Keys & Strings Music Studio

Your musician is multi tasking the minute they decide it's time to make some music.  Get out the instrument and/or books.  Is their stand out?  If they are a bowed player they need to tighten their bow, rosin and then tune their instrument.  That's a lot of thought process for a younger musician.   If their instrument sounds awfully quiet, or it seems their bow is sliding off the strings, ask if they have rosined.  Woodwinds and Brass have to assemble their instruments too! Okay, now all the implements are in place.  Let's start making music.  How about a scale?  What key is my new assigned piece in? Key of D.   D E F.....oh wait, that should be F#.  Go back and start over.  D E F# G A B C D....hmmm, didn't sound exactly right.  Oh yeah, C is supposed to be sharp.  Go back and start over.  Now that they are warmed up finger/reed/airflow wise, let's get to work on their assigned piece.  Key Signature check, Time Signature Check, q

I hear this question A LOT.  As educators, we all want our students to do their very best. Whether they are graphic artists, musicians, fencers or soccer players. The art of doing something well is in the doing. To master something, you must do it well repeatedly. The repetition (in the correct way) is what makes the lesson (whatever the lesson is) stick. Each of our educators has their own point of view on the "Art of Practice" and we will share them in this blog post. I sometimes ask my students or their parents if they only brush their teeth twice a year when they visit the dentist. Of course this is met with laughter, eye rolls, "of course not's".  Yet sometimes, our students think that just by attending a once a week lesson they will become a great pianist, or violinist, or vocalist. That's just not the case. Would you want a mechanic who had never looked under a hood fixing your automobile? Would you want the neurosurgeon who had

A past first place fiddle student showing off her trophy.  A music lesson taker does not a music maker make.    My Grandfather used to say this tongue twister to me when I would complain about practicing.  I never really forgot him saying that, but it came back into mind full force with some recent events at the studio. It was recently put in writing to us, that WE were the problem in a families lack of continuity for their children's music progression.  A point that I contemplated, as I do want to be critiqued if I am at fault, and I want to make corrections and adjustments if were were the problem. So, I went back to start dates for both children.  I shared this family with another educator.  We compared notes on attendance.  This is what we found. Both children were quite attentive when with us.  Both children were very bright, and could have made excellent musicians. One child, in a group class, attended three out of twelve lessons paid for.  One of those three s

So many parents come to me with the subject 'we are tired about fighting with them to practice'.   It shouldn't be a fight.    It shouldn't be part of a bargaining tool.  It should be a part of daily life.   Do you brush your teeth everyday?  You should make music, every day. I think sometimes, that the word 'practice' get's a negative sheen.   Perhaps having the musician 'serenade' during meal preps would work. Let's 'make some music'.   Mommy and I feel like dancing slowly, what have you been working on that will suit the mood?    We want a concert!  Let's make programs, put on a nice outfit, set up the living room as a performance hall.  Music making should be a fun rewarding outlet for the entire family.   It should not be stressful. Find a routine that works for your family.   Is your musician an early bird, always looking for things to do before leaving for school?  Perhaps play your music after breakfast and brushing

A great big thank you to Carrie S Moore, home-schooling parent of 5 children plus the caregiver to darling husband Nate, a favorite dog and dozens of chickens. When our daughter showed interest in learning to play the violin we realized that seeking outside lessons was about putting our faith and trust in an expert of that instrument.  Though my husband has a substantial background in music, he isn't knowledgable in this particular instrument, so we put our trust in Ms. Sandie. We went in realizing that our  daughter wasn't going to be an expert of the instrume nt over night, but that it would take time for her to be proficient at the instrument. As a homeschooling mother of five, I know that practice makes perfect. Just as you need to practice your math facts to master them, so you need to practice your instrument to master it. Allowing our child to struggle in its challenges,

