Royal Conservatory of Music National Teachers’ Directory

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post from the Royal Conservatory of Music to bring awareness to the number of highly qualified music teachers in your area. I strongly believe in music education for children and am happy to promote the RCM. All opinions are my own.

Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything. ~Plato

There is no question that music is not only good for the soul, but also for brain development.

Research shows that participating in music study benefits both brain structure and brain function. Just like well-exercised muscles protect the bones and joints, reduce blood pressure and increase energy levels, music education produces bigger, better-functioning brains – a benefit to people of any age.

Dr. Sylvain Moreno, lead scientist for the Centre for Brain Fitness at the Rotman Research Institute says musical training impacts a set of processes in the brain that are related to a whole host of other activities, from intelligence and reading to the ability to focus and do well in school.

The benefits of music education include improved language abilities, increased emotional resilience, increased empathy, increased attention span and focus and increased self-confidence. Many researchers have also linked music lessons with improved IQ and academic performance.

There is no doubt, children who learn music have an academic advantage.
Growing up, music was always a big part of my life. Throughout high school I played French horn in the band, and was part of the now Annapolis Valley Honour Choir. These were some of the best experiences of my life, and the friends I made here are still close to me.

Music, and the friendships formed from it, had a huge impact on my life.

One of my regrets, though, is that I did not take my piano lessons seriously. I only casually studied for three years, so can only play the bare minimum today.

Today, there are so many gifted music teachers around us, so offering your child a top-notch musical education is not hard. It can be challenging, however, to find the right music teacher, but the Royal Conservatory has tools to help.

Visit the National Music Teacher Directory and see which teachers is available in your area.

The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) is one of the largest and most respected music education institutions in the world, providing the definitive standard of excellence in curriculum design, assessment, performance training, teacher certification, and arts-based social programs.

But, you don’t have to take my word for it! I called upon my musical expert friends for their thoughts on the RCM program.

“My son has been involved in a number of different piano programs, but 5 years ago we decided to switch to RCM because of their reputation.” ~ Jacklyn, mother
“I would recommend anyone who is serious about becoming proficient at the piano to do RCM repertoire, even if along with other studies. The RCM route provides students with all they need to develop good keyboard skills. This includes good graded repertoire in multiple styles that has been developed over many years, as well as accompanying technical requirements and studies which develop the technique required to play more difficult repertoire. I believe that with this system there is a higher ceiling for student’s talent.” Steve Roe, Piano teacher with Roeboat Technology Services & Education
“The benefits of following the Royal Conservatory system is the over-arching structure it gives to the learning process – in a similar way to how proper universities are ‘accredited’, there is a consistency across provinces to the RCM structure. Not only is it useful if one ends up wanting to apply to university music programs, but also it helps to avoid “holes” in one’s musical education (not all piano teachers are created equally, and they can tend to focus on one thing at the exclusion of other things they don’t find as interesting.)
Coupled with the best teacher available in the area (to avoid bad habits early on), going through RCM provides a better ‘guarantee’ that money invested in lessons will deliver some measure of specific returns.” ~Tom, gifted pianist

So, just how do you go about finding this best teacher available? Use the National Music Teacher Directory.

Simply go online, pick your discipline (instrument) of choice, enter your postal code, and how many kilometers you are willing to travel, and a list of teachers in your area will pop up. It’s that easy!

When to start?

“I would start students as early as they are able to take it seriously and devote themselves to the practice; ages 6-8 depending on the individual.” ~ Steve Roe

Start investigating now a music teacher for your child for the fall.

“The most remarkable skill my son has gained through RCM is a thorough knowledge of music theory. This understanding has enabled him to easily extend his knowledge of music to multiple instruments and singing.” ~ Jacklyn