The following individual lessons/services are provided by Beatrice Louisa of Music to Mend.

Services includes:

  • Piano lessons (assessment / consultation)
  • Vocals / Composing
  • Adaptive Piano (or other instruments) lessons / Musical Activity
  • One-on-one individualized consultation with client if other instruments are preferred, rather than learning to play the piano.
    • Other instruments offered at Music to Mend
      • Xylophone
      • Glockenspiel
      • Congas
      • Drum / Snare
      • Bongos
      • Bells
      • Other instruments available upon request and discussion.
    • Assessments

Music to Mend Services Fees

  • $345 – for 1.5 hour initial assessment and consultation
  • $160 – per Hour / Individual Musicality Lesson (Piano / Vocal / Composing)
  • $80 – per half hour

THE INTERVIEW (FIRST 30 MINUTES OF CONSULTATION)

Some questions I like to ask clients, parents and/or caregivers include:

  • Do you have an instrument at home?
  • Does the client understand my approach of teaching piano and other instruments is not conventional classical teaching methods?
  • Does the client understand my methods are to get the student playing the piano (or other instrument) confidently in weeks and months instead of years of lessons?
  • Does the client understand my approach to learning the Piano is through improvisation, ear-training, harmony, voice to piano note coaching? We will not be learning to read music notes. My approach is extremely organic and allows the students to create their own music to their tunes.
  • Does the student participate in any other musical activities?
  • Is the student excited to learn the piano? Did they ask for lessons?
  • Who will be responsible for helping the student practice?
  • What are the student’s goals? The parent’s goals?  The caregiver’s goals?

We also go over my studio policy, ensuring that the necessary time and monetary commitments have been made clear. This is also a good time for students, parents and caregivers to ask me questions—about myself, my experience, teaching techniques, etc.

WHAT I’M NOT WORRIED ABOUT IN A CONSULTATION

  • Perfect posture and hand shape.
  • Reading notes on the staff.
  • Reading rhythmic notation.

I’ll be gathering information such as any developmental behavior I need to know about, i.e, functioning in socialization, communication, fine motor, gross motor, or cognitive behavior. This is only used to determine and/or suggest other instruments (other than piano), to fit the client’s needs, etc.

My goal is to ensure our initial meeting is a productive and meaningful consultation. I want to know if the client is interested in learning singing/vocals, composing short songs. Every client has different needs, goals and desires; my goal is to ensure the client achieves their desired goals in the shortest amount of time.

The term “consultation lesson” can sound a little daunting and formal, but our first lesson together is a relaxed, informal opportunity to get to know each other. The ultimate goal is to decide if we will make a good fit as a student, teacher, and parent unit. I also want to establish a good rapport and get an idea of what the student can do at the moment. It’s important to me that even in a consultation lesson, the student and I make music together.

THE SECOND FULL hour of the consultation

LOW-STRESS ASSESSMENT

During this hour of the consultation, I’ll take the student through easy exercises and explore the piano so the student doesn’t feel like they’re being tested. I want to see if the student can do on their own by following my lead. I’ll use tapping and singing exercises and have the students mimic the rhythms I perform. This will provide me with important information on how much or how little the student knows; we’ll use this information as a baseline and incorporate the data into each student’s goals and accomplishments.

ROTE PIECE

We learn a short piece by rote (without music notation). This activity is where echoing short melodic patterns comes into play—we’re now combining a few short patterns into a whole piece!

IMPROVISATION

I accompany the student while they create a melody on the white keys. There’s no need to learn the formal terms for rhythm values just yet—I use the name of students’ pets, favorite foods, etc. to guide rhythm.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

If the family needs time to think about committing to lessons, I follow-up with an email. If we all agree that we make a great fit by the end of the consultation, we proceed by choosing a tuition payment plan and scheduling a recurring lesson day and time.

There you have it: a typical consultation lesson for a beginner of any age, hoping to use music as a therapeutic conduit to healing, mending and living their best life! Hopefully, knowing what to expect not only eases any nerves (parent’s, student’s or caregiver’s) but also gets everyone looking forward to the experience!

I’m so happy you stopped by; whatever the reasons, whatever the illness or trauma you’ve experienced in your life, I’m a survivor of a traumatic autoimmune disease and know exactly what you’re going through. Together we can heal through the magical powers of music! I’m looking forward to helping you in your healing journey.

I hope you take the next step to your musical wellness journey and book your consultation today.

Book A Consultation Today!

Disclaimer:  As founder and owner of Music to Mend, I use instruments such as Piano, Xylophone, Glockenspiel, Drums, Congas, and other various forms of musical instruments and singing activities for healing and wellness in individuals looking for musical therapeutic effects. I am not, however, a board certified Music Therapist.