If you have ever left musical instruments lying around where children can get a hold of them, you know what happens. Most of the time, they will pick up the instrument and really have a go with it. Likewise, when you give a child a musical toy, the same result usually occurs. Children, by their very nature, love music and they love to make music. Children and music truly do go hand in hand. While every child is different and will approach music different, virtually every child loves music and will be musical given a chance and the right tools. If you understand how children and music correspond early on, you are likely to encourage your child’s lifelong passion for music.
So what is the relationship between children and music? Part of why children love music is that a love of music is hardwired into our brains. Music has the ability to stimulate the brains pleasure center, or, in other words, it makes us feel good. It’s no real surprise that children like banging on stuff (as every parent well knows). There are a variety of reasons for this. One is that they are attempting to make their own music because it feels good and is fun. The second reason is that music allows them to explore their world around them. Young children are very much about exploring the world around them and finding out what makes “this and that” tick. In a word, children love music because its fun and allows them to burn off some of their endless energy. For that reason, it is a good idea to put children and music together at any possible opportunity.
Children also love musical instruments because most children either want to be noticed or want to be included. Adults often forget how remarkably perceptive children are on a day-to-day basis. They notice rather quickly that those who are playing instruments are a focal point of attention and are often part of a group. Both of these factors are appealing to children and music can be used to keep your child learning and full of positivity.
The job of the parent in this process is to encourage a child’s natural love of music. This can be done by exposing a child to different kinds of music and different kinds of instruments. Children and music are meant to go together. Given the tools and time children will usually explore music on their own and in the process make everyone a little happier. Participating in a group music class designed to stimulate your child’s musical interest is a great way to bring out their natural music abilities.
Once you have selected the piano as the instrument for your child’s music lessons, an obvious question soon emerges. Do I need a piano for my home? Obviously, this decision depends on a wide array of factors. One of the most critical factors to consider is how likely is it that both you and your child are firmly committed to the piano. If you buy a piano for lessons and your child only continues his or her classes for a few weeks, you could regret your decision. The piano could end up as nothing more than an interesting piece of furniture that largely goes ignored.
Here is one factor to consider, does your child have a track record of quitting things once he or she has started? If so, then you might want to hold back a bit on purchasing a piano. However, if you are dedicated to making sure that your child will learn to play the piano, then it’s probably a decent idea to have a piano for lessons.
Having a piano in the home has a variety of advantages. For example, it means more practicing, as your young musician will have a piano in an easy to access location. However, this does not mean that you necessarily have to spend a small fortune on a piano. There are some alternatives that can be explored, such as buying a much cheaper, but effective, electronic keyboard. Don’t think about the electronic keyboards of the 1980s, as those days are long since gone. The new generations of keyboards are quite superior and have far greater capabilities than twenty or even ten years ago. For those children who are just beginning to play the piano, an electronic keyboard can make for a great temporary piano. Another excellent idea is renting a piano from the local piano store. Many stores will do a rent to own program, where they will apply a portion of your rental fees towards a purchase of a piano with their store. This can be a great way to have a piano in your home without committing to it long term if the child loses interest. Read the rest of this entry »
Not everyone is cut from the same cloth, and this is a good thing! It is often pointed out that the world would be a boring place if everyone were the same. However, this important fact is still not pointed out enough. We should all remember the fact that it is good that people respond differently to different events and facts. As it is often said, “variety is the spice of life.”
With this in mind, your child may respond differently to his or her first music recital. Some children may be excited, others extremely nervous and still yet others indifferent. The trick is to not force them into feeling or behaving in a way that will only add to their stress. Odds are that no matter how they are acting, they have some degree of stress. Very few children (or even adults for that matter) are completely comfortable performing in front of crowds.
A calm child is likely to perform better at a music recital than a stressed out “basket case” of a child. Of course, you want your child motivated, but you don’t want your child to be freaked out either. The best approach is to tell your child to take the music recital seriously and to focus and do a good job. Instilling into your child an impression that their entire future is riding on the success of their music recital is likely to be highly counterproductive in the long run.
Reducing nervousness is a major step in the right direction. As a parent, one of your main jobs in the music recital process is to make sure that you are calm and your child is calm. Work to make sure that your child stays calm. Since you know your child the best, you can think of what calming factors are best to use.
Thinking ahead is key. Even though a music recital might be weeks or even months away, as the parent you set the tone. The fact that you establish and maintain the tone cannot be overemphasized. If you seem nervous about the upcoming recital, your child is likely to feel and act the same way.
If your child becomes nervous about the music recital, they could become nervous about music in general. Let’s say, for example, that they do not love performing in public. That fear of performing in public could get transferred onto music. The end result could be that they don’t like music. This is why making sure that your child is calm for a music recital is key. If your goal is to help foster the creation of a lifelong lover of music, art, creativity and learning, then you and your child are best served by making the process a calm and positive one.
