Lesson FAQs

Getting Started
Prior to attending your first lesson you will want to get organized. Be sure to have your instrument, music, and all necessary accessories with you at the time of your lesson. If you do not have an instrument, please talk to our staff and we will make sure you get set up with the right instrument and the appropriate accessories. As lessons begin on the half hour, you will want to be a few minutes early so you can start your lesson on time. If you have any question as to your lesson day and time, be sure to contact our front desk at (425) 836-2263 and we will provide you with your lesson day and time. You should also receive an email a day before each lesson as a reminder. If you do not receive a reminder email, please notify the front desk.

The First Lesson
The first lesson is often the most important one. This is where the instructor reviews the instrument with the student to insure it is in proper working order. If not, the instructor will make recommendations and, in most cases, adjustments and repairs can be effected at Moore Brothers Music. The student learns the care and maintenance of the instrument as well as reviews the lesson curriculum and discusses goals and objectives with the instructor. The instructor will then outline and explain the student's first assignment. It is important to address any questions the student may have with the instructor at this time.

Practice Tips
To insure the student's success in the learning process, we recommend the student practice a minimum of 30 minutes per day. It is important for the student to have privacy and a consistent time and place to practice. Parents can ask the instructor for pointers on how they can help the student practice. Learning and playing an instrument is a performance-oriented art form and requires practice in order to reach desired musical goals. The instructor will develop a personalized practice plan with the student and make it as easy as possible for the student to reach those musical goals.

Rental Instruments
Moore Brothers Music has a large selection of rental instruments and provides them to most of the students in our local school music programs as well as the community with very affordable rental plans to meet your needs. If we don't currently have what you need at our location, we have many resources and can locate what you need and, in most cases, have it for you in a few days. Once you have been issued a rental instrument it will be important to learn about its care and maintenance. Should your instrument not function properly, please bring it to Moore Brothers Music as soon as possible for inspection. If it needs to be repaired, in many cases, it can be fixed at our location. If it needs to be sent out for repair you will be provided with a replacement until yours is returned. In order to avoid incurring extra fees, please return your rental instrument by the date stated in your rental contract. If you are satisfied with your instrument and decide that you would like to purchase it, we will gladly help you become the proud owner!
Thank you again for choosing Moore Brothers Music! We look forward to serving you now and in the future!

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:
1. The keyboard layout is not abstract and logically laid out.
2. Students are learning to read music right away
3. Students learn a lot about music theory quickly including: Rhythm, Bass and Treble Clef, Melodies and Harmonies
4. All of the above are easily transferable to other instruments
5. 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, 3) fits well, and 4) 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.