Though I’m not a parent myself, I certainly have observed that many parents feel partially responsible for what interests their children will possess as they get older. Of course interests will ebb and flow between things as time goes on, but I believe they have some validity to this hypothesis. There is rarely ever a need to “force” an activity/interest on a child, but there are certainly great and healthy ways to encourage it. These are a collection of ideas about how we might encourage you to best bring out your child’s unique gifts and talents as they pertain to music...
Music: The TRUE Co-Curricular Subject
Students hear this all the time: “Make sure you fill your schedule with enough honors/AP/IB/advanced (you name it) classes to be successful!” They’re constantly bombarded with the idea that some sort of academic "status” or numeric figure like a GPA will set the rest of their lives up for success. Although in some rare circumstances this may be true, for most students what they really need is an opportunity to grow and develop as an entire person.
The Vision: Why We Believe in Music Education
"The Value of Music Education," a Ted Talk featuring Richard Gill.
Your Music Student Should Write Music! 3 Reasons Why, and 3 Bits of Advice.
How to Teach Music to Your Student... Using a Pie.
A lot of students have a hard time reading and understanding rhythms. We're talking quarter notes, eighth notes, whole notes, etc. All that stuff is so crucial to a music student's success, but it can be tricky to grasp when they're first learning what it all means.
I used to struggle to try to have my students memorize all these note names and their beat duration, until one day - out of thin air - I thought of a little visual explanation...
The Age Old Argument: Classical vs. Contemporary Music Education.
There is no comparison more symbolic of the struggle between new and old than the one we're going to be tackling today: Classical vs. Contemporary music education.
I figure there are probably a lot of students and parents who currently wonder which is better when considering a route of music education for their young ones. So, to help you navigate your way better through the decision-making process, I put together a short comparison of what your student will truly experience in both the Classical and Contemporary approaches to music education, separated out in to six important categories. Enjoy!
