How long will it take my child to learn how to play an instrument? This is one of the most common questions I get asked as manager of School of Rock Cypress. I find there is not an easy answer for this, it all depends on the parents’ expectations. How long will it take my child to play the guitar like Jimmy Hendrix? Probably a lifetime. How long will it take him or her to play a simplified version of Seven Nation Army? Probably a lesson or two.

At School of Rock we craft musicians. We teach our students how to speak a second language, the language of music. Our students will learn how to express themselves through interpretation, through pitches, and rhythms, and sounds. And just like a second language, understanding of music will last them a lifetime. I’d love to tell the parents that their kids will be proficient in their instruments in just a few months, and after that their child can move on to softball, or cheers, or football, or gymnastics; but that is not the case. Music is a long term commitment and a very zealous one. The longer a student stays in the program, the more he or she practices, the more proficient the student gets. And not only that, once students get to a certain level of comfort in an instrument, they usually want to learn how to play other instruments. Being a musician is a lifestyle!

Now, this does not mean that children will not benefit to a little exposure to music. Music has extraordinary benefits, not only will it improve fine motor skills and coordination, rhythm and pitch; music stimulates the brain in ways nothing else can. Music reduces stress, improves memory and cognition, eases pain, provides comfort, and makes students become part of a community of smart, sensitive, disciplined, and talented kids.