Many parents desire to invest in their children’s musical education through private music lessons.  But, after the course of a year or less, most children drop out of lessons due to a lack of interest in the instrument they are studying.  Some of this may be due to a lack of discipline.  At the same time, however, there is evidence that some of these dropouts may be due to the fact that not all children are designed to be isolated in private piano lessons.  Group piano lessons may be exactly what your child needs to thrive in his or her musical education.

Several studies have revealed that 70% of all music students enrolled in a university music program are in fact introverts.  At the same time, studies that analysed the personality patterns with students in the general population revealed that 70% of the general public is extroverted to one degree or another.  We could either conclude that music is simply an introverted activity – or, these statistics could serve as a clue to the reason why so many children lose interest in their lessons.  After all, if most children prefer relationship-oriented activities, then it should not surprise us when private music lessons pose a threat to the musical interest of most children.  Private music lessons tend to be a very isolated activity for a child who thrives off of sharing their world with others.  This may also explain why sports programs for children thrive in our modern age.

But, truth be told, private music lessons were not necessarily the norm in ages past.  Music historians have often commented on the group nature of music education in the 19th century.  In fact, Franz Liszt personally felt that teaching his students in a group setting instilled a greater desire to excel in their studies.  Private music lessons were evidently not the default option for a child’s music education.

With the development of method books and curriculum, the 20th century established a new trend for private music lessons.  Outside of public and private school bands, studying a musical instrument has been largely confined to private lessons.  This works for introverts, who don’t mind sitting down quietly at a bench for half of an hour every day.  But, for those who were created to explore their world alongside their parents, siblings, and friends, private lessons could serve as a stifling aspect of their life.  For these children, group lessons can be a very positive experience that encourage them to make music in community rather than in isolation, which is the way they were created in the first place.

Before enrolling children into music lessons, it may behoove us to take their unique personalities into consideration and respond accordingly.