Music is pursued with passion and over many years when it is viewed as a priority. We make time for the things we love and consider important. It is a music teacher’s profession – and hopefully passion – to present music in such a way so as to help students see music as deserving of this high regard.

Often, learning to play an instrument resembles something to cross off on a checklist: a skill to learn, a creative outlet to pursue, or a year or more of music lessons to attend. Even the lessons themselves can become weekly checklists of playing songs, learning new ones, and practicing scales.

Something is very wrong here – and it’s easy to see why students so often stop their lessons after a year or a few years, and who grow up to become one of the many adults who admit they wish they hadn’t quit their lessons. When learning an instrument becomes centered around learning the next song in the book, for the purpose of “passing” it to go on to do the exact thing again next week, music is a chore, instead of an activity meant to help us appreciate beauty and creativity in ourselves and in the world around us. Students may know how to play their instrument – but fewer know how to love their music.

Instruction at Rock Lake Piano Studio is focused on helping students understand music conceptually and to help them become functional pianists. Instead of teaching song after song from one week to the next, students are taught musical concepts that are then practiced and applied in well-chosen musical repertoire.

In other words, the goal is not to pass to the next song, but to teach the elements of music, which students can then apply toward any music they encounter in the future. As a result, students become independent thinkers and musicians, functional in practical skills such as sightreading and improvisation, and highly developed in aural awareness and musical expression.

What we value at Rock Lake Piano Studio:

Music offers something to everyone. Whether students take lessons with the possibility of later having a career in music, or lessons are taken as a hobby, music provides a world of creativity and a sense of fulfillment. In addition, practicing an instrument – especially the piano – is known to strengthen the neural pathways of the brain; practicing the piano is therefore just as valuable as the skill of playing the piano. Creativity, personal achievement, and increased mental acuity can certainly benefit everyone!

Music learning is unique to each student. Everyone has a different learning style and learning pace, along with individual tastes in music and learning personalities. With the amount of repertoire and resources available to students, lessons take a very individualized approach, planned weekly for exactly what the student is learning or wishes to study.

Sharing music with others is highly encouraged. Students are given many opportunities to express themselves through musical performance. Whether playing for peers in group lessons, performing in informal community settings, or thriving in competitions, the studio year for Rock Lake Piano Studio includes events for everyone.

Music lessons must be about more than learning songs. Knowing how to play songs but having an underdeveloped ear or technique or not knowing how to sight-read or improvise is to fail to have a full grasp on the elements of music. Students continue piano lessons when music makes sense to them – a result of learning all the skills of music – because it allows them to perceive themselves as functional musicians. They feel capable of trying new things and pushing themselves further in music-making.

Music-learning involves teaching the whole body and the whole mind. Because music trains the whole person – the eyes and ears, the arms and hands, and the mind and the imagination – students are shown how to use their physical movements and mental acuity to create beautiful sounds, to interpret music creatively and according to historical performance practices, and to listen to whether their performances achieve effective and emotional sound images. Students learn the elements of technique, performance, artistry, music theory, and music history by studying quality piano literature.

Music is a place for exploring and making mistakes. A music studio should be a place of inspiration and imagination – which means it is a place where students feel comfortable making mistakes. We learn the most from our mistakes, and the goal of correcting them is not to be more impressive when we play or to believe that less mistakes equals better playing. Instead, mistakes let us become more aware of our understanding of the music we are learning, along with the most effective way to learn it. Students will learn how to lead their own way as an outcome of progressing forward from their mistakes.

Musical success is attainable to all students by teaching students to teach themselves. Success comes by teaching students to become independent learners who are excited about their weekly assignments because they know how to take charge. Students leave their lessons understanding exactly what their task is and how to achieve it, and being equipped with that confidence allows them to experience success in each day of their practice during the week. These small moments of progress lead to long-term motivation that causes students to want to stay with their lessons – not quit them!