I have learnt from private music teachers throughout my entire life. Collectively I have learnt from eight different private music teachers in total. They all had different approaches to teaching music, each having their own philosophies in their approach to music. I owe so much to all my teachers (although perhaps not in equal amounts), as they have all taught me significant lessons in my musical journey.

Although private lessons were a significant part of my musical playing, down the road I started to realise that private lessons were only just a part of my musical experience. When I was studying my bachelor at the Melbourne Conservatorium, I began to notice the immense influence I have received part from performing in orchestras and learning from great conductors, attending workshops, observing performances in master classes and not to mention working on dull and boring assignments with my classmates – which made it far more enjoyable.

It’s no doubt that one of the key factors of being in a school is seeing and meeting your peers. Schools promote a sense of belonging, in which naturally as human beings, we all long for.

“A school promotes a sense of belonging to a community”

Music Schools offer private music lessons, but even more so it provides a professional school environment. This granted me motivation to practice and to work harder, it also grew my passion for music even more.
Surrounding myself with other like-minded musicians almost generated a community of camaraderie. I then asked the question, why didn’t I have this as I was growing up? As students, we are used to tuned to learning in a school environment, so why not for music? If I had known that others my age were going through the same challenges in playing their instrument, such as finding motivation to practice, working on certain techniques, to exploring new repertoire, I may have been a very different musician than I am today.

“Students are tuned to learning in a school environment”

Students can do their best when with their peers. In spite of all this, I’m not saying that a music school setting is the best for everyone; many do strive to become great musicians through private music lessons. But there are definitely a lot of benefits that music schools can bring that should not be overlooked.