All students will need a comfortable, organized and quiet place to practice with all the materials they need easily accessible.  Pencils, staff paper, a metronome, Mp3 player are all good things to have near by.  There are some instrument specific requirements as well.

 

All guitarists and bassists will need the following:

1)    Guitar Strap

2)    Tuner

3)    Metronome (Korg sells a tuner/metronome combo)

4)    A guitar case for transporting your instrument

 

All guitarists will need the following:

5)    Picks – medium gauge.  Buy a hand full while you are at it.  They are easy to lose.

6)    A spare set of strings and it would not hurt to buy a few extra high E strings since they break most often.-

7)    A Capo (Kyser is a good brand)

 

Electric guitarists and electric bassists will also need

1)    An amplifier – there are many options but the Roland Micro Cube is a good starter amp for guitar.

2)    Instrument or patch cable (1/4 inch) long enough to go from the guitar to the amp comfortably.

 

Guitar/Bass Practice environment:

1)    Make sure that when you sit to practice your stool is at a height that your feet can be flat on the floor while keeping your knees bent at a 90 degree angle.  If your legs slant down it will be harder to keep the guitar securely in your lap while playing

2)    A music stand will go a long way to establishing a comfortable and organized practice space.

3)    A guitar stand is also nice to have which will help protect your instrument while it is not being played.

 

Piano Students:

1) A metronome will be required at some point although we don’t usually use them with beginners

2) If you have a keyboard rather than a piano make sure it has a music stand on it.  If it does not you can purchase a free standing one to place behind your keyboard.

3) If you have a keyboard that does not have a base or legs you should purchase a keyboard stand.  They are all adjustable in height and allow for the proper space for your feet and sustain pedal.  This makes a keyboard stand much more appropriate to use than a desk or table that you might already have at home.

4) For pianos and keyboards alike the height of your bench should be such that when you sit upright and put your hands relaxed on the piano with curved fingers your wrists should be essentially flat (not drooping below the keys or bent upwards in a tent shape).  With your hands as such their elbows should be at a 90 degree angle, so no overly bent arms reaching up to the keys or straight arms reaching down.  Adjust the height of the bench or the height of your keyboard stand to achieve this goal. Idealy each student will be able to achieve this position while sitting on the front edge of the bench with feet flat on the ground.  Younger (hence shorter) students may have to scoot back on the bench and leave their feet dangling until they are tall enough.

 

Violin & Voice Students:

1) A music stand that can be raised to an appropriate height is a big plus.

 

more info about drums, violin and voice coming soon…..