The Practice Nest

Many a-time when the subject of 'music practice' is brought up, the immediate focus is on the frequency and time spent on this activity; for parents, it's almost always on how to get actively involved and how to include it in their children’s daily schedules.

This time round, the focus will be on the Practice Nest J - an environment that is conducive to regular, and (this is key!) enjoyable home practice.

I love the term “nest” because it immediately brings to my mind a cosy area in the house where I enjoy spending time. 

Below are 4 tips I came across (on the teachpianotoday website) which can help us achieve this, especially for our children: -

1.      When choosing a location for your piano, select a space that is lived-in, welcoming, and well-lit. Keep it close to “the action” but not in the action. Your children will gravitate to the piano more often if it is in a central place in your home. Avoid bedrooms, basements and other “put away” places. Feeling shut-off from the family while practicing will inevitably lead to a reluctance to spend time on the piano.

Consider the noise factor – not only from the piano, but also from your family’s day-to-day activities. Your children want to be close by, but not competing with the Tv, dishwashers and washing machines. J

2.      Make the space warm and welcoming. Your children will be encouraged to spend upwards of 30 minutes every day in this space. Is it a happy place to be for this amount of time? Is it a cheerful and welcoming space that will encourage your child to visit the piano often for their own enjoyment? Small adjustments can make a world of difference e.g.  adequate lighting, a comfortable bench at the correct height, flowers…

3.      Ensure your children have all required materials at hand. If the practice notes are away from the piano, chances are that’s where they will remain J Help your children put together a small basket or bin of everything they may need for home practice – pens, pencils, highlighters, post-it notes, stickers. These will give the children a sense of organization that will spill over into their practice habits. Clear out old sheet music and books they no longer use. Minimize knickknacks and other distractions from the top of the piano. Having the books your children need at their fingertips reliably ensures that no time is spent searching for lost or crumpled music. Get into the habit of placing the piano books here immediately after each piano lesson so they are ready and waiting. 

4.      Make the “Practice Nest” a communal space. Children of any age appreciate company while they practice. Having a chair, couch, beanbag chair or pillows nearby where family members will be inclined to sit, listen and enjoy the music immediately sets the tone for happy time on the piano. Encourage siblings to stop by and listen quietly, and allow yourself even just 5 minutes to sit and listen with undivided attention each time your children practice. Many memorable moments of laughter will be found in this “nest.”

Plus one more! J Adding small surprises to your children’s practice nest (flowers, a hand-written note of encouragement, a small treat, a new sticker pad, a special pen, etc) helps to show that you value the time they are spending on the piano and that you appreciate their effort and dedication.

One giant step towards making the piano a vital part of your children’s day-to-day life (and not a requirement) is making the piano area a place your child looks forward to visiting.

My own apartment has limited space but my digital piano space is my favourite area, and even if I weren’t a piano teacher, I would never have to think twice about “visiting” and spending time in that corner J

Cheers!

Lola :-) 

Legato Singing - EMG Reed

Legato Singing

Everyone has enough natural feeling and imagination, if they are not afraid to use them in a song.

Sing the words as if you meant them; sing the melody as if you loved it, rising with it in a crescendo as it rises, and falling with it as it falls. Sincerity and simplicity, not performance!

In a good melody all the notes are equally important; each one must tell; it’s no use giving yourself up to the notes you like best and leaving the rest to look after themselves J So observe the notes which are given to small syllables. It is the neglect of these which lets a melody down. Now, it is the vowels which carry the melody: therefore sing on your vowels and through your consonants. The consonants must not stop the melody. Be very particular that final m’s, n’s and ng’s are not made into stoppages. You see, vowels are the sounds we sing on, and consonants are interruptions. (If you doubt it, pick out the vowel sounds of each word in a song, and sing the tune to those only, in a continuous stream, omitting all the consonants. Then try to sing to the consonant sounds only, and see what happens! J )

Apply legato singing with diligence to every song for a long time to come, for it is the foundation of all good singing. J

Breathing In Singing ~ Music and Youth

Breathing in Singing

Nature meant everyone to sing well, so the first point to remember about singing is that it is a natural thing, like speaking. Sing naturally and easily always, and you will be on the road to good singing. Allow yourself to become artificial, stiff, uncomfortable, and you are on the road to bad singing.

But even speech, which seems natural to us, needs practice if it is to be understood by other people. We have all to learn to control our tongue, our lips, and so on, although that control may come to us unconsciously. Other things which are natural still need practice. It is a very natural thing to hit the floor with a hammer or a stick, but it needs considerable practice before we can hit an exact spot or a special nail with a hammer. It is not greater force, greater effort that we want. It is just the knowledge of how to control and manage the power we have.

How Breathing Helps Expression

Have you never noticed that when you feel more strongly than usual, whether it is joy, indignation, sympathy, or surprise, you take a deeper breath than usual, and that you voice becomes at once more expressive than it ordinarily is, and that it expresses just those things which you were feeling when you took the breath?

Well, that’s just what should happen when you sing.  You must enter into the feelings which the poet and the composer have expressed, and take in a deep breath as if you yourself were in that very place or moment expressed in the song.

Breath in singing is not only the motive power that keeps the voice in action, but the power which makes it expressive. If you feel, and breathe as you feel, your voice will express what you feel to all who hear you. J

ONCE UPON A TIME ~ Music and Youth

ONCE UPON A TIME - A Little Tale with a Big Meaning

Once upon a time a man who loved books came across a story which charmed him very much. So much did it appeal to him that he wanted all his friends to know about it and to share his delight. He invited them to his house and asked them to listen to the story whilst he read it.

But somehow or other the charm of the story was lost, for his friends showed no enthusiasm whatsoever.

And the reason for his failure was that he could not speak properly and distinctly. Some of the words he pronounced wrongly, sometimes he ran the words and sentences into each other, sometimes he spoiled the meaning of the phrases by confusing the punctuation marks, and his voice was unmusical and expressionless.

As soon as the man realised what was lacking he started learning the art of Elocution, and in due time he called his friends together and read the story to them again. This time they shared his enthusiasm and the story lived in their memories :-)

♫   ♫   ♫

How many students can see their own image in the likeness of the man just described? J

Again and again we meet young musicians who are quick to appreciate the beauty of a piece of music, but their enjoyment is marred by the fact that they do not bring out the poetry of the work.

The notes are inaccurate, phrasing done poorly, the beauty blurred by thoughtless pedalling, and neither is the touch varied so as to give beauty and expression to the music. Consequently the playing has neither life nor rhythm and the listener is unable to appreciate the music at its true value.

To make the mind and the fingers work together in perfect concord needs careful exercise and practice of little details, for it is the little details that make all the difference between good and bad playing. J J