Find a Music tutor for the music you want to make

A useful tutor match starts with your goal and the music you enjoy. You may want to improve one skill or connect several: listening closely can inform a performance, and understanding a rhythm can help you write it down.

Here is a simple practice example in 4/4, with four steady crotchet beats in each bar. A crotchet lasts one beat here; a quaver lasts half a beat.

Play or clap one crotchet, two quavers, one crotchet, one crotchet. The durations add up to 1 + ½ + ½ + 1 + 1 = 4 beats. If you rush the beat when the two shorter notes arrive, the whole bar becomes shorter.

Keep tapping four equally spaced beats while saying “1, 2-and, 3, 4”. The two quavers fit inside beat two; beat three should arrive at the same steady pace. A better attempt keeps the taps even while the claps divide that second beat.

For a follow-up, move the pair of quavers to beat three: “1, 2, 3-and, 4”. Check that the bar still lasts four beats. These note values and the distinction between rhythm and pulse are explained in the Model Music Curriculum glossary.

“Make the second bar different” leaves a composer with many choices. This constructed example makes one change easy to hear. If you already know these notes on your instrument, play C–D–E–G | C–D–E–A, keeping the notes in the same octave. The vertical line separates two bars of 4/4; every note is a crotchet lasting one beat.

The first three pitches and the rhythm repeat. Only the final pitch changes, from G to A. A precise listening comment is: “Both bars begin C–D–E with the same rhythm, but the second bar ends one step higher.” That identifies the musical evidence behind the description.

Try repeating C–D–E–G for both bars, then play the changed version. Decide which ending you prefer and explain what you changed. This is one way to explore repetition and contrast, drawing on the Model Music Curriculum’s composing guidance. It is an illustrative task, not a prescribed exam answer.

For ABRSM, the route changes the preparation. Give your tutor the instrument or voice, grade and syllabus edition before choosing the work. The examples below describe different lesson priorities; another board needs its own requirements.

The specific Practical example comes from the ABRSM Piano Practical syllabus for 2025–2026. The Piano Performance specification and Music Theory Grades 1–5 syllabus explain the other assessed demands. For singing, use the relevant vocal syllabus rather than a piano list.

In England, GCSE Music subject content combines performing, composing and appraising. Appraising means listening closely, analysing the music and describing it with musical vocabulary. Instrumental practice is one part of that work: a learner may also need to explain what they hear or develop a composition.

England’s AS and A-level Music subject content develops those skills in greater depth, including more complex chord progressions and structures. A useful listening discussion can move from “the melody repeats” to identifying which pitches, rhythms or sections return and what changes around them.

Bring the school’s task, specification and feedback. The learner’s nation, board and course determine the set music and assessed work. For a closer match, explore GCSE Music tuition or A-level Music tuition.

Latimer’s one-to-one service is online-first. Microsoft Teams is the default lesson platform, and you and the tutor can agree another platform. Prepare the setup around the musical task.

Position the camera so the tutor can see the relevant playing action: for example, your hands and keyboard for piano work. Test a quiet passage and a sustained note so you can check whether the sound remains audible. Meeting software may suppress instrumental sound; the ISM’s online music lesson guidance explains why audio settings need attention.

Have the instrument ready when the lesson uses it, along with the relevant score, theory question or composition. Agree how you will share the music and keep a note of the next practice task. Check this setup with the tutor before buying extra equipment.