Piano Lab

Hello!  Camon – Monday Lab Monitor.	Owen concentrating on Guide Notes.	YES!  Finished.
Lab Workstation.	Hannah, Greta and Destiny – lab partners.

The Music Education Lab is a required part of the academic school year piano curriculum at Music Works Academy. There is no lab scheduled during summer lessons. The 9.5 month academic school year lab fee is $325. This fee is prorated when students enroll in the middle of the school year. Lab time can be scheduled with instrumental, voice, and adult students for an additional monthly fee.

WHEN:
Piano Labs are scheduled before or after the academic school year lesson at Music Works Academy. They are 20-30 minutes in length.

WHAT:
The Piano Lab includes music theory with computer assisted instruction as well as written worksheets and workbooks, ear training, performance playing with midi files, transcription, and music appreciation. The computer network has an extensive library of audio and midi files. Carolyn Inabinet has created a lab curriculum that integrates music education software with worksheets and workbooks in a comprehensive music education scope and sequence. As students complete Lab Modules, they are recognized in the newsletter and receive a prize.

LAB FORMATS:
The Piano Lab has two formats: 1) Monitored labs, or 2) Teacher-directed labs. When the schedule allows, Teacher-assisted labs have three – four students with their teacher in a 20-minute lab.

BENEFITS:

MONITORED LAB:
In the monitored lab Carolyn Inabinet, Director of MWA, assigns and grades each lab session. A high-school monitor sets up the lab and answers questions. The MONITORED LAB at MWA has two dimensions and is a win-win situation for both the student and the monitor: A Buddy System and a Work Experience

Lab Monitors are scholarship students at MWA, working approximately 3 – 5 hours per week. These high school students are paid an hourly wage that is credited back to their monthly tuition. They answer the phone, open the door, run the “Treasure Box”, set up lab assignments, and assist students in the lab. This work experience serves as a ‘first job’ experience for many students. This unique work experience with children and administrative duties is a definite plus on the college application. This instructional experience with children helps high school students determines if they enjoy teaching children and want to become teachers.

Monitors serve as role models for younger students – a built in “Buddy system”. Many times, younger students can benefit more from instruction from their older “buddy” than from their instructor. The presence of the ‘older student’ relays a non-verbal message: study music through high school. Friendships between lab monitors and their ‘lab students’ are a positive, added dimension to the piano lesson. Sometimes, monitors become babysitters who also help with piano practice! Younger students can be very motivated when their monitor plays a piece for them.

TEACHER-DIRECTED LABS:
Teacher directed labs are scheduled when two partnered lessons (four students) or one partnered lesson and a private lesson (three students) can ‘overlap’. The Teacher-directed lab is sandwiched between the two lesson blocks. The teacher follows the lab curriculum, sets up the labs and interacts with the students in the lab. The students have the benefit of having their instructor for an additional 20 minutes with two or three other students on a weekly basis. This format is completely determined by student scheduling. This “Piano Team” can easily disappear if/when sports conflicts arise and lesson time must be rescheduled.