Private Music Lessons Frequently Asked Questions

What's the best instrument to start on?

In our opinion, piano is one of the best instruments to learn a lot about music very quickly for the following reasons:

The keyboard layout is not abstract and logically laid out
Students are learning to read music right away
Students learn a lot about music theory quickly including:
1. Rhythm
2. Bass and Treble Clef
3. Melodies and Harmonies
All of the above are easily transferable to other instruments
Piano can be taught at a young age.*

We accept piano students as young as 5 years old.

My 5-year-old really wants to play guitar. Will you teach him?

You will find some instructors willing to teach guitar to very young students. We don't do it here and don't recommend it for several reasons. First, we want to make sure learning a musical instrument is a positive experience. Second, the guitar is a very abstract instrument that requires enough dexterity and fine motor skills to perform two very different tasks simultaneously. Third, very small guitars are typically of an inferior quality and not conducive for learning. A better choice would be to start your 5-year-old on piano for a few years.

Each instrument brings unique challenges to learning music. Therefore, we do have minimum ages for certain instruments due to their abstract nature and dexterity requirements. Therefore, we begin private guitar lessons at 8 years old.

i don't want to spend that much on an instrument since I don't know if my child will stick with it.

This is not really a question but instead a statement we hear often from parents. These parents often have supplied a garage sale guitar, a 30-year-old, hand-me-down guitar, a $35 toy guitar, or a $100 new guitar, clarinet, or violin purchased on Ebay. The most important thing for a new student is to have an instrument that 1) is easy to play, 2) stays in tune, and 3) sounds good. Poor quality instruments generally are very difficult to play, don't stay in tune, and sound terrible.

What this means to your new student is that no matter how much they try, they will be fighting an instrument that will never sound good and may be nearly impossible to play. This scenario usually ends with a student quitting and feeling like a failure because no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't learn to play his instrument. This becomes a self-esteem issue where the student's learning process has been impeded solely by the quality of his instrument.

Here at Moore Brothers Music we see this the most with new guitar students. Guitar is an instrument that will fight you all the way unless it is of sufficient quality and set up properly. Yes, a $2,000 guitar can be extremely difficult to play if not set up properly. Expect to spend at least $200 for a guitar, acoustic or electric, not including the case. Electric guitars will require another $100 or more for an amplifier. Other instruments we see on occasion is the $100 school band instrument purchased online. Students in school band will quickly recognize that their Ebay find is severely inadequate compared to the others in their class. Our band and orchestra instruments typically list for $700 or more, come fully insured and don't require you to pay for maintenance. Servicing and band or orchestra instrument can cost well over $100.

Keyboard is the only exception. Yes, it's better to have fully weighted keys though an inexpensive 61 key keyboard ($100 -$250) will do fine for the first year or two.

Bottom line: Please, please, PLEASE set your student up for success. Invest in a good quality instrument, invest in good quality education, then monitor their practice and progress. Meet with their instructor at least once a month for a couple minutes. Do this and your new student will most likely stick with it.