What Really Happens in a First Piano Lesson

Many parent (and students!) are curious about what their first piano lesson might be like. First lessons are crucial for explaining studio values, getting to know one another, and helping students and parents feel like they made the right choice in choosing piano lessons, and their specific studio. Below you will find what really happens in a first piano lesson at Morse Music Academy:

Introduction and Questions:
First, I introduce myself and give a quick studio tour. After that, I invite students to sit on the piano bench and ask them a series of questions. Most often I ask get to know you questions, and also musical experience questions. A few of each that I typically ask are “What is your favorite color?”, “How old are you?”, “Have you ever taken music lessons or classes at school?”, “What can you remember from those?”, etc.

Incentive Program:
Next, I explain our incentive program, Music Money. Students can earn coins for completing their practice goal, arriving on time, transposing songs, learning songs not from their book, etc. They can then exchange the coins for trips to my prize box, gift cards, all games lessons, and more. Each student has a jar with their name on it, and they can decorate it with various stickers so we do that as well.

Lesson Book:
After they get their jar decorated, we start working in their lesson book. Most students use Wunderkeys lesson books, but some also use Faber. Typically first units include an explanation of keyboard, finger numbers, and musical alphabet, but concepts vary for each age and starting point.

Game Time:
After they learn something new, we play a game. Games are huge hits at our studio! Oftentimes, I will use a game called Shell Bell which reinforces finger numbers.

Homework and Practice Goal:
At the end of the lesson, I explain and go over what they are expected to work on and practice throughout the week. I give students a practice goal that they can work towards. If they complete it, they can earn coins for the Music Money incentive program. We also add coins to their jar for anything they may have earned.

Talk to Parents:
Finally, I like to explain to parents what we worked on and learned and explain what they need to practice throughout the week. Parental involvement is one of the keys to successful piano lessons.

So, there you have it! This is what really happens in a first piano lesson at Morse Music Academy! Check out our testimonials page to hear from some of our happy parents. If this sounds great to you, comment FIRST below and we can set up an info call to get you enrolled!