Practicing Perseverance

“Learning is experience.  Everything else is just information.” – Albert Einstein

In the book, “Good Music, Brighter Children” by Sharlene Habermeyer there is a section entitled “The Value of Hard Work”. (I own this book and am willing to lend it out if anyone cares to read it.) The amount of energy we put into developing talent – such as learning a musical instrument – determines its strength, force, and impact in our lives.  Will music become a talent that we enjoy throughout our lives, or merely something we will say we briefly experienced? To accomplish music it requires diligent effort. (hard work, perseverance) Students, through this hands-on experience come to realize that success is the result of consistent hard work.  Consistent is the key word here.  The student who practices each day with the right goals and techniques in mind progress and see/ hear improvement in their playing.  Conversely the student who practices “half heartedly” and only every third day cannot expect the same outcomes, often gets frustrated and many times quits their musical study. 

We live in an age of instants: texting, Google, instant messages, email, live streaming of music just to name a few.  Although many of these instants can be helpful to us and at least convenient, “instant” is not always the way of the world.  Some tasks take time to progress, advance, get better, “age” if you will and there is value in that as well.

“In music, a mistake is a mistake: the instrument is in tune or not, the notes are well played or not, the entrance is made or not.  It is only by much hard work that a successful performance is possible.  Through music study, students learn the value of sustained effort to achieve excellence and the concrete rewards (and self satisfaction) of hard work (and doing one’s best).” - Phillips  

The “Children’s Music Workshop by Carolyn Phillips” (November 29, 2014, www.childrensmusicworkshop.com) published the “The Twelve Benefits of Music Education” a report where she states as her 11th point that “Music performance teaches young people to conquer fear and to take risks.  A little anxiety is a good thing and something that will occur often in life.  Dealing with it early and often makes it less of a problem later. (I would add that it needs to be in a “safe” educational environment where the child/student is allowed grace in his or her mistake and that mistake is used as a teachable moment.)  Risk-taking is essential if a child is to fully develop his or her potential.  Music contributes to mental health and can help prevent risky behavior such as teenage drinking and drug abuse.” Often when beginning a seemingly difficult piece of music a student can become anxious.  The initial response of fear of being unable to learn and then master a large musical work can be daunting and even scary.  Learning to look for a reoccurring musical theme, taking a smaller “bite” of the music when working on the piece, and focused practice all become skills that are transferable to other aspects of our life and learning process. 

Music is an area that is inexhaustible- there is always more to learn.  There is always something new to explore and perfection to aspire towards. It is a great form of self-expression, creativity (good for the mind, body and soul) and teaches self- discipline.  The old joke that goes “How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, Practice, Practice.”  

Dear Piano Students,

Well everyone is settled back into the rhythm of the school year activities and most of us have resumed our “regular” practice habits. Practice is the subject of this communication.  I have a lot of new students in the studio this fall and have had several parents inquire as to what is expected for practice.  

The “Piano Explorer” magazine has had a feature article on the topic with the big three questions:
1. Why should I practice so long?
2. Why should I practice every day?
3. How long should I play each day?
 “It is always difficult to say exactly how long someone should practice because everyone learns at different speeds.”  

As you become a better and more experienced musician and have harder music, you will have to practice longer.  My recommendation is 15 – 20 minutes everyday for beginners, making sure not to always start with the same piece. Please write down your practice time in your assignment book. This is very helpful to me as I am not there with you as you practice.

There are signs that you can look for to see if you are practicing enough.  
1.    You learn something new almost every day, even if it’s just a little part of a piece.
2.    You come prepared to lessons and have practiced everything that was assigned to you including any written work (ie. Notespeller or theory). 
3.    Your teacher tells you that there is improvement from one lesson to the next.
4.    You feel confident playing your pieces and have practiced them all 4 ways (right and left hands alone, play and say the letter names of the notes, play and count hands separate first and then together) as assigned.
5.    You prepare pieces to a performance level occasionally. Some times we use pieces to teach concepts and do not necessarily continue to the point of being “performance ready”. 

Signs that you could use more practice:
1.    You are stuck on the same pieces for months and make the same mistakes.
2.    Your teacher keeps marking the same spots in the music to be corrected. 
3.    You have not fixed any mistakes from one lesson to the next.
4.    You don’t feel confident about your playing and rarely prepare to a performance level.

What parents can do to help.  
1.    Use flashcards regularly with your student to review notes, their names and being able to identify them quickly. There are a lot of i- apps that are fun ways to do this as well. “tenuto” “Music Theory Pro” “Music for little Mozarts” to name a few that I am familiar with.  Let me know if you are interested in more info.
2.    Ask your child to “teach” you things.
3.    Demonstrate for your child if you have the ability.
4.    Ask your child to demonstrate a good hand position to you. (bubble hands)
5.    Provide a quiet area without distractions to practice (remove siblings who are distracting).
6.    Make practice your child’s responsibility. Remind, encourage but do not “nag”. 
7.    Be sure that your child is recording his/her practice time in their assignment book daily. (Mark a day without practice with a large “X”.
8.    When your child comes to a difficult part, song or section.  Encourage them to practice in small 2 or 4 measure sections.  Right and left hand alone and then together slowly.

“Your own difficulty is the difficulty which you should practice most.  Why waste time in practicing passages which you can play perfectly well?”- Ferruccio Bussoni (Italian pianist, composer and conductor).  

See you at your lesson!
Mrs. Birky

The Positive Effects of Music on Children

It goes without saying: You want the best for your children throughout life, but especially during the formative years.  So, you try to involve them in as many enjoyable, constructive activities as possible – little league, dance, soccer, swimming classes and music lessons. 

While all these activities will contribute to a child’s physical, intellectual and social development, scientists and educators are beginning to realize that early, positive musical experience is uniquely important for children.

Children take to music naturally.  Musical sounds are among the first stimuli an infant responds to, and toddlers instinctively weave music into their activities.  Children everywhere bring music into their games, their interactions with other children and adults, and employ it as an inner companion to their exploration of the world around them.

Musical activities provide children with important experiences that can help them develop physical coordination, timing, memory, visual, aural and language skills. When they work to increase their command of music and exercise musical skills in the company of others, they gain important experience with self-paced learning, mental concentration and a heightened personal and social awareness.

It’s all over the media: music is good for children (and for their parents)!

·       Music significantly aids in improving the fundamental areas of child development: physical, cognitive, language, social, and emotional.

·       Studies with preschoolers have shown that those children receiving music training performed 34% higher on tests measuring spatial-temporal ability, indicating that music enhances higher brain functions required for math and science.

·       Studies also show that music training generates the neural connections used for abstract reasoning, the so-called “hard-wiring” of neural connections.

·       Children who have participated in music perform better in reading and language, and have higher self-esteem.

·       Musical activities, especially those with a holistic approach (like LeAnn’s Kids in Music), can help children develop physical coordination, timing, memory, visual, aural and language skills.

Studies aside, there are other definite benefits:

·       An appreciation for beauty in art and in the world around us.

·       Hearing the music of the planet – the music in nature, in faces, in silence…

·       The satisfaction of contributing to a successful performance – teamwork in the arts!