Why now is the perfect time to start music lessons

At the time of writing, we’re in the midst of our third lockdown. It’s tough, there’s no denying it. Whatever your circumstances, life is challenging right now both for parents and children.

We’re back to online tutoring for our students, and that’s for music and instrument lessons as well as academic subjects. Luckily we’ve now got lots of experience of teaching via Zoom and the like, and both our tutors and pupils find it a flexible and effective way of learning. We’ve had a good number of new music tutors and students join Discover & Be over the last year some of whom have yet to experience a face-to-face lesson! We have to admit that had you asked us about the idea of teaching instruments via Zoom a couple of years ago we might have been a little more sceptical (and also wondered what Zoom was)!

We know that children need to be keeping up to speed on their academic studies so how does music tuition fit into this? Well, for us, music is the perfect antidote to a day filled with maths, English or science; it gives a focus away from the academic subjects. Music can provide an opportunity for creative release, whether during a lesson or in free time at home. It’s a fantastic diversion, providing the opportunity to learn or hone a skill at your own speed and with your own aims in mind.

As with any tuition, a weekly music lesson gives your child regular 1-to-1 contact with another adult who’s interested in their progress, and can help them towards any goals.

Add to that the mental health benefits of simply enjoying music - whether as a listener or player - and you’re starting to see why those of us who sing, play an instrument, create mixes, write music or participate in music in some way are such big advocates of its positive powers!

Take Noah - a budding young drummer currently learning from home during lockdown - if he’s feeling frustrated or stuck on a maths problem, sitting on his drum kit playing a rock groove over and over takes him away from it all and channels those negative emotions into something wonderful. There’s something very fundamental and cathartic about being able to express your emotions in real time.

The Reset button is pressed and with 5 minutes you somehow feel more equipped to tackle the world again! If you’re sad and missing friends try writing a song about it- your tutor can help you do just that- giving you another medium through which to express yourself.

Also, once a child gets past the idea of having to ‘get out their instrument’ or sit at the piano (sometimes persuasion is needed from parents here!), they can become lost in their playing and, before they know it, they’ve enjoyed 15-20 minutes of music making without even realising they’ve been feeding their soul!

Starting to learn an instrument or voice coaching this year also gives a positive outcome to a time which, frankly, has a fair amount of negative factors! How great would it be for your child to look back at 2021 as the year they started to play the piano/ saxophone/ flute/ guitar/ name your instrument, and not just the year of missing schoolmates, not being able to go to the cinema, and missing family?

We’ve recently welcomed Emma (a saxophone and flute teacher), Will (piano, guitar, songwriting, and music theory tutor) and Sam (guitar, bass guitar and voice tutor) to our team. Each offer fantastic musical skills as well as inspiring teaching methods. You can ‘meet’ all of our musical tuition team here.

If you're interested in music lessons for your child (or you: it’s never too late!) do get in touch; you can call Rhiannon on 07472 521161. We offer piano lessons in Haywards Heath , guitar lessons in Lewes, and many other instruments and locations.