Summary: No one wants to practice an instrument, but everyone wants to play. Parents are the key to succeeding during the six days between lessons.

About six years ago, I changed a core expectation as part of my teaching to beginning through early-intermediate students: I no longer asked them to practice. I completely eradicated the word ‘practice’ from every aspect of my teaching to students on this level. Of course, this required a monumental overhaul of how I taught, but in the most basic sense, I viewed the six days between lessons as an opportunity for each student to play the piano, not practice it. I only assigned music that was learned successfully in the lesson, could already be performed well, and used each piece to teach how a student would eventually come to practice so when the time came, the fundamentals were all in place. The success of this, however, is in the third party involved in the lessons: the parents.

There are really only two kinds of children who begin lessons: the first is the student who wants to play an instrument and the second is the student whose parents want him or her to play an instrument. Regardless, my job is to teach them how to do it and have it be a rewarding and positive experience along the way. The idea of practicing a sport and practicing an instrument are often compared, but I’ve never really believed these analogies hold up. Really, a better argument might be drawn that these analogies were created because many people quit music to play sports. Why? Practicing a sport is social while practicing an instrument is isolated. Playing a sport can result in a quantitative gain – a winning score, a total number of wins – where playing music has no measurement beyond personal growth. Private music teachers are left trying to find a way to tangibly or numerically show progress. We invent practice charts where minutes are recorded, wall charts where stickers are earned, or the antiquated check-mark that lets a student know they ‘passed’ a piece. A better comparison might be between practicing medicine and practicing music. Do you really want a doctor to ‘practice’ their craft on you? No! You want them to know what they’re doing just as I want my students walking out of the lesson knowing what they are doing. So, I beg all of the parents out there to no longer ask their child, “did you practice,” and, instead, I want to give you easy ways to get your child playing. This should be the first tip to parents.

Change the Question

Instead of asking, “did you practice,” ask a telling sentence. Try, “how was playing piano today” and listen to the response. The likely response will be, “I didn’t play piano.” We want to eventually transform that response into, “I didn’t play yet,” and finally to where they answer the initial question. How? A follow-up question: “why don’t you go play for a little bit and then tell me about it,” or, “we’ll talk about it at dinner.” The number of minutes played don’t matter since they can already play the piece successfully. This is just about building a positive relationship with time at the instrument. As they talk about playing they will develop ways to talk about music even if it sounds like nonsense. This connection matters. Over time, the language will smooth out into correct terms and there will no longer be the response, “I didn’t play yet.”

Stop Designating a Practice Time ALL the Time

Yes, kids need structure, but this doesn’t always build a good relationship with playing. I had a friend in middle school who came home from school and had to practice piano for a half-hour every day from 3:30-4:00pm. I remember thinking, “gosh, that’s awful,” and I even liked the piano. Kids are busy and busy minded, so remind them when they haven’t played, but don’t force time at the instrument. The point of playing is to engage the busy mind, but designating a set number of minutes can be torturous when they already know how to play their music.

Ask for a Private Concert

A private performance is a special time with Mom or Dad. Alone time with kids and one parent is sometimes more meaningful than any activity. This special time where a student gets to perform for a parent is their own private showcase where they are the star. Does it need to happen every week? No, but sometimes this can be the greatest motivator on the weeks when a student just doesn’t want to play.

Generating Positive Responses from other People

When I was a kid, the most technology we had was the GIANT Macintosh computer with the floppy disks that were the size of an average face. That has changed and technology is everywhere, including in my teaching. When playing at home, why not record a performance and send it to Grandma or Grandpa or even the teacher? Yes, I know this isn’t ground breaking, but most people miss the point of the recording. It’s not so the child can be recorded and shared; it’s that they get a positive response back from whomever you send it to. This feedback can be critical for students who don’t like to perform and can build a positive relationship with the process. Furthermore, they can record their own teaching video showing you or a family member how to do something musical. A seven second “Vine” video and positive feedback from Grandma can be all the motivation in the world.

