It is thrilling and terrifying to take music lessons--for the first time or coming back to them.  You've decided to invest in yourself or your child.  How can you make the most of this adventure and investment?

You want to stretch out your dollars, but not lose attention or value. When you start with a teacher, learning works best once a week. You've time to practice on your own, but not to lose focus or feel completely adrift! It's not worth saving money, if you feel like you're wasting money because you don't know what you're doing!  Later on, you can go to every other week lessons.

If money is a problem, see if you or your child can share lessons with a friend.  While you won't have the constant personal attention of individual lessons, you will get to hear how a technique works on someone else.  This can spur you on and increase the speed of your learning.  It also gives you a pal to remind you what worked.  Oh. ..and it is fun!

Set reasonable practice times for yourself.  If you do even a little practice--just ten minutes a day--you will find yourself improved and more ready for the next lesson.  

If you don't feel you are improving during each lesson and you are taking weekly, consider if you are with the right teacher.  Just because someone is a good teacher, doesn't mean they are the right teacher for you.  Are you having fun?  Do you feel good about yourself at the end of each lesson?  Do you need to be in a group for a while?  Music lessons are a joy--make sure they are for you!