Adult Music Lessons: 18 - Up
We teach adults at all levels, from those who have never played an instrument to those who have been playing for years, and just want to expand on their skills or learn some theory. Important: It's NEVER too late to begin! We love teaching adults because it gives us the opportunity to teach from a completely different perspective, and in a totally different way.
Our 76 year old new student, Gina Dietz, came in to study music after 71 years of being away from a piano. Her mother had been a concert pianist, but after age 5, Gina never had access to a piano again... until she moved into a retirement home that had a piano. She learned to read music in about 4 weeks, and continued to take lessons for about six months. We utilized our system for teaching adults by helping her engage her sequential and associative mental processors, and by the time six months were over, she had learned over 25 songs! By then, Gina was performing at the retirement home during lunch, and in the evenings, two or more times per week. She continues performing for them to this day! At 76, Gina Dietz is absolutely the fastest learner of music we have ever taught, proving again that it's NEVER TOO LATE TO LEARN!
The "Sequential Processor" or "Left Brain" Learning
Adults rely on the left side of the brain to learn new complex tasks. The "sequential processor" is very reliable for storing and processing detailed information, but this can be a problem when it comes to playing music fluently. The sequential processor gets caught up in the tiny details of reading music, checking which note is on the paper, which finger is on which note, and where the hand is on the piano, all at once. You can recognize a person playing with their "sequential processor" activated because the song will sound laborous, slow, and hesitant.
The problem lies in the fact that in order to play beauifully and fluently, the brain must learn to shift into using the "associative processor" at some point in the learning process. Although as an adult, our sequential processor can move at a much faster speed than a child's, it is just not fast enough to process all of the details of a song. The Associative Processor sees the big picture, and knows the song as a whole complete piece. When we memorize a piece, or play without really "thinking" we are in associative processor mode. We are able to remember the melody, countermelodies and harmonies, and the rhythm as one whole song/piece, not as many separate parts.
How Do We Turn Off the "Sequential Processor" and Turn On the "Associative Processor"?
The only way to play with spontaneity and fluidity is to "turn off" the sequential processor, and shift over to the associative processor. This shift requires you to put yourself in a "zone" where you don't think at all about the details of the notes, and just start feeling the tune of the song. This is not easy when music has such a huge number of details to execute.
We utilize many strategies to get our adult students into the zone of their Associative Processor while playing. One of which may be to have the student sing and play the melody line of a song simultaneously, since it is humanly impossible to engage the sequential processor when one is singing. We have developed many other interesting and successful techniques.
After learning how to engage the associative processor, our adult students, who may have never been able to memorize a song, are finally able to play beautifully, at full speed, with and without the music. We help them build on small successes, reinforcing their confidence, until they finally feel complete with the music, and fully self expressed.
The Key to Finding Joy In Playing is being able to remember and play songs you love, any time you want!
Using primarily the Associative Processor to play music that is more complex also makes it possible for adults to get the fluency that they strive for. The whole key to enjoying the music that is being played is to stop thinking about the details and play music from this part of the brain. When you do this, you will play your music effortlessly, with passion and expression. Choosing music that you love helps you go through the process of listening to it as much as possible, so you can fully express it. We use a combination of a method that teaches the skills adults need, along with integrating songs that the student loves so that students get everything they need and love in one lesson.
10,000 hours has been said to be the magic number when it comes to mastering a craft. Adults can get this done in 5-10 years, with an hour of targeted, effective practice a day. These hours developing your brain with music can be some of the most enjoyable hours of your life!
Any time spent learning music in younger years is cumulative, and even if it seems like it's forgotten, it comes back quickly. If an adult chooses to learn music basics, but never has tried it, it is absolutely possible to play quite well in 5 years if you have a good teacher and the right extra-curricular activities. If someone played as a child, and as an adult chooses to become an an expert at music, it can be done at any age with determination, effort, a great music program, and the right teaching team. We have worked with every level of musician, at every age. We have highly trained teachers, 30 years of experience, and hundreds of students who have learned music successfully with us.
Come and join us, and make your musical dreams a reality by starting today!
The method we use to teach you the skill of playing “by ear” allows you to:
Remember and PLAY RHYTHMS you hear
Remember and SING MELODIES you hear
Remember and PLAY MELODIES you hear
Once you gain the ability to recognize rhythms and melodies “by ear” you will be able to play the melodies of songs you have been learning “by ear”, and eventually full songs after hearing them only a few times. Reading music becomes a fast, easy process as adults become able to hear the notes in their heads before playing them on the instrument. This integrated process of "Whole Brain Music" makes for fast learning that is equally reliant on the sequential and associative processes of the brain, as you build connections between hemispheres, and speed up your processing speed. We believe this provides the most reliable learning possible!