Meet our instructor Paul Thompson (pictured here with his first guitar). Paul began playing guitar as a young child but became disillusioned with taking lessons when all his teacher had him do was read sheet music. Several years later when Paul reached his teens he began playing rock and roll with his friends and found that he really loved playing. Once again a passion for playing music began to take root in his heart.

This brings up a couple thoughts.

Music lessons should be fun as well as educational.

Keeping a young child motivated to practice is the challenge for every instructor. We have found that teaching the student to play songs that THEY like helps maintain that motivation and makes learning more far more enjoyable. Whether it’s learning rock riffs during guitar lessons or
Owl City during piano lessons, when taught the right way, learning to play an instrument can be fun!

Taking a break from lessons does not mean you are done as a musician.

We all know that life gets busy and there are times when it is difficult to be consistent with practicing because of other things that take our time and attention. Sometimes “taking a break” from lessons is necessary but that doesn’t mean you have to stop forever. You can always come back to it and, like Paul, find a musical outlet and flourish.