Ah, summer! No school, longer days, warm breezes, freedom. Swimming, riding bikes, time with friends, bronze, healthy glow. Time to read, time without a schedule, time to do absolutely nothing at all.
These are the thoughts I had as a child about summer. Now that I am adult and a teacher my view hasn’t changed too much. I add gardening, house cleaning, time with family to the mix. But I am still on summer mode. I can’t begin to imagine the word ‘work’ in conjunction with summer. Since my husband is a teacher too, I have never had to think of summer in any other way than complete freedom. Yes, I’m spoiled.
So, here in lies my question: Should a child be expected to take summer piano lessons and maintain a practice schedule during the summer? Good one, huh?
As an educator I say, ‘yes, definitely’. As an educator I also say, ‘absolutely not’. Now that I am teaching piano I love it when my students take summer lessons and practice. Since summer is less scheduled, there is more time to practice and advance. I am much more relaxed during my teaching and often extend the lesson time which accomplishes so much more. During the summer I like to stray from the classical music and work with music the kids choose, work from a fake book, jazz, and more technique. It’s a time too where I can chat a bit more with the child and their family before and after the lesson. All in all, summer can be a time for strong musical growth.
Kids need a bit of structure. Freedom is wonderful but an idol mind is not. A diet of only TV and friends is unhealthy to say the least. Parents need to moderate and encourage brain work. Since music is a language, if it is not used it’s lost. When a student does not take summer lessons, depending on the age of the child, it can take up to a month to retrieve skill and establish a practice schedule.
On the flip side of the coin, I believe children are scheduled to the point of insanity. There are so many opportunities: sports, music, art, academics, volunteer work, part time jobs. If a child doesn’t start a sport by the age of 5 it’s sometimes impossible for them to compete amongst their peers. And if the child doesn’t practice 5 days a week he can be cut from the team. With Suzuki education the norm is not unusual for a child to start an instrument at 4 years of age, giving them an edge among their peers. Parents want their child to be well rounded and pile up the activities after school. In some countries, children go to cram school after school hours. In our village children hire tutors to raise their average in a certain subject. Tutors are hired even if the child’s grade is in the high 90s so that the child may gain in class rank! Children are scheduled to the point where meals are eaten in the car between activities instead of at a table with their families.
Does a child need a break during the summer? Absolutely! Even as an adult the thing I like most about the summer is not having a schedule. It doesn’t matter what time it is, I don’t have to do anything routinely and spontaneity is my course. Lunch with a friend on Friday, laps at the pool when I awake, in the mood to make cookies any time is possible. I love it! When I was growing up, my piano teacher did not teach during the summer. I was so happy for that. But then my mom would want me to continue to practice and I thought that was totally unjust. Why could other kids just spend the whole day outside playing and I had to practice before I was allowed to go out? (I felt that way about doing chores too.)
So, I ask, should a child take lessons during the summer and be expected to practice? My answer is a double edge sword. As a teacher and parent I say that I see the benefits. However, the child within me says kids need a break. In doing so, I have offered my music families a 5 lesson session. The deal is that they are to cash in on the 5 lessons from mid-June to the end of August. When the child wants a lesson they call. This alleviates working around vacations, kids not practicing and a schedule on my part. Spontaneity is encouraged; parents are able to call for a lesson the same day they want to come. With the 5 lesson expectation, kids maintain their abilities. Notice I used the word ‘maintain’. I don’t expect too much progress in only 5 lessons. If a family wants more than 5 lessons that’s wonderful, I am happy to accommodate.
I would appreciate some feed back on this topic. Your thoughts?
The problem I’m having is that my students are not reliable at showing up to lessons in the summer. Nor are some of them practicing at all. All that free time leaves less time to practice, I guess. I am even doing a summer practice-time contest, and a recital, but I’m still having these problems.
The problem with that is that you then have to hang around most of the summer on the off chance that kids will want a lesson. I’ve also found that unless you schedule at least one lesson in before the end of term most students and parents get into summer mode and ‘forget’ about it for atleast half the holidays and then they go away for a while and then, before you know it, it’s september again.
This year I’ve just started offering ‘summer workshops’ to all my students – 3 days where we can do all the ‘fun things’ which I don’t have to time fit in during the school year when lots of my students have exams to work towards and don’t manage to make many goup lessons.
I’m planning to do theory games, aural training, some 12 bar blues improvisation, maybe some composition work and creating pictures to tell stories of different styles of piano and orchestral music.
I’d love to take the whole summer off, but I sadly can’t afford to!
my daughter takes summer lessons, but only 6 over the break and only on weeks when we are available. I admit, i often forget until the last minute- but my daughter, 11 remembers and reminds me. She balks every summer at lessons but is ok if the lessons don’t take away from other fun summer activities…practice, well that is a little more challenging to chisel into the fun…but we manage because I’m home and able to coax her to sit down and then reward her with tv time or special activites out and about…
Perhaps the summer lesson is more important as they grow older and have more complicated pieces to play…and there is a longer gap to prepare for the next lesson when the 6 are spaced out properly thru the summer.
Good to see a post from you!Happy Summer Daze!
I’m with you, Sandi! Your post nicely summarizes my conflicting feeling that students should but also should not take lessons through the summer. :-) Kind of hard to reconcile, huh? That’s one of the reasons I offer piano camps – it’s a nice change of pace from just regular lessons for all of us.
I usually give my families the option of taking off the whole summer or doing some arrangement of private lessons and/or piano camps. Then I always take off the month of August to plan, travel, etc. Since this is part of my plan, I just work hard and save during the months I am teaching so that I can afford to do this. It’s so worth it for me to have a little bit of a complete break to get geared up for another year!
