A post by Denie Riggs, written in 2016 but not published for some reason … until now!
At Perfect Praise Music we offer both group, private and virtual instruction, depending on the needs and age of the student. At Perfect Praise Music … we’ve got you covered!
Babies through 8 Years: (Early Childhood Music)
We have found that children in the very first years of their lives thrive on the group settings. Social skills are developing and the children learn very quickly from each other, whereas if they are placed in a private setting the growth rate of their learning would drop substantially.
Children emerging into early elementary ages (under 7 years) frequently find that private piano instruction with traditional methods are just too difficult to excel. But when brought into a fun, friend-filled, parent-attended active musical environment, those same children respond to positive peer pressure and thrive at their instruction.
Note from Mrs. Denie Riggs (our Founding Director): I have been teaching private piano instruction for over 50 years. Before the days of our group preschool classes (Early Childhood Music®~ Give Them the Best Start) I had made many attempts to teach 5 and 6 year olds with private traditional structures. My success rate was about 35%. I saw so much frustration, that I finally made the decision to not accept students under the age of 7 years, requiring them to be in the second semester of second grade. With that age specification, I was very successful in my private practice, carrying 70 private students with a success rate of 100% with a waiting list.
Group Piano Structures:
Perfect Praise offers group instruction to students from ages 7.5 & up.
- Early Childhood Music: Even children older than age 8 find that the group lessons are so much more fun than private instruction and may join the ECM structure. Since they are older, they may do private instruction or Piano Lab for a period of time to launch them into the higher levels of ECM where they join a classroom and graduate with all the amazing abilities of our incredible ECM program.
- 50+ Piano: (Our adult beginner piano program) Three different levels of group keyboard classes take adult students (over 18 years) through 30 weeks of training and launches them into note reading, musical theory, and the ability to play songs they know and enjoy.
Private Instruction:
Perfect Praise offers private instruction for students above 7.5 years.
- Traditional Lessons: Traditional private instruction at the piano and on the guitar
- Special Needs: Piano therapy private instruction for children with autism, Asperger’s, dyslexia and Down’s, along with private piano lessons for those who are blind, deaf or have other special physical or mental needs
- Dementia Program: Private instruction for adults with Alzheimer’s or have any type of mental or physical brain-related injury
Students who attempt piano and fail because of the wrong curriculum or age, may always feel that music is too hard and unobtainable. With that failure in mind, they frequently don’t want to return to it. For that reason, selecting the right program and curriculum is vitally important.
Virtual Lessons:
Even before Covid-19, we offered Online Learning Courses and private lessons to students around the world. The pandemic did help press us forward by requiring students to consider Remote and Online Courses … which came through beautifully!
So, if you don’t live in Huntsville Alabama or in our surrounding area? Not a problem. You may study in one of our virtual programs from the comfort of your home!
At Perfect Praise Music, we’ve got you covered. We have a program that may fit your learning needs and your schedule.
Contact us for a FREE Consultation. We’ll help you select a musical structure that best suits your needs and will bring all of the wonderful benefits of making music into your life.