Integrate Playing into Daily Life

This idea comes from another teacher friend who gave me this advice. Sometimes spontaneous activities with a quick goal can be all it takes. Imagine it’s just before dinner and your child is walking past you. All you have to do is say, “I totally forgot! I was thinking about your song you played the other day. How super-fast do you think you can play that? Can you do it before dinner?” Yes, it’s going to sound terrible fast, but it doesn’t matter. They’re engaged at the instrument again and Mom or Dad has shown that they remember a musical performance from before and not just making them do a task. Does this playing use good technique? No, but that’s not the goal here. The goal is a positive feeling associated with playing. Let me fix technique and I’ll let you know when issues arise.

Talk to the Teacher After Music Lessons

One of the biggest things that makes me feel defeated in my teaching is when I haven’t inspired a parent enough to be outside the door asking how a lesson went and the child is instead walking out to a parking spot. I have one of the few professions where I am able to give you a weekly progress report on how your child is doing and the more I can involve you, the better the experience for all of us. Plus, this isn’t a classroom; this is one of the few things in a child’s life that is literally one-on-one and I am giving you 100% undivided feedback. Take the time after the lesson to hear about how we made music this week. Even more importantly, take five minutes in the car to ask the child what they learned with details and not just “how was the lesson?”

Whenever I hear a parent wanting to withdraw an early student for lack of practicing, I ask them, “what have you done to make it a positive experience?” I usually hear, “well, I ask him/her to practice and he/she just doesn’t want to,” and I have to continue to emphasize how my expectation is that a student plays piano, but doesn’t practice. I’m hoping that these few ideas might help parents see that the goal isn’t to practice early on, but to play and to play enjoying what they do. Remember, when someone signs up for lessons, they want to play the piano, not practice it. In time, and by teaching skills that aren’t even obvious to the student or the parent, it’s my job to create the path to practicing. In the meantime, it’s the parent’s job to help them love to play.

Blow Your Horn

Brass instruments, and wind instruments in general, are so closely entwined in the human experience as it is the very breath of life that gives rise to the tones produced. In this regard, the expressive potential is immense. From a quiet, soft whisper, to a growling, barking, heralding shout, brass instruments are powerful conduits of emotion. They are also very demanding instruments when it comes to the physical nature of producing music on them. Brass instruments require a daily discipline in order to maintain the slightest bit of endurance, technique, and a good sound.

Practice On Your Horn

Your tone, how you sound on your instrument, comes from the types of music you listen to, especially the particular instrumentalists or vocalists you like and listen to the most; this internalization, in conjunction with your personality and the idea you have in your head on how you want to sound on your instrument, has a huge impact on what sound you are producing on your instrument. Perhaps you like a very bright sound or maybe you enjoy a very dark tone, either are fine, so long as you know what you want, embrace it as yours, and give it the respect it deserves by working on it as much as possible.

Let It Flow

As is the case in most any endeavor, the trick is to get the maximum from the minimum – to put the least amount of effort into something and experience the optimal results. This is true when it comes to producing your best sound on the trumpet. You want to train your body to get your lips vibrating with the most relaxed airflow filling the horn up like water through a garden hose and let the horn sing a rich, full tone at a soft volume.

Here’s world-renowned, award-winning trumpeter Wynton Marsalis speaking on tone and this exact exercise:

Wynton’s Tone

If you’d like to learn more and excel on your brass instrument, contact Mark Rapp

Wynton’s 12 Ways to Practice

Say you’re a singer and you have a big performance coming up. You may also have an audition for a singing position, school play, or solo in chorus. You really want to show that you are the best one for the part. You are a mix of emotions: nervous, excited, hopeful, fearful. How do singers do it? How do they get up there in front of complete strangers and deliver a performance that seems seamless, heartfelt, and draws the audience in? 75% of the performance lies in the preparation. The way that we practice, eat, and sleep all effect the voice. The remaining 25% of the performance is effected by what we do on stage, but preparing for your performance in well planned practice time will help the final product! While important to the development of our style, practice can be a frustrating part of our routine. It does not have to be. Here are 5 tips to ensure a great practice session for singers. All of these tips are easy, but must become habit to notice results. Your body is your instrument! You carry your instrument around with you all day everyday, so it’s important to take care of yourself.