I’ve never had an issue with weather or not to give lessons during summer – I don’t. I also think it is a good idea for students to have a break during the summer.
The issue I have wrestled with is how to motivate students to do some practice during summer. My solution has been to give them something new to work at during the summer, something different from the practice I usually set during term time.
I did a post a while back on my site about holiday practice projects:
http://www.howtopractise.com/?q=content/Holiday-practice-projects
My challenge is coming up with new ideas each year.
This is the first summer I have NOT taught. It has been absolutely heaven.
I’m remembering myself as a young student (at university, so not a child). The summers where I set myself a project – like learning all the repertoire for a competition that would take place at the start of the new school year, or a concerto to enter in the Concerto Auditions for the college orchestra – were incredibly satisfying. I found I settled into a peaceful steady rhythm that gave me time to chill out, as well as time to work.
As a child though, I don’t think I was a very dedicated practiser. I don’t remember having lessons during the summer. I do however, remember the year when I was given a clarinet for Christmas (up til then I had been hiring an instrument – I had never had one of my own). I got it out and started playing straight away. I practised a lot that summer.
I really like the sound of the way you manage this issue though, Sfrack! The five-lesson pass, and the rule about ringing up on the day, sounds like an excellent way to work in hand with students’ motivation, while also giving the implicit message of the value of consistent work and practise. Does it work? Do you get a lot of takers? And, as Sarah C, above, says, does this cut into your own plans for travel or rest?
Hi sfrack,
Love your posts. My 7 year old started in January and we had a good momentum going so we continued fairly regularly through the summer so far. Our wonderful teacher, like you was flexible.
I did though, relax a bit with the practicing because we had more time. It allowed me to break up the practicing – 3 minis rather than one biggie.
As a Suzuki parent, I too feel the same conflict as you. Breaks are necessary and although I loved our 2 weeks of camping and traveling, I was ready to come home. The non-boehemian part of me craves work. I do wish to instil in my children, discipline and endurance. From reading the replies, it’s so interesting to me, how everyone’s balance is so different.
This is a very thought provoking post sfrack and I did embark on a lengthy comment yesterday, but my PC ails and it was lost to the ether, so I’ll cut to the chase this time.
I ummed and aahed over whether or not to close my school for a month, but in the end decided I could refresh the students with a few phonics workshops in the autumn to regain momentum.
The main problem that I see with kids and their lessons these days is that most parents want their kids to excel at everything. To do something for the sheer enjoyment of it is not a concept, the idea of enjoying something but being mediorcre at it is not permitted, everyone has to be great at everything. It’s an unreasonable demand.
I think english is like music in that I’ll never be able to teach the kids everything in a one lesson a week situation. My hope is to teach them skills that they can seize on and empower themselves to also learn by themselves. It isn’t like swimming where first they can’t and now they can, it’s a slow evolving process that depends greatly on the student having skills they can use away from me to further themselves. I feel I have given and am giving them those skills, so no summer lessons does mean less chances to actually converse, but they can do their workbooks by themselves, they have level appropriate readers that they can use at home, it’s up to them if they choose to use those skills away from me or not.
Summer’s the perfect time to play. Why? Everyone is outside in the heat. Why not stay indoors, keep cool, and learn a very cool skill?
When it comes to music, “use it or lose it” seems the be the operative catchphrase regarding a regular practice schedule.
It may be good for a teacher’s wallet to reteach a student’s forgotten lessons, but is ultimately bad for the student to not develop a regular practice routine.
Thanks for posting!
~~friend at Allegro Music Academy, Sarasota, FL
Hello All~
Wow, I’d love the luxury of not having to teach all summer…but my husband and I truly depend on our teaching income year-round. We own a studio and the rent and alllllllllll the other bills are due 12 months out of the year.
And after saying that, the rest might sound self-serving. But it’s true. I think taking 2-3 months off of lessons is usually detrimental to any student’s progress. Progress for students who take long breaks doesn’t just stop…IT DIGRESSES! I often have to backtrack months of progress when kids come back in the fall. It’s a waste of time and money. That “break” that you refer to is kids (and adults) shutting down their brains…and for an immature child, this often means not even so much as looking at their instrument all summer long.
The reality of it is that music is not meant to be taken long breaks from. The whole idea of summer break was for families to be able to work the harvest. Um…the general population doesn’t farm anymore. Most jobs require people to work year-round. Kids should get used to that. I am not a hard-core meanie; I totally understand the need for breaks…it’s healthy to have breaks on a regular basis. It’s invigorating and refreshing and gives the promise of a rejuvenated effort when getting back to reality. But 3 months is too much. Year-round school is a much better structure to model after, if anything. It’s more realistic in terms of what most people’s lives will reflect: taking a few days or a week or two off every few months instead of several consecutive months in the summer.
If anything, summer is the BEST time for music lessons! All the extra homework and activities usually stop. Having at least camps and workshops or something to touch base during the summer is better than nothing. We have our biggest recital of the year in August. We put together bands and all sorts of ensembles. And we do awesome themes. Though students dropping is inevitable, our recital does help to retain students over the summer. Also, it gives us lots of extra time to work with students in bands or other types of ensembles for their performance.
My thoughts? Letting kids turn off their brains for 3 months is not a healthy thing, it is not practical, and it is not good training/preparation for their adult life. It certainly isn’t any good for their musical progress!!! :o/
I am a music teacher, and while some of my students drop out in the summer, I usually recruit more. Some students actually prefer to start in the summer. Some students take lesson just for the summer; for example, if they are just in town for the summer.