One of the words that I (and my co-educators) find ourselves using more and more is patient.  Be patient we say to our students who want to move on to a new song before they are ready.  It's a hard process, to learn an instrument and techniques in a song...............moving on before we have accomplished our current goals will prove for frustration later. Play it again!  And AGAIN!   Response we hear most often?  I just played it.  Repetition is the key to learning any new skill.  A practice routine of redoing sections will help 'learn' the challenging sections quicker.  BE PATIENT! In today's society, with Google, texting and Wikipedia we have learned instant information.  Why spend time looking at a dictionary or an encyclopedia (what's that?) when we can get the information with a few clicks?  Why walk over to a friends house or even to the kitchen when we can text to find out what the homework assignment was, or what's for dinner? When will my child s

MY CHILD ISN'T PROGRESSING (POST HOLIDAY SLUMP) Post holidays, I heard from a lot of parents (both of my students and other educators students) that they were thinking of 'taking a break' because the children were not progressing, or fighting them to practice at home. My reply, (questions) were always the same.  Did you maintain your usual routine during the holidays? (No)  Did you stay out late, have house guests, excitement over tree decorating, Nutcracker performances, Church Pageant rehearsals (Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes). Of course they aren't progressing.  Your teacher is hoping to just maintain during changes in home life, whatever the reason.  Please give it the rest of the month and try this routine before you 'take that break' and completely stall your child's (or your own) music progression. For young musicians, go back to playing each assigned (tabbed) piece of music their age each day.  This means if your musician is five they should p

As I feel that many people feel the word 'practice' has a negative connotation, I like to use the phrase 'music making at home' with my students and families. Even with this positive spin, I am continually met with 'I don't have time to practice'. It's an epidemic ! Rather than make students feel more guilty or unhappy with themselves or me, I thought we'd start a dialogue among all music families to see how they fit it into their life. My suggestion is always 'grazing'. Play one or two pieces several times in little segments of time. Before the bus comes (if you are an early riser) Right when you get home from school. Again while Mom or Dad make dinner. It's easy to get 15 - 30 minutes in a day if you break it down. Please share with us how you fit it in!

As an educator.......I am hearing more and more excuses from students as they walk through the door. Before they even take their hat/coat/mittens off. As they peel the scarf from around their neck I hear the words I didn't have time to practice this week I was just too busy. Some of these children are 7 years old. I am sure that no child at that age is too busy to spend some time with the instrument that hopefully they chose to learn. It's not so much the lack of improvement that troubles me, it's the idea of making the excuse. My reply is usually did you have time to brush your teeth, eat, sleep, shower. They usually roll their eyes at me with a long yesssssssss. Then I ask did you do your homework for school? Another yes. Did you have time for tv, playdates, video games and they start to see where I'm going. Some say no right away. Some say a little. Some say yes. Parents and children make choices every day. Just taking a lesson once a week does not a music

I have been asked this question many times over the years. Sometimes I laugh, sometimes I get a bit sad. It's not encouraging for a child who has had less than 6 months worth of lessons to hear their parent ask the teacher when will my child stop squeaking/banging/playing off pitch and sound like you? I've been playing for over 40 years. It's not fair to the child to be compared to me. It's not fair for an adult student who has just started who has a family, full time job, other responsibilities to ask me this question either. Then there is the time spent playing outside of the lesson. I know that in this day and age, the word 'practice' sometimes has a negative connotation . I tend to use the phrase 'music making at home'. I assign exercises, etudes, learning pieces and solo pieces with sections marked with numbers of play. I give them the tools for good practice without them knowing it's practice. However........how much time is really applied at

Don't think of it as "practicing." Think of it as "spending time with the instrument." There are sort of two ways of "practicing": the wrong way and the right way. The wrong way is sort of watching the clock and sawing away for a certain number of minutes. The right way is to forget the clock and actually PLAY the instrument with intense focus. You should never "practice" for more than 20 minutes at a stretch. If you can do two, three, or more such "practice" sessions a day, you will get good at playing the instrument. But never underestimate the value of "practicing" even just for 10 minutes. If you're really listening, your muscles and musicianship will benefit. Having even a general idea of both short-term and long-term goals is helpful. Keep track of what you're doing, and certainly what is required from the teacher every week (if you have a teacher). One of the best books you can get on this is Barry Green'