Drink all the water!

Stay hydrated. Our body is 60% water. In order to prevent dehydration, you should consume around 8 cups of water per day. This will ensure that your vocal chords stay lubricated and vibrate easily. Some people say to stay away from dehydrating beverages like coffee, tea, and soda; however, if you replace that beverage with an extra cup of water, that should do the trick.

Stretch.

This may seem like a silly way to start of your practice session, but I promise it makes a world of difference. You stretch before a big race, why not singing? The muscular system is connected all throughout your body and, therefore, affects the muscles that make up your vocal chords. Tension in the neck, shoulders, back, and hips can add tension to vocal production. Begin your practice session with stretches that target each of these areas for a more relaxed start. I even include a few minutes of lying on my back and breathing deeply, to feel the rise and fall of my belly, for dual efforts of relaxation and working proper breathing technique.

Be kind to your voice.

Of course there is the advice of refraining from any excessive screaming or shouting, but for singing practice, there is a tip that is just as helpful. The best advice I ever got from one of my voice teachers was to treat a practice session like every day is a fresh start. He would start off each lesson by sitting at the piano and saying, “Let’s see how the voice is doing today.” Your body never quite feels the same from day to day. It can be affected by weather, sickness, or maybe you’re out of sorts because you didn’t get enough sleep the night before. Start small in your practice sessions, maybe with some humming, sirens, or lip trills to explore how the voice is feeling that day. Gradually, increase intensity from there based on what you’re feeling. Over time, the good days will become more consistent.

Frustrated energy is wasted energy.

When our voice isn’t doing what we want it to, we tend to get frustrated! Belting that high D-flat was so easy yesterday! What is the deal?! When you feel this shift in your practice, this is a good time to stop and take a minute to breathe. We want to do it over and over again until it’s perfect, but singing with frustration is singing with muscular tension. The same teacher I mentioned above, when I would get frustrated in a lesson, would look at me and say, “And how’s that working for you?” He was so right. In the long run, it’s bad for your voice and doesn’t help you sing any better. Remember to stop, breathe, and go back to your basic fundamentals. You also have the option to stop, take a break, and come back to it.

End on a good note.

Pardon the terrible pun, but it’s good for your morale to finish a practice session with a song with which you are not only comfortable, but that you also love. Finish your practice with something that reminds you of why you sing in the first place, because, after all is said and done, THAT is what you want to give to your audience. Frankly, no one cares if your belted high D-flat is perfect if there isn’t any soul in it. Remember that singing is hard work, but it should also be fun! You should always leave your practice session with a little extra pep in your step because you worked hard! Because you had a productive practice, you are a better singer than you were an hour ago!

One lesson that I drill into all of my music students is the importance of being prepared. I stress how important it is to be professional in any business. Here are some situations to be prepared for:

Your Music Instructor

There is no doubt that part of furthering yourself in you music career is mastering your instrument. If you aren’t studying or taking private music lessons, do it! When your teacher gives you an assignment, make sure you come back to the next lesson with it nailed down and then some. If a student shows up unprepared they might as well say, “I don’t care about getting better,” or “music actually ISN’T a priority to me.” Not only does it slow down the student’s personal growth, but it also leaves a bad impression on the music instructor. If someone calls me for a gig that I can’t do or if they are looking for a player in a band, I am going to refer my students who have practiced and have been prepared.

Your Rehearsal

Show up on time to your rehearsals, have all of your parts perfected, and bring a great attitude. Everyone WILL notice. You will sound better and you have instantly created a great reputation for yourself. The word will definitely get around that you are a true professional. Other people will call you for gigs and other people will refer you to other gigs. The same is true if you aren’t prepared; no one will want to refer you…no matter how “awesome” you are.

