On Falling in and out of Love with Music

Last night, one of my students came in to announce that "piano just isn't fun anymore" and that he wanted to quit. His mother and I pressed for a few more details. His family and I aren't convinced that he really wants to quit. He regularly picks challenging pieces one or more grades above his level, he signed up for band and is enjoying it. I think he just fell out of love with music because now, he realizes that he has to work.

It's a plateau many students hit once they reach a certain level. This student whizzed through the beginner levels. Now, he's learning that it takes weeks, if not months, to master a song. Gone are the days when it only takes a few days to whip something into shape. When students hit this plateau and realize that they have to work harder and longer to get results, they become discouraged.

We've made changes last year to his programme to incorporate a much wider mix of music, which he chose for the most part (with just a little guidance from me). Last night, I realized that I'll need to start throwing some easy quick studies his way - some easy conquests. There are a couple more students I should try that on as well, but I digress.

His mother and I talked about how he will always find that there are aspects of his job, school, etc. that he dislikes or hates. Music is no different. The trick is finding the balance, between the fun songs and the "meat and potatoes" songs and studies, between repertoire and technical exercises, between performing and practicing.

Before wrapping up the conversation, I told him that music is his gift. We can help him to a degree, but he has to take responsibility also. If music isn't fun anymore, he must also seek ways to make it fun again - or to ask for ideas.

Hopefully, he'll take his parents and my words to heart and find ways to fall in love with music again.

Here's one way to fall in love with music again. Read Chris Foley's article Find Your Repertoire.

(c) 2007 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Music & Life

I recently went to a group meditation session and this video was shown prior to meditating.It's an excellent reminder that the "point" is the journey, not the finish line, in life and in music.

Enjoy the video:

(c) 2007 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Getting into the Swing of Things

September flew by oh so quickly! Maestro and I are gradually catching up on the admin end of things. I am still behind on my bookkeeping, which is nothing new. At least, I am finally done all 36 year-plans for my students. Writing four articles that are due on Tuesday had to take a back seat to transferring my website to a new server as I was getting regular bandwidth overage messages. While I was at it, I decided I may as well do the redesign I was planning to do in the summer.

Maestro is enjoying computer lab with the students. He likes to watch Beethoven Baseball as much as the students like to play it. He's also developing a sticker fetish, which is not a good thing. We'll have to work on that. He thinks the sticker tray is a tug-o-war toy.

This month, we can settle down into sinking our teeth into new repertoire (my students' and my own). I can't wait to try all my new books, which I got for the Contemporary Idioms program.

But enough of work. Have a great weekend and a Happy Thanksgiving!

The revamped website should be live within the next 24 hours. Happy exploring!

(c) 2007 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

Rhythm Fun @ Pattern Block Rock

Now that Maestro, the students and I are starting to settle into our school-year routine (right down to the "Back to School Cold"), I have a bit of time to resurrect the Friday Fun Links.

This week's Friday Fun Link is Pattern Block Rock by David Tulga. Each coloured block is worth a certain number of beats. Create a rhythm using the blocks (make sure it adds up to the correct number of beats in the time signature!) and then listen to it.

There's a bit of math involved. But then, there's a lot of math involved in music.

(c) 2007 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.

The Benefits to Summer Music Camp

It's so hard to think about practicing in the summer. Even teachers go through this "I don't want to practice, I want to play!" phase. But there are ways to keep music practice in the summer quite fun. Composing and improvising are a couple of ways. Summer Music Camp is another.

Here is a handy article, citing the benefits of Summer Music Camp.

For a sampling of summer music camps in North America, click here.

In the Calgary Area, visit the Calgary Arts Summer School Association.

(c) 2007 by Musespeak(tm), Calgary, AB, Canada. All rights reserved.