Thinking About Stopping Lessons For The Summer?

Guest article by Brian Fish

Many parents treat music lessons as if they are part of the school calendar. When school stops for the summer, so do lessons. While this may make sense on the surface, there are some unforeseen consequences of stopping and starting your child's music education.

Time

One of the main reasons given for stopping lessons in the summer is time. Parents want to have fewer scheduled activities so that they can have more family time. Unfortunately, this "free time" is often filled with other activities making it harder to start lessons again in the fall. It is much easier to keep classes going as part of your weekly routine.

Momentum

Your child already has all the equipment they need to play. They are used to going to lessons every week. They have been consistently improving for months. Most parents plan to have their child practice all summer, but that rarely happens. When you stop lessons, your child loses whatever momentum they had. They start to forget how to play things that were easy for them at the end of the school year. Children will often feel frustrated when they realize how much they have forgotten, which could make them not want to continue playing guitar. One of the hardest things to do is start or restart an activity. If they had continued with their lessons throughout the summer, they would have made continuous progress and built on their momentum, avoiding the frustration of starting over with diminished skills.

Money

Many parents believe that they are saving money by having their child not take lessons during the summer. Regrettably, this is not true. When students restart classes, they will have to relearn and rebuild many of their skills. It often takes people three to four months to regain their lost skills. When you stay enrolled in lessons year-round, you will not have to pay for the time it takes your child to relearn skills. Taking the summer off hurts your childs motivation and confidence and ends up costing you more money in the long run.

Wasted Practice Time

Some kids are self-starters and will practice their guitar all summer long. That is awesome, right? They may practice the right things, but that is not likely. Most young players are unsure of what they should be practicing. In what order they should be learning things. Most kids will waste a lot of time watching random video lessons or jamming. They will probably pick up some bad habits along the way. Most youth and teens need guidance and accountability to get the most out of their practice time

Perseverance and Consistency

Perseverance and consistent effort are the keys to becoming a good guitarist. Learning the guitar takes time. It is much easier to make continuous progress and keep your momentum when you don't stop and start lessons. Plus, perseverance and consistent effort are essential skills for any child to learn.

About the author: Brian Fish is a professional guitarist living in Northeast Ohio and is an expert guitar instructor at Guitar Lessons Geauga.