Our music education
Blog
for parents and students.
In a culture that relegates music to a “secondary” status among academic subjects, many perceive music as little more than a hobby. The “practical” knowledge and learned in other subjects diminishes music’s place in the schools, crowding it out of class time and students’ schedules. But what if I told you that the lessons learned in the music room are as deeply practical as those of other subjects—perhaps even more so?
Classical Music? Isn’t that OLD-people music? The loud groans I used to hear in a classroom, or the rolled eyes at the piano bench often asked that question without even saying a word. Often, in my middle school classes, I would start to “rap” a Nas beat and then sing the beginning of “Fur Elise” within that beat. My students would then say, “Hey I know that song!” My response? “Then you know classical music!”
As with many areas of study and expertise, music is an area with many words that become synonymous to the general public. For example, “Keyboards” and “pianos” are words that are often jumbled and misconceived. When you refer to one of these words, you may be referring to something different than what you intend - so let’s clarify.
Today we have the opportunity to share another installment in our “Instructor Features” blog series! This week we have Erin Rodgers to celebrate! Erin is a piano enthusiast who studied classical music performance and theory, and she loves seeing students feel comfortable even when making mistakes and excited in their accomplishments.
The New Year is upon us, and you know what that means… We start dreaming up all the ways that we want to improve ourselves and live a more fulfilling, healthy life.
As you might guess, around this time of year we hear about a lot of folks who have set goals (for themselves or for their kids) of learning to play music in the next year, and we think that’s terrific! Because whether you only end up doing it for a few months or find your life-long passion, there is a personal and creative benefit for making the effort.
If you’re thinking about picking up an instrument or improving your singing, you really should find a qualified teacher and take weekly private lessons. Here’s why:
Wow, what a year it has been for Vibe Music Academy! We have been SO thankful to be constantly surrounded by excellent music-making and students pursuing their craft to a higher level every week. It is easy to focus only on the qualitative improvements made by students, but here are some quantitative figures as well that describe what kind of year we’ve had.
