Private Music Lessons: serving Las Vegas & Henderson, Nevada

The Jackson Family Music Studio has just opened their doors - in Las Vegas/Henderson! Offering over 25 years professional teaching. Children who play a musical instrument are smarter. They tend to learn quicker, retain information longer, score higher on tests, etc. Plus it helps them develop discipline. Give your child a gift that will last a lifetime and is a lot of fun!!! Call Toni Jackson at 702-586-5880 for more info. When Should Children Start Music Lessons? Introducing children to music, like introducing them to reading, should not wait for formal classes to start. Just as you read to your very young children, you should sing to them (whether you consider yourself a decent singer or not), dance with them, teach them singing games like "Ring Around the Rosy", and share with them the music that you like. Exposing them to classical music, using the many videos, books, and tapes available, can't hurt, either, but at a very young age they will be most engaged by what engages you. In some communities, there are parent/child group classes that introduce children to the basic concepts of music. To find out what's available in your area, check with any group that organizes extra-curricular activities for young children. This may be your local park district, YMCA, public library, music academy, community college, or local university. The emphasis at a very young age should be on how fun music is. The ideal time to start formal music training can be anywhere from age two to age twelve, depending on what you want. Note: Motivated teenagers - i.e. teenagers who tell you that they really want to learn to play an instrument - are, of course, also very good candidates for beginning music lessons. But, the teenage years being what they are, this is usually not a good time for you to start insisting on lessons and practice if the teen is not interested. Violin and piano are by far the most common instruments offered using this method, but you may also be able to find Suzuki instruction in viola, cello, string bass, guitar, harp, organ, recorder, flute, or voice. These instruments are all either playable by children who are not yet nearly adult-sized, or are available in small sizes or with adaptations for small players. Note that some teachers will start very young students using methods and approaches other than Suzuki. As long as the approach is appropriate to very young children, it is more important to find a good teacher than to use a particular method. Also note that starting an instrument at a very young age usually requires intense involvement by at least one parent. Your child may need you to sit in on most lessons and actively help with practice sessions. Between the ages of six and ten, your child can begin any of the instruments mentioned above, with just about any teaching method; just be certain that both the instrument and the teacher are suited to younger children. If your child is determined to play a different instrument (saxophone, for example), beginning on a different instrument at an early age and switching later will not hurt the young instrumentalist, and may give her more experience and confidence reading and playing music than the student who does not begin until age ten. It is certainly not necessary to begin early, however, particularly if the child does not want to study a different instrument; the motivated student who begins at age ten will quickly catch up to those who began their musical training earlier. Many instruments do not come in child sizes and are physically too much for a small child to handle. At about the age of ten, most children become big enough to begin playing most instruments. If you have been waiting to start your child on trumpet, clarinet, or trombone, for example, now is a good time to start. Most school band and string programs begin at about this age. If you or your child is very determined on a particular instrument, you may want to begin lessons before school instruction begins, in order to ensure that she is not assigned a different instrument. However, if your child is either not highly motivated to practice or does not care greatly about instrument choice, it will be better for your child to cooperate with the director in taking up an instrument needed for a well-balanced ensemble. Beginner-ensemble instructors are experienced at matching students with instruments that they will be happy and successful with. Remember, it's never too late to start music lessons. If you are an adult and wish you had had piano lessons as a child, find yourself a piano teacher. Just a few months of lessons and practice will find most sixteen-year-olds playing at a level that is acceptable in most high school bands. Call Toni Jackson at 702-586-5880 for more info.

Now offering quality lessons in: · Piano · Guitar · Violin/Fiddle · Mandolin Children exposed to a multi-year program of music tuition involving training in increasingly complex rhythmic, tonal, and practical skills display superior cognitive performance in reading skills compared with their non-musically trained peers, according to a study published in the journal Psychology of Music, published by SAGE. Call Toni Jackson at 702-586-5880 for more info. Does My Child Have Enough Talent for This? The short answer to this question is "yes". All children can benefit from music instruction, and many of the children who enjoy it the most are not the ones who have enough talent to be the next Itzhak Perlman. Much research suggests that students who receive music instruction do better in their other classes, particularly math and reading. If you still don't want to bother with music lessons unless your child shows some natural aptitude, consider the following questions: When your young child sings alone, is the tune accurate? Does your young child sing and/or dance with an accurate beat and/or with accurate rhythms? When he sings with recordings, or with others, does he follow the contour (the ups-and-downs) of the melody correctly? Does he try to find correct pitches, even if the song is being sung too high or low for his voice? Does he ever try to sing along with parts that are not the melody (a harmony or bass line, for example, or instrumental part)? Does her play-time include singing and dancing even when an adult doesn't suggest it? Does he learn a song more quickly than the other children in his class? Does he still remember many songs a long time after learning them? Call Toni Jackson at 702-586-5880 for more info.