Watch the Accelerated FAQ video or read through the FAQs below:
What are the benefits of Accelerated Lab lessons?
Flourish’s Accelerated Lab lessons for piano and guitar are a unique way of doing lessons that we are excited to bring to the Greeley area.
The purpose of this program is to address the #1 problem that music students have.
The difficulty of home practice.
Many children dread home practice for one reason: It takes too much work. We simply do not have the time in the lesson to practice with repetition or to drill those tough parts.
This is true of most private lesson studios and music schools in the U.S. There is just so much to do in a 30 or even 45 minute lesson.
In Flourish’s Accelerated lab, students get a whole 60 minutes every week to learn their songs in the lesson. Then when they go home, instead of trying to learn songs they didn’t have the time to finish in lessons, they just get to play through songs they already know.
Practice becomes much easier and more enjoyable. Both students and parents experience less frustration.
Also, with more time in the lesson to learn new songs, students can move through their books faster. This is why we call it “Accelerated”. Faster completion time = more excitement and motivation for kids!
Accelerated Lab lessons also:
- Allow students to be more self-directed and independent in their learning – which they like!
- Grow student’s confidence because they feel “I can learn my music on my own”.
- Ensure students have a true understanding of the material because they are forced to think for themselves
- Have been shown to dramatically improve a student’s sightreading skills…. this is the #1 skill that students need to learn music quickly
- Come with a built-in support system as kids make friends who are also musicians.
- Allow more time to work on theory, aural skills, creativity, writing music and more!
And the best news?
Tuition is the most affordable rate we offer!
We currently only offer Accelerated Lab lessons in piano and guitar. Contact our office to ask about scheduling and costs.
What does an Accelerated Lab lesson look like?
When you walk in the room you will see up to 4 digital pianos or guitars set up with headphones for each student. Yes, there are other students in the room, but they do not learn together – everyone works on their own material at their own pace.
The students know their routine – when they first arrive they will put on their headphones, pull out their books and start practicing any songs from last week. When they are ready for a teacher to hear a song, they put up a green card. The teacher comes and listens, and if the student passes the song, they move on.
After passing old songs, students will move on to learning new material. For new music, teachers will scaffold the steps to learning the song. So maybe first we work on the RH, then the student practices until he is ready and puts up his card again. Then it’s the LH, then hands together. Before you know it the whole song is learned.
If there is an incorrect rhythm, or something like that, the teacher helps them figure out how to fix it, then let’s them practice again to solidify it. At any time if a student needs help, they can also put up their “I have a question” card, and the teacher will come work with them.
The beauty is, the student learns the whole song under teacher supervision at the lesson.
This is way better than trying to learn it at home by yourself, and coming back to the lesson and having to now fix mistakes and re-learn it. Not only is that super frustrating, but it is also much more difficult and time-consuming to fix and re-learn a piece.
When students go home, practice is much easier and more enjoyable because students are reviewing songs they already know and increasing speed.
Because of the longer 60 minute lesson time, there is often extra time in the lesson to also do off-the-bench activities, like working on theory worksheets or other musicianship skills, writing their own music, or doing mini-performances for each other as a group.
At Accelerated Lab you can get so much more done, which is motivating for the kids. Plus the kids make friends and have fun together during those group interaction periods.
Will my child get enough personal attention?
There is a misconception about Accelerated Lab style lessons that students don’t get “personal attention” from the teacher, or that they get less instruction time than in 1-on-1 lesson.
I (Flourish owner Nicole Harwell) understand this concern, because I used to think this way myself. I figured a group lesson for 60 minutes with 4 students in it would basically be equivalent to a 15 minute lesson. There was NO WAY I was going to offer this at Flourish because I thought it would be a rip-off for our students, and I want to only offer the highest quality music lessons.
But then I had a revelation: the success of students in music lessons does not depend on how much time the teacher spends talking to them. Students learn by doing the thing themselves, not just having someone tell them how to do it. In fact, whether in private lessons or lab-style lessons, student growth actually increases when the teacher talks less and allows the student more time to practice and master the skill.
A well-taught private lesson should include just a bit of teacher instruction, scaffolded at the pace the student needs, and then lots of time for students to discover and learn the skill for themselves.
This is exactly what we do in Accelerated lab lessons, except that instead of having a teacher hovering over the child’s shoulder watching them, the students get time to experiment on their own and master the skill, while the teacher is working with a different student.
Most students actually prefer this, because there is less pressure and they gain more confidence when they feel they did it themselves. And whenever the student needs help, they can just put up their question card for the teacher.
By having that practice time without the teacher watching them constantly, students also learn how to work independently and figure out small issues on their own – which really helps them during their home practice when the teacher is not there.
So when you combine that independence that is cultivated in Accelerated Lab plus getting more time in the lesson itself, it leads to exponential progress for a student.
This is when I realized I HAD to offer Accelerated lab lessons at Flourish. Because not only could we help students make better progress, gain more confidence and more joy out of playing, but we could also do it at a more affordable price. Win-Win-Win!
Can I come more than once a week?
You can enroll in Accelerated Plus and come for two hour long lessons each week! This is great if you have a very motivated student who is really flying through their books and doesn’t want to wait a whole week to pass their songs.
Alternatively, if you have a student who has a hard time practicing on their own at home, two hours of Accelerated lessons per week is a great option. Even on weeks with no home practice they will still be making progress in lessons!
The second hour of lessons comes at a discounted rate. Contact us for a quote on Accelerated Plus.
Am I missing out on anything by taking Accelerated lessons?
You don’t miss out on anything! You get everything in our K-12 lesson program – all the recitals, the dress rehearsals, the Achievement Program. We have even had students prepare for RCM exams in the Accelerated Lab.
Do I still get unlimited make-up credits?
Yes! In fact, scheduling makeup lessons is even easier in Accelerated lab because you can come to any other class that has an open slot in it, even if it is with a different teacher!
You do need to contact the office to sign up for a makeup with a different teacher because it doesn’t work in the student portal.
Who are Accelerated Lab lessons for?
Accelerated lab is available for piano and guitar lessons from beginner to intermediate levels. Flourish is currently accepting students age 8 – 18 in our Accelerated Lab.
Students in accelerated need to be able to work semi-independantly for a short amount of time, or have the motivation to learn how to work independently (we will work on training independence in the lesson).
If your child is not ready for that yet, then you might stick with 1-on-1 lessons.
What about when my child gets more advanced?
When your child will benefit more from a 1-on-1 lesson due to getting to a more advanced level, we will let you know and recommend switching to our 45 or 60 minute private lessons.
Contact Us Today to enroll in Accelerated Lab lessons at Flourish!
