Private Music Lessons VS. Group Lessons
Private music lessons and group music lessons both have their benefits. To determine which method is best for your child depends on the kind of music education you are looking for and the ways in which your child learns.
Group music lessons can help kids learn the joy in creating music with others. It can teach them how to cooperate and socially interact with fellow students. Being able to play music with more than one person can be difficult, you need to be able to comprise and work out differences. This helps kids to not just think about themselves but what is best for the group in order to make music. Playing or singing music with others can also allow for kids to connect and interact with children who they normally don’t interact with.
A downside to this group setting can be less personalized development and exclusion. If your child is quite shy, it may be harder for them to feel connected to the activities and to be overshadowed by more boisterous students.
Private music lessons allows for a more specialized approach. There is more opportunity to develop their skills at their own pace without any social pressure. Children can also feel more free to experiment and express their feelings without any insecurities. This can help to build children’s confidence not just in music but in other approaches to learning.
If the opportunity arises, I find that a combination of both group and private instruction is best. This allows for both personal development with the instrument and then application to collaborating with others. A great group music setting are choirs. The voice is such a fundamental aspect in learning any instrument. It helps to develop sound recognition and internalization of melody and rhythm. It is also can be less intimidating for more shy kids because the point of singing in a choir is not to stand out but how to blend your voice with everyone else’s.
