A parent of a prospective student recently told me "I didn't know that good students need to take private lessons, too." This parent's daughter is in the planning stages of going to college. She wants to have a career in Music Education. In looking at various schools and talking to the primary instrument teachers, she realized that there were things that they are looking for her to be able to do on her instrument that she is not currently doing. Although she has a lot of drive and talent, she doesn't yet have the knowledge of how to do certain techniques and alternate fingerings that a top-notch school expects. As a long-time private music teacher, I obviously know the value of private lessons for all abilities of students.
The best thing about private lessons is that the lessons are not only tailored to each student's needs, but we can also move at a pace that is comfortable for that student. This can be great for the beginning student who is not really understanding everything they are learning in band class, but it is also great for those who are picking it up fast and want a challenge. Another thing that I love about the beginning students is that I can make sure they are learning everything correctly from the beginning. Sometimes when students wait until they have been playing a while, they have developed bad habits that they have to un-learn. This can be very time-consuming and frustrating. If a student has not developed a certain level of technique by the time they begin lessons, it can be very difficult for older students to gain the speed, tone, and musicality they desire, by the time they graduate high school.
My goal as a private teacher is to help each student along as far as they want to go. It is dependent on their drive and work ethic as to how much they can do. My hope is to inspire them to become good/great musicians!