To make sure your child keeps their nervousness to a minimum. Make sure they practice on a consistent basis before the recital. Regular consistent practice in better than waiting till the last minute and trying to learn their music the week before recital. Speak positively with your child that a recital is an opportunity for them to share with friends and family what they have been working on in their music lessons leading up the music recital performance. Performing in public is much like speaking in public, it takes practice. So preparing to the best of your abilities and doing the job they can is all you can ask for as a parent. Remember if you stay calm and let your children know that a recital is just as exciting for them as it is for you then it can be an opportunity for both of you to appreciate and enjoy the event.
If you have ever left musical instruments lying around where children can get a hold of them,youknow what happens. Most of the time, they will pick up the instrument and really have a go with it. Likewise, when you give a child a musical toy, the same result usually occurs. Children, by their very nature, love music and they love to makemusic. Children and music truly do go hand in hand. While every child is different and will approach music different, virtually every child loves music and will be musical given a chance and the right tools. If you understand how children and music correspond early on, you are likely to encourage your child’s lifelong passion for music.
So what is the relationship between children and music? Part of why children love music is that a love of music is hardwired into our brains. Music has the ability to stimulate the brains pleasure center, or, in other words, it makes us feel good. It’s no real surprise that children like bangingon stuff (as every parent well knows). There are a variety of reasons for this. One is that they are attempting to make their own music because it feels good and is fun. The second reason is that music allows them to explore their world around them. Young children are very much about exploring the world around them and finding out what makes “this and that” tick. Ina word, children love music because its fun and allows them to burn off some of their endless energy. For that reason, it is a good idea to put children and music together at any possible opportunity.
Children also love musical instruments because most children either want to be noticed or want to be included. Adults often forget how remarkably perceptive children are on a day-to-day basis. They notice rather quickly that those who are playing instruments are a focal point of attention and are often part of a group. Both of these factors are appealing to children and music can be used to keep your child learning and full of positivity.
The job of the parent in this process is to encourage a child’s natural love of music. This can be done by exposing a child to different kinds of music and different kinds of instruments. Children and music are meant to go together. Enrolling your child in a program such as MusikGartenis a great way for the both parent and child to enjoy singing, dancing, and playing instruments together, while exploring a child’s natural love of music.
The Mozart Effect, put in its simplest terms, is the idea that listening to music by Mozart will make one smarter. Much of the theory centers on the notion that if a child is listening to Mozart and other classical music, they will get smarter as a result. When one looks into the specifics of the Mozart Effect, what is actually being stated is a little different, however. The Mozart Effect is believed to increase a person’s performance in spatial-temporal reasoning, which is associated with increased scores and ability in fields such as engineering, science and mathematics.
It is important to note that the theory is controversial, and there is still a good deal of speculation into whether or not the theory is in fact valid. For example, some studies have shown that the boosting in scores from the Mozart Effect is limited and temporary. However, other studies have shown dramatic improvement in spatial-temporal reasoning in young students who were given private piano lessons.
There are a host of other studies that show that the Mozart Effect is having some sort of effect on people overall performances, specifically in regards to spatial-temporal reasoning. Overall, there seems to be, for lack of a better term, something going on.
Ultimately how much, if any benefit, there is from the Mozart Effect remains controversial. However, given the fact that there may indeed be a benefit in spatial-temporal reasoning, it is probably yet another point in favor of having children, especially young ones, begin music lessons.
There are, of course, already proven and time-tested benefits of learning to play an instrument. The added possibility that it might increase spatial-temporal reasoning is only an extra bonus. If the Mozart Effect does eventually get confirmed scientifically, your child will be a step ahead of the curve!
Finding time to create a practice routine or schedule is one of the most critical components of music lessons that a student can develop. Keep in mind that process is more important than outcome. If you develop a productive practice routine everything else will fall into place.
Here are some elements that should be incorporated every time you practice your:
Regular practice times
Goals
Warm-up
New Songs/Materials
Sight-reading
Cool-down
Evaluation
Goals: Each week your music instructor should help you set goals, things that the student should learn, master or accomplish during the practice week. Before sitting down to practice, the student should have a clear understanding of what he/she wants to accomplish for that one practice session.
If a song or piece of music is new, perhaps the goal of your first home practice would be to learn all the notes and rhythms first. When starting a new song the student may learn the notes or rhythm of the song only one line or a measure at a time, but eventually a student would be able to play through the entire song in one sitting (but that may not happen the first practice session with the song).
