Speaking about Madrid city, one can choose among 4 different types of musical instruction:
- private lessons (completely flexible, regarding ages, schedule, prices...normally it's one-to-one teaching, very very individualized)
- academies (private business, some of them might offer formal instruction because they have signed an agreement with a official conservatory; they also are quite flexible regarding ages, schedule, prices... a good thing is that they usually offer group classes for theoretical subjects or for choir/orchestra)
- schools of music and dance (you can see in their acronym EEMMDD, meaning "Escuelas de Música y Danza", I think most of them are half public-half private - the city council "owns" them, but a private company "runs" them, in fact. Their program is a little limited, although they accept kids from 3 years old, in groups of about 12-15, but not instrument yet, until they reach 3rd grade in Primary school, that means about 8 years old)
- conservatories (kind of the "Top" of the musical instruction in Spain is behind the walls of a "Conservatorio". It is hard to get in, once you are "inside the system" it is hard to keep up since their curricula is quite hard, starts at age 8... so, what happens before that?)
You can find private music teachers almost everywhere! There is a music academy around the corner of where you live, probably!
But... schools of music and dance, and conservatories are scarce. That's why it is hard to get in: vacancies are low compare to the number of applicants every year. Taxes are not too high, but since there are just a few of them, maybe the one closer to your place is even "far".
What do I suggest you to do? Well, it depends on a lot of facts: the age of your kid, the time you'll have to spend taking him/her to the lessons, the budget, the goal of enrolling him/her to music lessons...
What do I do, myself? (NOT meaning, it is what you should do): I have my two kids on private lessons (they started at a very young age, so it means I am the one working hard with everything related to that, true is that I am a musician, I am a teacher myself... so we can consider it balanced when you think about how much effort I need to invest every time I practice with the children). At the same time, the oldest was attending to the school of music of our neighborhood (which is convenient because it is close and he gets to make some music, not instrument though, with peers and in group). I applied also for the youngest for the same reason (making music in group is much more fun than making it alone), we'll see if he gets in o not, because it is made by the drawing of lots. Somehow, I am using the school of music to compensate for the absence of group experiences.
For now, it has worked out very well: they both enjoy playing their instruments, singing and dancing, they engage easily in any sort of artistic activity, they love all kind of music, they ask me about learning to play a new song they have learnt in school or from a TV show (i.e. Peppa Pig, Ladybug, Masha and the Bear, The Polar Express...), they like to play pretend games as conductors (specially the little one, who "conducts" us while big brother and mummy play together)... notes-naming is part of their language (I mean, it is another way of communication and expression). So, what I've always wanted is to provide a musical environment for them to grow up and I think I am making it happen!
I hope this post will help you to become acquainted a little more about the world of music in Madrid. If you still want to know more, please ask (or if your Spanish is good enough, please go to the same post in Spanish, because I am not translating literally, just writing my thoughts)
Kommentare