Leeson Park School Of MusicInstrumental Teaching
Instrumental lessons begin when the child is musically ready and expresses a desire to play an instrument. There can be no hard and fast rules regarding the age at which a child should begin. Children should have previously attended at least two years of Music Kindergarten before they can proceed to play an instrument at LPSM. This means that instrumental training is usually started when children are around six or seven years of age.
The inclusion of many familiar Singing Rascals songs in the instrumental lessons creates desire to express them on an instrument and enables the child to read the songs thus developing their understanding of musical notation. The initial use of a one line stave simplifies the picture of music which builds in a systematic progression to the standard five line stave. Colourful teaching materials involve the child's senses on many levels thus contributing to a deeper understanding of music.
The training of the inner ear is the core of the instrumental approach. This develops the child's capacity for internal listening so that the child can visualise the notes being heard and auralise the notation seen on the page. The young child is always at the centre in this approach and the focus is on developing intelligent musicians, not just proficient instrumentalists. However, great care is taken from the earliest stages to make sure that correct technical foundations are laid. Musical intelligence includes music literacy, i.e. the ability to read and write musical notation and to understand music as a language, as well as knowledge and awareness of form and phrasing. Technique is a means to making music, not an end goal of study.
The child-centred nature of Colourstrings is a very important aspect of the underlying philosophy of the approach. While practice is necessary to play any instrument well, Colourstrings is unique in the way it invites the young child to practise, with its imaginative books and activities, interaction with other children in group lessons and its emphasis on ensemble music making.
All first-year instrumental lessons are shared by two children of similar ages. A parent or carer should attend all first-year instrumental lessons. As well as the weekly instrumental lesson, each child attends a musicianship class. Parents do not have to accompany their children in this class. Both instrumental and musicianship classes are 30 minutes duration during the first year
Contact us on 01 – 496 7890 or enquiries@lpsm.ie