Blog
By John Hart
Everyone loves music around the holiday season. We hear it in the stores as we shop, on the radio as we drive, and on the TV; but each one of us can become more intentional when it comes to incorporating music into our family holidays. Here are ideas for parents to discuss in preparation for these special times with our families:
By Destin Smith
Over the years, I have heard a number of interesting sayings. For instance “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” or “A watched pot never boils”. One saying that has stuck with me goes like this: “How do you eat an elephant”.... do you give up?........ the answer is.....“ One bite at a time.”
By Nathan Pulse
Hi everyone, it's the end of the summer and I'd like to talk about something that seems very obvious but often times get overlooked by younger players. The thing I am talking about is listening. One of the very first things a music teacher will ask his/her students is "Who do you listen to?" It is always surprising to me that the answer is very often "I don't know" or "I don't listen to (insert your instrument here)".
By John Hart
Motivation
Utilization
Structure
Initiation
Curriculum
Motivate your kids to learn music by introducing them to various musical activities and music genres. Take them to concerts and musicals. Watch shows that are full of music. Listen to theirinterests. Ask, “What is your favorite instrument?” Sign them up for music lessons as early as 3 years old!
Utilize the instruments you already own or invest in a new or used instrument. All it takes to start piano in the beginning is a little plastic keyboard. You can always upgrade later. Eventually—have your kids play duets together!
Set a schedule for regular music practice. Some parents like to post a daily schedule for each of their kids that includes music practice. Remember—most young children need their parents to provide structure for their day—and this includes making sure that they follow through.
Initiate family times that incorporate musical performances—right in your own home! If you start when your kids are very young, it won’t seem contrived to them to do this when they are older. (Click on the picture below for an article about how our relatives have accomplished this in their own family.)
Curriculum! Once you start music lessons for your kids, be sure they are following a curriculum of instruction so they are progressing smoothly from one concept and skill set to the next. You can always add in extra pieces just for fun along the way. Have fun!
By Nathan Pulse
Hi everyone, this month I've decided to write about something that is VERY important to all musicians, not just brass players.
Mindfulness is a term you may have heard before. Oftentimes people seem to think that it means being aware of the feelings of others, however, this is not quite true. It really is more about being aware of your own feelings and emotions at the present time. The exact definition from the Cambridge Dictionaries Online is "the practice of being aware of your body, mind, and feelings in the present moment, which is thought to create a feeling of calm". Now you may ask me, "What does this have to do with music? Isn't this about meditation and not about performing on stage? What are you talking about you crazy person!?"
For the mindful musician simply replace all mentionings of body, mind, and feelings, and replace them with the word sound. If you are mentally aware of the sound that you want to produce then you will be able to reduce performance anxiety and be totally in the moment during your performance. We've all had the issue of being distracted while playing a solo, the moment where we make eye contact with someone in the audience and suddenly we make an error and have a hard time recovering quickly. A mindful musician is singing their piece in their head before they even walk on stage, and they are so in the moment that they are unaware of anything but the sound that they want to produce. If you've already put in the hours of good practice, and you know your piece well, then the only thing to do is to focus on the sound in your mind and allow your body to reproduce the mechanics of playing that it already knows how to do. Getting out of our own way by eliminating any thought but the sound that we want to produce.
Now, this isn't to say that you shouldn't be paying attention to the other musicians on stage with you. You do need to be aware of tuning and balance within your ensemble. It simply means that you need to be aware of the exact sound that you want to make before you start to play, otherwise you're running the risk of playing something incorrectly or differently than you might want. A little extra focus goes a long way.
By John Hart
The fact that you are reading this article right now means you want music education to be an important part of your family life. To assist you in your quest, here are a few do’s and do not's when it comes to music instruction:
1. Don’t force your child to start an instrument against their will. Instead, Lead them towards it gently through repeated exposure to various kinds of musical experiences, and then introduce the idea of lessons as an exciting opportunity.
2. Don’t expect that your child will practice regularly without any input from you. Show an interest in their lessons. Help them set up a realistic practice schedule, and provide rewards as appropriate for goal accomplishment. (Even short, regular practice is better than no practice at all.)
3. Don’t allow music lessons to become an end in themselves. Give your children opportunities to perform forfamily and friends, and even play in recitals if possible.
