Mozart’s Monthly Memo-Volume 1
Welcome to our first monthly newsletter! Each month we will feature upcoming events within our school, feature selected students’ piano performance, answer your questions and hopefully educate and entertain you! Want to make a comment or suggestion? We certainly welcome your thoughts!
Feature Article: Four Steps To Get The Most From Your Piano Lessons
Learning to play the piano is an investment. You invest into a quality instrument. You invest your time and energy into practicing, and you invest your money. A good investment has a high return. Here are four steps to help your child get the highest return from their piano lessons, or any instrumental lesson.
Step One - Have Your Child Ready To Learn.
Many times lessons are scheduled after school. Your child has already spent several hours in school and is probably tired. Having a quick, healthy snack right before the lesson can help rejuvenate your child. If your lesson is online, be prepared ahead of time. Check that your devices are charged or plugged in and positioned at a good angle. Have all books and other needed materials, including a pencil for note taking, handy. If possible, have your child play through their assignments, getting their fingers warmed up and ready to show their teacher what they accomplished since their last lesson. Being ready and expecting to learn will help to get the most out of your lessons.
Step Two - Know What To Practice.
During the lesson, take notes and make sure you understand what the teacher is asking. Many times I’ve assigned a piece an extra week to correct notes or fix a rhythm issue. The student then just practices the same way and reinforces the old mistakes. Understanding what to practice and how to practice can keep the practice focused and productive. In Move Over Mozart, we use the Tonara app to write down specifics about each assignment. You also have the option to text your teacher or send recordings for updates and feedback. Use these features to confirm that your child is practicing correctly and following the given guidelines. Also, reviewing and playing your lesson assignment as soon as possible after the lesson is over, helps the child remember what was taught and what needs to be practiced. If the student takes a couple of days after a lesson before returning to the piano, much of what the teacher said will be forgotten.
Step Three - Practice!
You will get out of your lesson what you put in. The best way to do this is to make it easy to play the piano. First, have piano time daily. Find a time in your daily routine to have your child go to the piano, preferably several times a day. A lot of times this works well to pair piano time with another daily activity, such as brushing your teeth or eating a snack. Your child will get into the habit of associating piano with this other routine activity. Have piano time always start with something fun. It can be playing a song they already know, or making up their own music. Whatever it is, if it is something your child enjoys, they will be more interested in continuing. Do NOT set a time limit to be at the piano. Instead, plan a goal. Maybe play a piece without error three times, learn a short difficult measure, or play a keyboard game with a parent. Whatever the goal, piano time is finished when the goal is accomplished. Put the piano in an easily assessable area. With my piano in my living room, it is like a magnet to visitors. Whether they play the piano or not, it draws everyone over to “tinker” on the keys. The same will happen to your child, passing by the piano, to stop and play a quick little tune just for fun.
Step Four - Value Music In Your Family.
Kids are great imitators! They will see what is important to you, and value that as well. The easiest way to show value is by listening to music. Find time to listen to classical music or other instrumental music. Plan to go to family friendly concerts whenever possible. Check your local community center, schools and churches to find local, free live music. If you play an instrument, get it out and play it! If you don’t, take lessons yourself, or join a chorus. Find music that your family can make together. A fond memory of mine is at Thanksgiving, when my extended family gets together. The musicians bring their instruments, but there are also a few percussion instruments for the non-musicians, and everyone has a voice to sing. We would sing old time folk music, country music, and hymns. For a while we always included those cute preschool songs for the little ones of the family. Listening to classical music also helps to develop the ear, which is vital to playing the piano.
Student Showcasing
I’ve started showcasing different students in our classes. Like us on Facebook to see the new student each week.
Jacob, age 8, performing Court Dance, former MOM student and private student of Miss Pam. Jacob is the master of dynamics!
David, age 3, performing My Puppy, Pre-Reading MOM student of Mr. Josh. He has such enthusiasm for playing! You HAVE to hear this cutie!
Aadit, age 9, performing A Short Story, former MOM student and private student of Ms Sachie. Aadit started Move Over Mozart at age 4, then took a break until recently. Now he is making up for lost time!
Iris, age 6, performing Happy Red, Beginning Elementary MOM student of Mr. Josh. Keeping a steady beat is difficult for her age. She masters it by listening and playing with a drum beat! Totally amazing!
October’s Lesson Objectives
Our online classes run in 4-week sessions. Each session includes 4 mini-private lessons and 4 weekly videos, as well as access to our motivating practice app. Our next session will begin on Tuesday, October 6. Students are put into one of 4 classes, depending on their age and musical ability. Here is what we have planned for the next session. We will also have an online informational parent meeting on Monday, October 5, at 6:00. At the meeting, we will show how our practice app works, review our objectives, and answer any questions parents may have. All are welcome to join us. Just click the link below.
Here is the link to sign your child up for this next session
Pre-Reading - Ages 3 - 5 years, or students not yet reading,
Rhythm II
Students will learn how to use a metronome and the concept of a steady beat. They will also learn to recognize and say the Kodaly syllable for quarter notes, (tah,) eighth notes, (ti-ti,) and whole notes, (big-fat-whole-note). They will receive a new song each week to color code and play on the piano.
Primary - Ages 5 -7 years or older and brand new to music,
Rhythm Theory
Students will learn about measures, bar lines, time signatures, and how to count their music. They will also review the basic notes and Kodaly syllables for quarter note, quarter rest, half note, half rest and whole note.
Beginning Elementary - Ages 7-12 years or younger and reading notes,
Staff Basics
Students are given an introduction to how the staff is organized and how to read the notes. Review of key “anchor” notes, treble G, middle C, and bass F, as well as fingering in the music.
Advanced Elementary - Ages 7 - 12 years with previous piano lessons
Practice Techniques
Covers several specialized practice techniques to make learning new or challenging music easier to learn. Also, these techniques aid in learning new music faster.
Parents Ask Pam
Here we will feature a common question parents ask about our classes or playing the piano in general. 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: Our son, who just turned 3.5 years old, will be taking piano for the first time! Do you think online lessons would work out for a student his age who hasn't taken lessons before?
A: New classes can be challenging for children of any age. Even when physical classes are offered, it takes children a couple of weeks to learn what is expected and what the boundaries will be. We have found that the online experience is also very strange for many children, especially the little ones. Using a tablet or computer as compared to a phone does help the child relate to the teacher because of the larger screen. We start with fun activities to help the student get used to having their teacher on a screen and having a parent watch them the whole time. As the student gets used to the new boundaries and expectations of online classes, we are able to proceed with new songs and other learning activities. As with physical classes, this typically takes a few weeks. But once the pattern is established, the online experience is very positive, even for children as young as 3.5 years.
Your Comments And Questions
We want to hear from you!
Click here to join our online classes. Get 20% off your first month by using the coupon code, NEW.