Your Studio Session

Get yourself a recording of the tune you are going to record…even if it’s a scratch recording from a phone or computer. Listen to the tune and get it in your head. I generally try to come up with a few options for parts to present to the artist or producer/engineer. Then, experiment with tone, gear, effects, etc. Once you head into the studio, everyone again will be blown away by how prepared you are and it will immediately affect your reputation. You will probably land more session gigs in the future.

These are just a few situations for which you need to be prepared. There are so many chances for you to prove your professionalism through being prepared. Take the time and work hard to be ready. Teachers, fellow musicians, artists, producers, engineers, and others in the industry will be your best way to solidify your reputation and propel your career.

We are now in the age of touch screens and internet. Rather than fighting technology, I embrace them, and use them with my students in guitar lessons. So, I have decided to share with you some great apps that can help you in your music lessons. These are useful for both teacher and student.

Name That Note

Name That Note is great! It allows music students to pick a level of Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced. Users can choose bass clef, treble Clef, or both! It starts with basic natural notes, and then works up to difficult key signatures and ledger lines. It keeps score for the student, and has a timer which creates the real life pressure students need to experience. This is a great app for piano, guitar, drums, voice, bass, or any instrument! This is an Apple app, but fear not Android users…there are comparable apps for Android!

Rhythm Cat Pro

Rhythm Cat

Another important element of music that is applicable to all instruments is Rhythm. Rhythm Cat is a really fun game format for rhythm. Users simply tap in the rhythm along with the music. Students will work through various stages, and use the 3 star system popularized by Angry Birds. The exercises progressively get harder as you go. It’s simply a fun way to learn rhythm…And I mean come on, that can be a drag sometimes. haha!

Better Ears

better Ears

Music starts with the ears. Let’s face it, if it doesn’t sound good, what does it matter?! Better Ears does just what the title says, it gives you better ears! Users can choose the preset levels, or work with their customized level as they study intervals, scales, chords, progressions, pitch, and much more! This app is so helpful for both student and teacher in their music lessons.

Seconds Pro

This app is not specific to music lessons, but is a great app for music students! We’ve covered some basic elements that are important to all instruments with rhythm, sight-reading, and ear-training; however, none of these matter if students don’t practice. Seconds Pro allows you to set up a customized exercise schedule. Students can name the exercises, order them, customize the time, and even customize the colors. Once you have your schedule set, you simply press start. Your device then speaks the exercise out loud, the timer rolls, and as your exercise is nearly done it counts down the last few seconds. There are also optional rest times in between; these are customizable as well. Seconds Pro gives students a well organized system to get their practice done, and be ready for their next music lesson.

Whether you play violin, sing, play drums, it doesn’t matter. These apps will help you exercise the basic elements of music, and make you more prepared for your lessons. There are many other useful apps we didn’t cover like a tuner or metronome. Also, for my fellow guitar players and students, check out FretWiz ! It’s Great! Go check out the app stores. You are bound to find apps that will be very helpful along your musical journey. Good Luck!

Coming To Your Lesson Prepared.

You wouldn’t show up to football practice without a helmet, right? And I assume you wouldn’t head to the mall without your wallet…

Not a chance.

In the same way, it is extremely important to come to your music lessons prepared. “But whyyy,” you ask, dreading the scolding that typically comes from teachers or bosses. Fear not! Below are some reasons/helpful suggestions that will make your lesson experience even MORE fun.

Numero Uno…

The importance of being prepared:
The biggest reason one should come to their music lessons prepared is to not waste time! Let’s face it, your piano, voice, guitar, drum, saxaphone, etc, etc, lessons aren’t free. The last thing you want to do is spend half of the time you pay for, repeating what you did last week, simply b/c you didn’t come prepared.

The lesson itself will go much more smoothly if everything is in place. Consider it a cool puzzle, and your preparedness is the missing piece that you can’t find in the box, under the couch, etc. You also know how frustrating it is when you can’t find that piece, and we all love the feeling of completing a good puzzle. (Don’t lie, you know you do too).

