One of my greatest regrets in life is that I don’t know how to play a musical instrument. My brother plays the clarinet, and my grandfather played the saxaphone, the piano, and the organ.
I tell people I didn’t get the music gene, but to be honest, I never really tried to learn. I plan to get my kids lessons in at least one instrument so that, if they have any interest at all, they can play music.
I’m also fairly interested in doing what I can do “be green.” Now, I know all the usual tactics: reuseable grocery bags, a BPA-free bottle, filling up after six p.m., carpooling, using natural beauty and cleaning products, etc.
So when looking for music lessons, I was, of course, impressed by the most eco-friendly option: home music lessons.
How can music lessons be eco-friendly?
So here’s the deal, Imagine a music teacher has a studio, and in one night, the teacher has five students. This means that five different people have to get in their cars and drive to the lesson.
Your average person probably lives anywhere from 6 to 10 miles from a music studio. If you figure 12-20 miles per round trip times by 5 students, that comes out to 60-100 miles of driving every day.
If the teacher is the only one doing the driving, though, he or she drastically cuts down on mileage driven and the amount of cars on the road … which are both good better for the planet.
What else could be more eco-friendly about home lessons?
Often, there isn’t as much paperwork involved with home lessons. Receipts and forms can usually be filled out via email, and the majority of communications are conducted over the phone.
This is a good way to be more environmentally-friendly, right? No paper, no ink, no dead trees or chemical fillers. It’s also much more streamlined and easier to manage.
How does technology help?
If you’re at all familiar with music, you should know what I mean when I say “sheet music.” That’s reams of paper with those little black squiggles on them that are arranged to make beautiful music.
Now, many home music teachers are using their tablets to show their students the music. It gives the teacher many more options when teaching his or her students.