Why Group Lessons?
Group lessons have become a rising trend in recent years. Why is this? There are a few reasons why we are starting to see more and more group piano lessons than we have in the past. To begin with, logistics. Until the invention of the digital keyboard, piano teachers could only have one piano in their house. One heavy, non-portable piano. That limits the number of students a teacher can give their attention to at one time. With the advent of digital keyboards, we have the ability to have two, three or even six keyboards (and thus, as many students as keyboards) in one room. Also, with digital keyboards, we have the ability to plug in headphones, which can be used intermittently during class. During an in-person piano class, sometimes the students play together as a class, and sometimes headphones can be used for a few minutes of private practice. We have a volume control that can be turned all the way down to play along as one person plays for everyone to hear. So many other activities are offered as a group activity, why not piano? Even other types of music classes have groups of many novice instrumentalists together in one room - and I can tell you what that's like in the case of beginner band class! Give me six piano players in a room any day! (Much love to all of my former band beginners...those days were rough, but they made us stronger!). Many, if not all, other types of activities meet in groups - martial arts, swimming lessons, choirs, bands, hockey, you fill in the blank. Sure, all of these activities offer the chance for private lessons, but that tends to be the exception to the rule, something you would do if you want further instruction and advancement. Lastly, and most importantly, kids tend to learn better in a group with their peers. It's fun to be in a group with other kids learning anything, and when the group is having fun together, the environment if perfect for learning. Students can watch each other and learn from each other, and hear each other's viewpoints, in addition to teacher instruction, and it becomes a most enriching experience when students can collaborate in this way.
Why Online?
Well, given the current state of affairs (I'm writing this in July of 2020 - the year the world broke) it's the only way we can offer this type of experience. There are most definitely pros and cons to having classes online. We miss the in-person interaction of being in class together in the same room. As a teacher, I can't physically show a student how to play something or position their hands or other techniques...enter the piano cam. I use my piano cam to show my hands on the keyboard, so the student can easily see me demonstrating a given concept on the keyboard, and emulate it for themselves. The advantages online lessons are many. Drive time - to and from lessons - is eliminated completely. That's at least a half hour to an hour of your time that you get back! If a student can't make it to a lesson, Zoom has a record button that can be used to provide a video of the class to the student so they can view it when they are feeling better and not miss a beat. Best of all, it has been observed by many teachers that students tend to build independence through online classes, because they are required to write down their lesson notes, point out notes in the music or on the keyboard, and other such tasks, because they don't have the teacher beside them to do it.
I hope that these points help you to have some perspective on group, and online lessons for your child. We live in an amazing time with so much technology at our fingertips to help us. I look forward to using all of this great tech to meet you soon!