Instrumental Music Lessons at ISB
Individual instrumental music lessons are available at ISB on a variety of instruments. If a student would like lessons on an instrument for which we have no teacher, the school will try to find a suitable teacher. Currently lessons are available on the following instruments:
Flute
Clarinet
Saxophone
Violin
Viola
Cello
Double Bass
Piano
Guitar
Bass Guitar
Trumpet
Trombone
French Horn
Baritone / Tuba
For some instruments there are a limited number of places and additional students will be placed on a waiting list.
ELC
Instrumental lessons are not offered directly to ELC students, but parents who are keen to start their child on an instrument may be able to arrange lessons privately or choose to visit one of the many local music academies.
Lesson Duration
Instrumental lessons are usually once a week for 30 minutes, but longer or more frequent lessons are possible by arrangement.
Teaching Time & Practice
Different countries around the world have different ways of developing musical talent. The balance between teaching time and practice time can vary greatly.
Instrumental teaching at ISB is intended to work by having a short, 1-on-1 lesson every week which aims to push forward the student who has done sufficient practice in their own time. Ideally, the student should come to each lesson having practiced every day since the previous lesson. The student should then be ready to take on new things and move forwards. In this way we aim to encourage the student to be an independent learner who takes responsibility for their own musical development.
Some students who are practicing regularly and making substantial progress can benefit from having a longer lesson time or from two teaching sessions per week because the teacher is able to teach them more. By contrast, when students do not practice much between lessons the teacher will need to use the lesson time to help the student practice, which leaves very little time for teaching anything new. Extra lessons as a way to get over this lack of progress is one solution to the problem, but it can become expensive and also blurs the distinction between teaching time and practice time.
How much practice is enough?
Parents often over estimate the amount of practice that students need to do in order to achieve good levels of progress. A daily practice session from between 15 to 30 minutes can produce amazing results in virtually any student, provided it really is daily and provided it can be sustained over a period of months and years. Celebrated cellist Yo-Yo Ma has rarely done more than 20 minutes practice in any one day, but he stresses that his practice time is always extremely focussed on what he needs to improve. Ideally, every music student will have a fixed time for music practice as part of their everyday routine. Parents are the key to establishing this and students of all ages will need help to create their practice routine.
Practice in School
Students can practice in school from
Lesson Times
All students are given a copy of their lesson timetable. Elementary students should endeavour to know when their lesson is going to be and try to be ready at the right time. Their class teacher will have copies of their lesson timetable and will usually help them to remember. Parents can also help support the student by reminding them of the day and time of their lesson in the morning before they come to school.
In the Middle and High School it is the student’s responsibility to remember when their lesson is. They should leave the class or activity in advance of their lesson in order to be there, if necessary with their instrument set up and ready to play at the correct starting time.
Forgetting
All students forget sometimes and so instrumental teachers will always come and look for a missing student after a five minute wait. Of course, this safety net should not be relied on and students who have forgotten their lesson should be prepared to hear a lecture on personal organisation once their teacher has managed to locate them!
Payment
Shortly after the start of the term parents will receive an invoice from the school for the total number of lessons that term. Payment instructions will be included on the bill.
In a change to previous arrangements money will no longer be refunded for students who miss lessons for any reason, including illness or holiday. Neither will lessons missed by students be carried forwards as a credit towards the following term’s bill. If however the instrumental teacher cancels a lesson, then it will either be made up at a later date or when that is not possible, it will be credited towards the next term’s lessons. The credit will be shown on the invoice for the following term.
Instruments for Hire
The school owns a selection of woodwind and brass instruments which can be hired at a cost of 40,000 won per term. This enables some students to get started on an instrument before parents need to commit to buying one. Instruments hired or borrowed from the school are the responsibility of the student. In the event of repairs due to carelessness a charge will be made. If a student loses a school instrument, the cost of a replacement will be charged to parents.
Getting Started
Forms are sent out to all students at the beginning of Term 1 for students to sign up for instrumental lessons. At the end of Term 1 and Term 2 instrumental students receive a form to confirm that they will continue for the following term. Students can also start lessons on an instrument at any time during the school year, providing that the teacher has an available time slot. Interested students or parents should request a form from one of the music staff in the school.
With younger children the teacher will sometimes need to see the student before starting lessons (for example, to determine the size of cello of violin required).