4. Don’t compare your children’s musical abilities. Show your child you are proud of the way they have met their goals.
5. Don’t let your child be the sole-determiner of what music they will listen to. Early in life, expose your child to great music from a variety of musical genres, and let them see you enjoying music too!
6. Don’t treat music as a lesser subject. Discuss music instruction in such a way that children see it as important as any other subject.
7. Don’t ignore the condition of your instrument. Be aware of when your instrument is in need of tuning or repairs. This makes playing the instrument more pleasing and communicates that you place value on learning the instrument.
For more information on this topic, visit Music Parents Guide.
By Destin Smith
Do you remember when you were little and your parents gave you a brand new picture book. After flipping through the pages you decided to take a blunt crayola crayon and add to the pictures in the story. Unfortunately, your parents probably didn't appreciate your artwork as much as you did. Today we add markings to text all of the time. It's called annotation.
Annotation is not just for English class, it is a very important part of music studies as well. You may feel like writing in your music can be destructive, but in actuality, it can be very beneficial to music literacy and practice. I often relate writing notes in your music to an "app" on a smart device. When you write notes in your music, it creates a shortcut in your brain to connect specific information quickly and efficiently. When you click on the "Instagram" app or "Facebook" app on your device, it directs you immediately to the web page you desire. Technically, you could also open up a web browser like Safari or Google chrome, type in the web address, load the page, login in and finally get on your account. Both end in the same result, but one is more efficient.
The great thing about writing in your music is their is no set way of doing it. You can choose whatever symbols, picture or signs you want or circle, highlight or underline any important aspect of your music. It's important to concentrate on parts of the music you are having trouble with. For example, if you are struggling with remembering to add the appropriate dynamics to a piece of music you are working on, you can circle the dynamic signs to help them stick out when you are readings through the music.
Their are so many things to remember when you are reading through a piece of music that it is important to create shortcuts and triggers for your brain to latch on to. This will result in a better and more efficient practice. There is an old saying that goes "Work smarter, not harder." So go ahead, take out that pencil and mark up that music!
By Alisa D. (10 years old)
"When I first started piano practicing I got bored easily with my pieces, but after this year I've found some tips to clear my boredom and frustration. My first tip is to practice in smaller chunks of time throughout the day. Another tip is if you're struggling on a piece, I recommend you take a break and play a piece you know. Because sometimes, playing something you do like, helps with the harder piece. Another way to help with boredom is if you are bored with your pieces you can skip ahead with your pieces and play a different piece that you were not assigned to.
Sometimes it's hard to feel the need to sit down and practice. So this is what I do to help with that. Keep your piano in a central place so whenever you walk by it you can just sit down and play, also keeping the lid open helps to.
Another benefit is that playing piano helps me with other instruments."
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If you are an AWSOM student - we would love to read your blog posts too! Submit them to hello@awsom.info to be considered. It's a great idea to entertain the kids for an afternoon this summer! A huge well done to Alisa for writing this great blog post! Very informative, interesting and helpful - great work!
By John Hart
These days, many parents see the value of introducing their young children to music, but are unsure of when or how to begin. Here are some of the musical experiences my wife and I have had with our children.
Meg and I sang to each of our children while they were still in the womb and kept music playing during the entire birth process. (By the way--research shows that a baby can begin to hear some sounds at 16 weeks, and will turn the head in response to sounds at 24 weeks.) As our children were growing up, we sang a lot of nursery rhymes and praise songs to them, and we also recited Scripture from the Bible. Every night while tucking in our daughter, Laura, we would quote in her hearing the 23rd Psalm. One night, just after she had turned 2 years old, she started reciting it all on her own! (Thirty years later, we still have the recording of this event.) Our daughters Laura and Emily are now married and have their own little boys. They are singing to them the same songs that we sang!
As our children were growing up, Meg would make up a little song for each of our children about their name. We would sing these songs to them every day, especially before bed. Now they are all grown adults with happy memories of these songs. Our son, Owen, recently told us that his song meant a lot to him, and helped him stay on course in his life. There was also a lot of piano playing in the Hart household. I would often play the piano while our kids were going to bed. They have fond memories of lying on their beds enjoying the music and going to sleep. These happy memories led to music instruction for each of our children. In every case, they came to me asking for it. Some learned enough to be able to play some tunes on their own, while two of our daughters learned enough to be able to regularly play piano for church services! In my next blog, I’ll discuss other practical ways of introducing children to music.
