If I miss three days’ practice, the public notices it.”
If you are ever in doubt about how far you’ve progressed, take some time to sit down and play through some earlier repertoire. You’ll be amazed at (1) how far you’ve come and (2) how much easier it is to play through it now than the first time you studied it! Because weekly piano practice is incremental and builds on skills you’ve learned in the weeks before, it’s sometimes hard for you to recognize how much progress you’ve actually made.
For younger piano students, it becomes especially important to have that weekly guidance of taking regular piano lessons. Since they are still developing musicians, it’s important to maintain the skills that they have acquired during the school year and to nip mistakes in the bud.
As a teacher, I enjoy the relaxed nature of summer lessons. It’s great to set aside the more intense pursuit of music for exam and recitals for a short period and play some fun stuff. It’s a great time to review what we’ve accomplished and look ahead to what’s coming. It’s fun to play through repertoire that you’ve always wanted to try. And it’s also a great time to plan for exams and recitals. And did I mention play some fun stuff??!!
Summertime is also a great time to catch some outdoor concerts and festivals. In Ottawa, we are blessed with Ottawa Bluesfest, the Ottawa Jazz Festival, Ottawa Chamberfest and other world-class music festivals, all strung-out through the summer months. Seeing world-class musicians is great inspiration at any time, but the abundance of shows and festivals during the summer months makes it especially worthwhile.
In any case, if you decide to go ahead and take the two months off, try to make it to your piano for regular practice or even at the very least, a reduced practice schedule. Or ask your teacher for a summer project. Even a small portion of daily practice time will help to maintain some of your skills. Otherwise, you can expect that a few weeks in the Fall will be devoted to review and trying to regain the skills and muscles that have been lost over the summer.
Nothing beats having a weekly lesson with a teacher who can guide you to greater heights in music, correct problems, and keep your music going on a forward course. I highly recommend continuing your piano education with summer lessons. It will make a world of difference in your playing.
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