Everyone has their own journey. This philosophy applies to everything in life, but I’m going to apply it to music. I had to give this same speech to two of my students in a row this week, so it’s time to send it out to the world.
Average Progression
We often compare ourselves to people who have a lot more experience than us or people who just go, “zoom,” through things that have the rest of us on the struggle bus. That’s when it’s nice to know what the average person does.
If you’re under average, that’s fine. You’ll catch up. If you’re over average, don’t rub it in. Average means that there are going to be people above or below that point, because everyone has their own journey. I’ll hash out what average is on each instrument that I teach.
Piano
This is based on the average student who begins in 1st grade. If you started later than that, you’ll probably go faster through all of these stages. If you started earlier than that, you’ll probably go slower through the first few stages.
Average is one lesson book or conservatory level per year.
Early Elementary – 6 months to a year
Elementary – 1 year
Late Elementary – 2 years
Early Intermediate – 2-3 years
Intermediate – 2-3 years
Late Intermediate – 2-3 years (many people stay at this level for the rest of their lives).
Variable and most people stay at one of these levels for the rest of their lives:
Early Advanced
Advanced
Late Advanced
Flute
These are based on the average student who begins in 6th grade. If you started earlier, your progress will be slower. If you started later, your progress will be a little faster, but not much. Already play a different wind instrument? You’ll go much faster through these levels.
This is a little more nebulous than piano because there are a lot of different grading scales, so I broke it down per year.
1st year – notes in the Bb scale; beginner tone; sometimes it takes up to three months to make a sound.
2nd year – note range is up to the F above the staff and down to middle C; tone solidifies; 16th notes introduced.
3rd year – 16th notes become normal; drag triplets are introduced; tone begins to mature.
4th through 8th year – dynamics become easier; tone fully matures; ear begins to develop; full note range is used. Sonata level.
9th year and above – college or greater level playing.
The Importance of a Teacher
All of these levels are based on a student who has a teacher. While everyone has their own journey, a teacher helps you go faster along that journey. This is because a teacher’s job is to push their student forward so they’re learning as quickly as possible. I have heard it said that it takes twice as long to learn a musical instrument on your own than it does with a teacher.
This is because of:
- Accountability – you know you’re going to have to play for your next lesson.
- Repertoire Choices – a good teacher will usually choose a piece on the far edge of the student’s knowledge, unless it doesn’t help with the student’s learning style.
- Form – when we’re learning something new, our bodies do funny things. A teacher will catch those things and bring the student back to good ergonomics.
- Tricks of the Trade – you’ll learn some tricks of the trade off the internet, but there’s nothing like a teacher saying, “Do it this way,” and it works so much better.
- Practice Techniques – I write a lot about practice techniques, but it can be hard to apply them to your own practice unless you have a teacher saying, “Use this practice technique for next time.”
Conclusion
Everyone has their own journey. Not everyone will learn the same repertoire pieces. Everyone has a different stumbling block when it comes to music. Be easy on yourself, knowing that you’re doing the best you can with what you have.
