Our music education
Blog
for parents and students.
All accomplished athletes devote the beginning of each training session to warming up. Whether that is taking a light jog, swimming laps in the pool, or running through a set of stretches, they use their warmups to prepare their bodies for the demands of each practice session, and although musicians and athletes may not always see eye to eye, the warmup is one area where we can learn a lot about how to prepare ourselves for successful practice.
So, you’ve decided to take the plunge and sign your child up for music lessons. The shiny new keyboard (or dusty old piano) is prepped and ready to play, and you have the date of your child’s first lesson highlighted on your calendar. You are excited to expose them to music and encourage them to hone their creativity, but one thought still makes you break out in a cold sweat—how do I get them to practice?
Although the tried-and-true technique of “practice, practice, practice” is essential to promoting musical growth, sometimes a small dose of variety can bring new vitality to your practice routine. If you’re interested in finding some new ways to mix up your routine check out these 3 music apps and get practicing!
In a world that appreciates instant gratification at such a high level, musicians must constantly fight this phenomenon with hard work and a strong practice ethic. However, sometimes life gets in the way, and we have to make do with the time that we have. This article is to assist those in the latter situation.
If you are a music instructor or the parent of a music student, you will inevitably face the challenge of working with an unmotivated student. After the novelty of lessons wears off, even the most enthusiastic students are prone to lose the excitement they once had. Although this problem may leave you at a loss to know what to do, with patience and a little creativity, you and your student can learn to work through motivational problems together.
To any new player beginning the process of learning the piano, all 88 keys staring back at you can look quite intimidating! Thankfully, with great technique and practice habits from the onset, you can overcome that boundary quickly. That piano suddenly becomes a beautiful instrument just waiting to be played!
Every experienced musician could say that their time spent practicing defined their abilities as a player or a singer. Just like in any other construct of society, the time we spend preparing and developing pays off in the end. Although there are no “right” answers on how to practice, my hope is that a point discussed in this post will somehow make you better at practicing.
I am primarily a drum set player, and I remember when I started noticing a decent amount of lower back pain after a season of lots of practicing and not a lot of exercising. So, I started exercising and focusing on my posture and core strength, and over time, the tension in my lower back from playing the drums diminished to the point of non-existence.
There is a fantastic infographic, created by our friends at TakeLessons, that highlights 10 of the best fitness exercises and stretches for musicians. Check it out and take some notes...
When I first started teaching music, I required my students to write down the number of minutes they practiced each day and to have a parent sign it every week.
The problem was that I was trying to quantify my students' musical progress in to numbers of minutes. So, I decided to move away from my time-based system and shift to a more freeing, results-based practicing system with students that - coupled with a motivational approach to teaching - encourages autonomy, efficiency, and continual musical progress. It's a simple system that has been a dramatic success with my students. Here it is...
