5 Things I Learned From Piano Lessons That Improved Me As A Student - Mozart’s Monthly Memo - Volume 13
September 15, 2021
My daughter and I.
FRIENDS save $25! Do you have a friend that is looking for a piano teacher? You can earn $25 for referring a friend and they can get $25 off their first month! Use the FRIENDS coupon code.
This Memo includes
Feature Article: 5 Things I Learned From Piano Lessons That Improved Me As A Student
Student Achievements - a new section we will be including to recognize our students' hard work.
Upcoming MOM events includes our “back to school” Crescendo Kids Online class
Parents Ask Pam - What is the biggest challenge you’ve noticed with young children switching to online lessons from the (physical) group classes?
Feature Article - 5 Things I Learned From Piano Lessons That Improved Me As A Student
I started taking piano lessons at seven years old. By the time I was ready for high school, I noticed several skills and techniques I had learned from playing the piano were actually quite helpful in other subjects in school. Growing up, I felt like an average student needing to work extra hard to get good grades. I went to a private, college-prep high school and needed every trick I could find to continue getting good grades. Here are a few of the techniques that all piano students learn that also help them in school and life in general.
Break a large task into smaller pieces. One teacher explained this in the riddle, “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer, “One bite at a time.” On the piano, when starting a new piece, I would pick a short section, like a line, or maybe just the right hand, and focus on that first. In school, I found starting a large project or even sometimes just writing a paper would feel overwhelming at first! Once I started breaking the large task into smaller achievable tasks, and then starting with the simpler parts first, it became much more manageable and not nearly so scary. By applying this concept of doing just a little bit at a time, I could accomplish just about any assignment!
You can learn something new in just a few minutes. This is similar to the previous concept. When practicing, I typically would play in short intervals such as 5 - 10 minutes between homework topics, while waiting for the rest of the family to go somewhere, or right after school before tackling my homework. Many days I didn’t have the opportunity to sit for a 30-minute session and actually practice, but I did learn a great deal from my couple of minutes here and there. In school, when it was time to study for a test such as the SATs and GREs, I applied this technique. I created flashcards that I would carry everywhere. Then standing in line, while eating a snack or any other couple of minutes available, I would pull out the flashcards and study for the few minutes available. It proved to be quite a successful technique!
Perfect practice makes perfect. Yes, practice is always important. But how you practice and what you practice definitely matters! If I play a piece with wrong notes I am essentially practicing the mistakes! You don’t play a piece until you get it right. You play it right until that is all you can do. I suppose this could also be called persistence or endurance as well. I learned to stick with something until I understood and knew it. Then it became a part of me.
Intense concentration. My music reflects what I’m thinking about. If I’m thinking about making the notes quiet and creating a solemn mood, the sound will reflect that. If instead I’m thinking about the tasks I have to do that day, my music will have no life and I’ll probably play wrong notes. I have learned to be in the moment, focus on the task at hand, and not be distracted. In school, this meant to sit in the front row, take notes and pay attention.
Most of being creative is just doing it. When creating my own music, it was important to just play. If I thought about it too much, I would think it wasn’t good enough, it wasn’t challenging enough, or it wasn’t interesting. But when I was alone and just wanted to play my own thing, none of that mattered. I just played! This application became super important when writing papers. It was so hard to write because I thought everything needed to make an impact. At one point I just started writing. Maybe it was the middle of the paper, maybe it was a ramble that eventually lead to the topic. But anything was better than nothing. Once I started, I had a place to work from, re-evaluate and change if needed. But if I insisted on it being perfect the first time, nothing came out! I learned that creativity came from just doing it.
There are scientific aspects about music lessons, like how music enlarges the brain and creates additional connectivity. I’m sure that is all related to what I’ve said above. But as a teenager, I finally felt like I had a super power, not related to music, yet definitely a result of my music! The indirect benefits were tangible and useful and would stay with me the rest of my life, whether music did or not. As it turns out, music became far more important to me than I ever imagined as a kid!
