Missed Lesson Policy

I will do my best to accommodate all missed lessons for any reason. I will schedule extra lessons to make up the time during the week, a double lesson if time allows, even in special circumstances (and if I am available) I will do a make up lesson on the weekend or during the school holidays.

However, I do require at least 6 hours notice for any missed lesson. Any lesson missed that does not have at least 6 hours notice will not be made up.

The only time I will credit a missed lesson over to the next term is in the extremely rare case when I have had to cancel a lesson last-minute at the end of term.

Free MOOCS for vocalists

Massive Open Online Courses are a great way for people to engage in study from the comfort of their own home.

There are a few MOOCS out there for musicians – especially music theory or history, and they are well worth looking into.

I’ve linked below to MOOCS that apply specifically to practical vocalists. Take advantage of these resources!!

Rock Vocal Warm Up – Udemy

Easy Singing Techniques for Adult Beginners – Udemy

Music Intervals Owned: Recognise Intervals like a Beast! – Udemy

 

 

 

 

 

Alicia Plays My Son John

My Son John is a lovely English nursery rhyme, first published in 1797. This version in the Bastien Primer book showcases the use of quavers and concentrates on the melodic interval of a 5th.

Well done Alicia!

Watch Alicia play My Son John on youtube here.

Ted Ed video – How playing an instrument benefits your brain

Playing music is an end in itself, regardless of the level of ability attained. The joy of playing music, whether performing, playing with others or just playing for yourself is so uplifting – it calls to the part of us that needs to express emotion.

There is joy too, in the work of figuring out a new piece, or refining your technique, that gives us the satisfaction of meeting a challenge.

As if that wasn’t enough of a reason to encourage us all to take up an instrument, here is a 5 minute Ted Ed video on how learning an instrument benefits our brains.

“Playing music is the brain’s equivalent of a full-body workout, it engages practically every area of the brain. Disciplined, structured practice in playing music strengthens those brain functions, allowing us to apply that strength to other activities.”

“Music has been found to increase the volume and activity of the corpus callosum, the bridge between the two hemispheres, allowing messages to get across the brain faster, and through more diverse routes.”

“Musicians often have higher levels of “executive functions”, a category of interlinked tasks that includes planning, strategizing, and attention to detail, and requires simultaneous analysis of both cognitive and emotional aspects.”

“Musicians exhibit enhanced memory function.”

Click here to watch the video: Ted Ed – How Playing An Instrument Benefits Your Brain

Christmas Sales

I generally avoid the boxing day sales – rushing around and getting stressed is not a great activity to do on a full stomach, come boxing day you’ll most likely find me relaxing at home with some delicious leftovers and a book. But I’m also not one to sniff at the prospect of saving money. Many music stores will join the end-of-year markdowns, especially when it comes to their Christmas books. You can expect 30%-50% off Christmas stock, as music shops will much prefer to sell them at a lower price than store them for an entire year. There are online bargains to be had as well – with many online sellers not charging postage these can be great bargains. As an example, Sheet Music Plus is taking 30% off selected Christmas music.

When purchasing music for your child, it’s a good idea to ask their teacher if the book is appropriate for their skill level. There is nothing more disappointing than attempting to play something impossible, and nothing more boring than playing something that is much too easy. If you already have a Christmas music book, simply buy the next level up. If your child is learning from a ‘method’ book, you can usually match the level they are at with an appropriate Christmas book. Bastien, Faber and Alfred all have Christmas books to suit each level.

It is important to consider the skill of your child when buying books a year in advance. How quickly do they learn? Will they advance by one level or two this year? It’s also important to consider how difficult you want the Christmas music to be for them. When I teach my students I like to have one piece being ‘polished’, one (or more, depending on age and ability) piece pushing them into their zone of proximal development*, and one ‘easy’ piece that the student can learn relatively quickly. This ‘easy’ piece is important as it gives the student a sense of immediate gratification, pleasure in playing and confidence in their skills. Because such a piece does not have difficult rhythms, notes or technique, it allows the student to focus on mastering the simple techniques perfectly and encourages discipline and control in their playing. From late November I like to use Christmas carols as these ‘easy’ pieces. This means that the student will have learnt a few Christmas carols in time to play them confidently at Christmas. For this reason I generally keep the Christmas books six months to a year behind the skill level of the student. However, you may not wish to do this, or you may wish to have a mix of levels available.

Purchasing digital sheet music is always tempting at Christmas as students will rarely play through an entire book of Christmas carols in one go. Interestingly, the digital Christmas music is also on sale at this time. If you do decide to purchase digital sheet music, store it safely on a hard drive and when it is printed out keep all the Christmas music together in one scrapbook – this means that come Christmas time your child will be able to take out the one book and play through all the old Christmas carols they learnt in previous years.

* Vygotsky (1978) Interaction between Learning and Development