Regular Practice Times: Habits take time to develop, and regular practice is a habit! Experts say if you want to develop a habit, new routine or a regular practice schedule, you would need to do it every day for 30 days. Now you may not have the time every day to practice your musical instrument, but what if you consistently sat down 4-5 days a week the same days, even better and made an effort to focus and learn something? The result: practice sessions would become a natural part of your routine there’s that word again and you would be constantly improving your musical skills.
When it comes to setting a regular practice time, consistency is everything. No matter the age of the music student, practice sessions should be at the same time every day. This way it becomes a habit almost a reflex to go and play. Parents frequently ask me if there is a particular time of day that is best for their child to practice, and I tell them it depends on the family and the child. If your child is a morning kid and is always up and ready to go early, try practicing before school. If your child is more energetic in the afternoons, try after school hours, but donate wait until too late at night. Having a snack and practicing right after school can be both a break from academics and a productive musical skill-building session.
Warm-Up: This is the time of your practice routine to get your brain, fingers and voice going! Depending on what your teacher is working on with you in lesson, you can use scales, chords, technique or old songs to warm up your fingers. (Be careful not to play the old songs you know for the entire practice session. You are supposed to be learning new skills.)
New Songs/Materials: After you have finished your warm-up, the next part of a good practice routine is working on the new songs or materials that you have been given during your music lesson. This should be the longest part of your practice session.
Sight-reading: Each practice session should include sight-reading time. Sight-reading is playing a section or piece of music well the first few times you see it, and that means playing the correct rhythm, notes and fingerings the first time. Keep in mind that sight-reading is a skill that students develop the more they practice. Strong sight-reading skills allow you to learn music faster because you donate waste as much of your time as trying to read the notes or rhythm.
Cool-down: Spend a few minutes at the end of each practice session in cool-down mode.This is the time to relax and just have a little fun. Perhaps play a small part of your new music that you have mastered during your practice session today. Or play songs that you have learned in the past and enjoy. Consider using this cool down time at the end of your practice to work on composing and making up your own songs.
Evaluation: It is important at the end of each daily practice session to evaluate how the practice session went. What did you do well today? What do you need to improve upon for tomorrowes practice? Looking at your progress toward your weekly goals after each practice session will help both parents and students decide if they are on track for reaching their weekly goal or whether and how they might have to change their practice sessions in order to achieve the goals.
Have you ever tried to herd cats? I imagine it would be difficult, extremely difficult. I once heard another teacher refer to teaching preschoolers piano as “herding cats.” The first thing I thought of is, wow! She’s right and that is exactly what it is like teaching piano (or any instrument) to preschool kids. But personally like a challenge and think that working with the young children is something that is a lot of fun!
Have you ever tried to herd your young child to the piano for practice time and found it nearly impossible? Well, smart planning and creativity is the key to getting a young child to practice any instrument. Try these tips for practice.
• Set a regular practice time each day, children thrive on regular routines and that includes music practice time.
• Sit down with your child and listen to their practice. Being a part of your child’s practice is very important, because most children don’t like to be alone. Sharing time with your child during music practice is a great way to build and encourage your child to love music.
• Encourage your child to play their music by “requesting your favorite songs” (hint, every song can be your favorite)
• Have a weekly family “music night” where your child can perform their songs for family and or friends. If there are other children in the family that do not study a musical instrument, have them perform a skit or dance or some other creative activity.
Welcome to the Pfeifer MusicWerks Studio Blog. From this platform we will share our passion for building a love of music to last a lifetime. We want to be a part of the community at large by sharing tips and hints for parents and students to promote practices between the weekly lessons and help encourage the development of strong practice habits and routines.
Here at MusicWerks Studio we understand that while practice is what makes us able to make progress in almost anything we do, sometimes not everyone wants to “sit down and practice.”. Often we have to get a little clever and creative to encourage our children – or even ourselves – to practice and keep the musical spark going.
When you visit our blog you will find tips and hints on practicing. You’ll meet our Student of the Month as well as learn about original music by our students as well as view photos from our studio. In addition, we will blog about Studio events and the ever important musical lessons that we are all always learning.
Learning about music and how to play an instrument is something that most everyone can share and talk about. So please leave us feedback and comments. Share your personal practice struggles and how you or your child developed a practice routine. We look forward to sharing and learning!
Musically yours - Robyn Pfeifer, NCTM
Director, Pfeifer MusicWerks Studio
If you have ever left musical instruments lying around where children can get a hold of them,youknow what happens. Most of the time, they will pick up the instrument and really have a go with it. Likewise, when you give a child a musical toy, the same result usually occurs. Children, by their very nature, love music and they love to makemusic. Children and music truly do go hand in hand. While every child is different and will approach music different, virtually every child loves music and will be musical given a chance and the right tools. If you understand how children and music correspond early on, you are likely to encourage your child’s lifelong passion for music.