Your attitude will be so much better when you are prepared/seeing your progress, and even better you won’t have the sinking feeling that comes when you’re about to tell your teacher you didn’t practice 😮

What does it mean to be prepared:

materials:
Have any materials that you use for your lesson with you…like notebooks, sheet music, blank paper, mp3 players, & let’s not forget your instrument. Yes, multiple students of mine have forgotten their guitar for their guitar lesson. I mean, that is basically the same as swinging at a baseball without a bat (ouch), or catering a party and forgetting THE FOOD (we all know the hangry feeling —> hungry + angry).

You don’t want to spend your lesson printing off sheets, digging up songs that should be ready to go, etc.

homework:
I realize this word carries a lot of meaning & that everyone dreads their ‘homework’. Let’s be real, though…practicing awesome songs by awesome artists (including yourself) has to be the best homework assignment ever. You’re welcome 🙂

Basically, this means, have your lesson from the previous week mastered before you walk in the door. Your lesson is either 30 minutes or an hour long, I imagine; having roughly 84 waking hours each week, you can squeeze in enough time to have that material down by your next lesson. (see our previous blogs on practicing & scheduling practice time by Matt & Tony)

It’s frustrating & a waste of time to spend your lesson relearning what you did the previous week. If you come to your instructor saying “Check THIS out,” you can build on what you’re learning and progress faster than you can imagine, which is much more fun. Again, we all like fun, right?

attitude:
I’ve had a lot of students carry in things that detract from their learning experience. Granted, sometimes these things are unavoidable; however, most of the time it’s as simple as making the choice to let music be an escape from whatever annoyances or issues life can bring. Again, this will make your lesson more productive & more exciting for you & your instructor.

So, to put a nice bow on things, remember, to save time, money, and have FUN:

Bring your materials.

Have your (awesome) homework done.

Smile! …because your hobby is the coolest, & it also happens to be a great stress reliever, improves brain function, increases test scores, etc, etc.

Check, check, check, and check.

by: Matt Knox

How To Develop A Positive Practice Cycle

Five words that a music teacher never wants to hear: I didn’t practice this week.

The excuses:

Concession – “I swear I will practice twice as hard this week!”

Transference – “It’s my mom’s fault. She makes me go to bed too early!”

Overload – “I didn’t have time to practice. I had to do x, y, and z last week!”

The truth is that letting yourself off the hook when it comes to practicing can lead to serious problems. Not practicing one week leads to not practicing the next, and so on and so forth, until an entire month passes without any progress – or worse – perhaps even regression. Sometimes, the problem becomes so severe that you may give up entirely, believing that your schedule or a perceived lack of talent is too great to overcome.

Why do we do it?

While it is true that some weeks become too hectic to find time to sit down with your instrument, this circumstance is a rarity; the real problem is not time or skill, but attitude. Many students are hesitant to pick up an instrument because the small chunk of free time that presents itself (15 minutes here, 10 minutes there) seems inadequate to make any real progress. Discouraged, the student decides to hold off on practicing when the seemingly daunting task will be more manageable. What we fail to realize is that very few people will be handed a solid hour on a silver platter to sit down with his/her instrument. It just doesn’t happen.

What does happen, though, are those brief moments of freedom we experience throughout the day – the 15 minutes in the morning we spend waiting to leave for school or work, the 20 minutes we waste on the computer after school/work to give our minds a break, the 15 minutes before bed when we try to clear our thoughts for sleep. These are the moments we need to seize and use, the ones we can’t let slip away. They are short, but they add up. Though they may seem too brief to be productive, they aren’t – any time spent with the instrument in your hands will benefit you as a musician, and short burst of concentrated practice are arguably more effective than an hour spent half-practicing/half-noodling in one sitting. Keeping your mind engaged in your homework for the week will keep you focused and sharp, and will also build your confidence in what you are doing – this time, causing a positive cycle of practice that will draw you in instead of push you away.

Stay sharp, stay focused, and take advantage of those small moments. They may be the only thing standing in the way of your becoming the musician you want to be.