Kayesmusic.com
Hints and Tips












Home | About Me | The Benefits of Learning a Musical Instrument | Choosing an Instrument | Purchasing an Instrument | Hints and Tips | Links | Instrumental Music at School | Private Music Lessons | Disclaimer | Contact Me





Helpful Hints for Parents
















You have made an investment in your child's future and we want to do all that we can to protect that investment.

As a teacher I do all that I can to maintain momentum, motivation and enthusiasm, but with your support we can work together as a team to enhance the child's musical experience and ongoing success.

You can provide support in many ways even if you do not have any knowledge of music.

1. Help the student establish a place set aside for practice that is free from distractions.

2. Help establish regular practice times. Routine is very important.

3. Reward Practice - and avoid nagging. Spend some time listening to your child's practice and be certain to acknowledge improvement. Positive encouragement is most beneficial.

4. Be understanding when the child has a 'low'. This is very normal for ALL musicians, even professionals. We all have highs and lows from time to time. This does not mean that the child wants to quit although they may say this at the time. MOST times this is a PASSING PHASE and students usually with thank you later on if you simply support and encourage them to continue through this phase. The key is simply praise and gentle encouragement.

5. Provide the appropriate materials. The correct books, CD's, supplementary materials and maintaining the instrument in good repair. A music stand will assist with injury prevention and establishing good posture.

6. Mini concerts in the home for family and friends are a good way of building confidence and recognizing the child's progress.

7. Ensure that child is prepared for the weekly lesson and has all the necessary equipment. (Book, instrument etc...) Adequate preparation and attendance at lessons are both very important.

8. Attend performances with your child. Make certain that your child is able to attend all performances. This is crutial to maintaining the student's interest, motivation and enthusiasm for their instrument.

gnome4.gif

Practice Tips

Where and When to Practice
 
It is important that the student has a specific place to practice that is quiet and without distractions or interruptions.

Routine is very important. Choose a time of day that suits best and try to practice at the same time every day.
What Should the Student Practice?
 
The student should always practice the work set by the teacher to prepare for the next lesson. The students are usually instructed at the end of the lesson to record these details in their practice journal.

Starting off each practice session with a 'warm-up' consisting of long notes will help with breathe control and tone development. Each note should be held for as long as is comfortable without straining, and with a very good, clear sound.

The goal is to increase the length of time that the note is held for and also to coninue to improve the tone quality of the note produced. Ideally a few minutes a day should be spend on this task.

After the warm-up move on to the work that has been set by the teach and finish the session by playing a couple of your favourites.

 
Use of CD recordings
 
Students can benefit greatly from the use of CD recordings. The student should spend time listening to the appropriate pieces and doing 'silent' playing. This means pretending to play along with the music, but not actually making any sound. This allows the students to hear what they should be doing and make any adjustments necessary to play correctly.

Finally, the student should then play with the music.
 
How to Practice.
 

Music students should develop all areas of musicianship skills equally. To assist with this I make the following suggestions in addition to the general suggestions above.


1. Listen to the piece several times if you have the CD.

2. Clap the rhythm - counting correctly and/or saying the "ta's and ti ti's" etc...

3. Clap the rhythm again whilst singing the melody along with the CD recording - or saying the letter names whilst clapping.

4. Silently play along with the CD. Finger all the notes as if playing but do not actually make any sound. Say the letter names as you go.

5. Try to play the piece slowly and carefully without the music as many times as necessary, and when you are confident...

6. Go on and play with the CD.


If any problems remain then go back a step or two and repeat the process. Always isolate the problem area and practice that section separately.

HINT: Do not continue to practice from beginning to end over and over when you really only need to correct a small portion.

 
Quality Not Quantity
 
Quality of practice is much more important than quantity. The student should only practice for as long as they can maintain focus. When the student is simply blowing into the instrument without really thinking, the practice session is no longer productive.

 
How Long Should a Practice Session Last?
 
On average students are expected to practice for about 1/2 hour six days a week (or equivalent). This is not always possible and we understand that people are busy. However, we do ask that the child do at least sufficient practice to be prepared for the next lesson.

In the very beginning stages of tone development 10 minutes is probably adequate. The student will be using mascles that have not been used before and will more than likely get tired very quickly.

As a student pregresses they will want to play for longer periods. The student sitting for AMEB or other exams will need to practice for longer as they move into the higher grades.

As part of the instrumental music program at school I am required to issue the student with a certificate based upon their practice during the semester. I issue certificates based on the following:-


Gold Certificate 3 hours practice per week
Silver Certificate 2 hours practice per week
Bronze Certificate 1 1/2 hours practice per week.

If practice has not been recorded in the student's journal, or I have not been able to assess the journal then a Bronze Certificate is awarded.
 
 

gnome2.gif