Student Achievements
We have started our Brag Tag Challenges and several students have accomplished some amazing goals!
5X5 - play the piano for 5 minutes, 5 days in a week, for 5 weeks in a row - Aarnav J, Iris H, Joses C, Kevin J, Lee W, Lieto Z, Lillian R, Lisielle S, Nathan H, Timothy E, Torino Z, and Vivian C,
Completed their current lesson book - Connor J, Jacob S, Lee W, Nathan H, Qi-Le H, and Vivian C
Listened to classical music at least one hour/week for 4 weeks - Iris H, Jason J, Joses C, Kevin J, and Nathan H,
Special song, advanced piece completed with perfect playing and memorization - Aarnav J
100 days - Play piano at least 5 minutes for 100 days in a row - Aarnav J, Clive L, Iris H, Jiya J, Joses C, Kevin J, Lee W, Lieto Z, Lillian R, Lucas T, Nathan H, and Torino Z.
Upcoming MOM Events
FRIENDS save $25! Do you have a friend that is looking for a piano teacher? We are offering $25 off each for friends that sign up together or to friends of current students. Use the coupon code, FRIENDS when signing up.
Want to see all upcoming events? Check out our calendar. It includes when the next Crescendo Kids class begins, school closure dates, piano parties, and recital dates.
Parent Information Meetings - Have questions about our online piano class program? Want a tour of our practicing app? Click the link to schedule your meeting with Miss Pam. Parent Info Meeting
FREE Online Piano Party! Students share their own music as well as participate in musical games, creating music and learning some music history. Each party is a little different with a theme and a special guest instrument. Come, meet our piano teachers, play some music, and have fun! All ages and musical levels are welcome. Parties are available to non-students, former students as well as current students. Click the link to sign up. Piano Party Sign Up
Saturday, October 9, at 11:00 am. RSVP required.
30 - Minute Private Online Piano Lessons - Did you know that many of our teachers also teach privately? Now you can continue your child’s musical education, or your own, with Move Over Mozart. Click here for more information. Private Lessons
Back To School Crescendo Kids Online begins Tuesday, September 21. New school year, new schedule, new activities! It is time for your child to get back into piano lessons. Students are put into one of 4 classes depending on their age and musical ability.
Crescendo Kids Online Sign Up
Pre-Reading - Ages 3 - 5 years, or students not yet reading,
We use a color-coded method for the students to match their five fingers to five keys on the piano. New songs using only those 5 notes are given each week.
Primary - Ages 5 -7 years or older and brand new to music,
This group is for the very basics of piano playing. Students learn to play simple rhythms, correct hand position, and the names of the white keys on the piano.
Beginning Elementary - Ages 7-12 years or younger and reading notes,
This is for students just starting to read notes on the staff. Students are taught how the staff relates to the piano and how to translate the notes to making music. Also, having the students memorize a few key notes on the staff will help greatly with their ability to read music.
Advanced Elementary - Ages 7 - 12 years with previous piano lessons
This group already reads notes on the staff and can immediately identify many of the notes by name. They will learn more advanced technique and music theory beyond the initial basics of learning to play.
Parents Ask Pam
Have a question for Miss Pam? You can email, text message, or message on Facebook your questions. She will respond immediately to you, and your question might be featured in future newsletters.
Q: What is the biggest challenge you’ve noticed with young children switching to online lessons from the (physical) group classes?
A: Surprisingly, we noticed a huge improvement in students’ progress after switching to online classes! We attribute this to the increased parent involvement. Parents are able to listen in on the lesson, look at the specific lesson assignments on our practice app, and connect directly with the teacher between lessons if needed. With some students, they find the practice app very engaging and that has also helped them want to play the piano more. The dynamics are certainly different online compared to in person. Just like there is an adjustment period for children getting used to the boundaries of the classroom, there is also an adjustment period to learning how an online class will be conducted. But once the students get into a routine, it is surprisingly quite successful.
Your Comments And Questions
We want to hear from you! What are some ways that you have included music education in your children’s lives these last couple of years? Please leave your questions and comments below.