What Is "Practice" to a 5 Year Old?

     Practice -- repeat something to get better, to do something repeatedly in order to improve performance in a sport, art or hobby.   Now, you and I know what practicing means but what does a five year old think practicing means??  Well, in reference to piano, they simply think that sitting down at the piano and playing it is practice.  Now there is nothing wrong with this as long as the parent, at some point, helps their child play the songs and exercises that have been assigned to them that week.  But I have discovered that parents either don't know what practicing is or do not have the time, energy or interest in helping their child practice.
     What I find amazing is that, most parents think that their child will like piano enough to just practice on their own. NOT SO! Now there are a few out there that once they have taken a couple years of lessons, become very passionate about it and will practice on their own.  However, for the majority of children, you have to ask them to practice, just like homework, brushing their teeth, and cleaning up before dinner.  And the younger children, need one on one guidance through that "practice" time, just like they would with their homework or sports practice.
     So, how do you get your child to understand what "practice" is??  Well, every child is different and responds differently to suggestions, ideas, and tactics.  But, here are a few that I have found to work over the years.    Get your child a small calender with their favorite characters on it.  Have him/her put a check or an X on every day that he plays for ten minutes on the songs and exercises assigned during that week.  Be sure to let your child know that after that ten minutes, they can play whatever they would like.  Some want to make up their own songs, some want to play favorite songs they have memorized from a previous lesson, whatever it may be, let them play away.  As the teacher I reward my students with stickers for each day they practice if they practice every day of the week, but if your teacher doesn't do this, then you can be the one to award the stickers.
     Another trick I have found helpful, is to make a chart at the top of every song or exercise assigned.  Seven rows across for each day of the week, and four rows down for the numbers 1-4.  This is to keep track of how many times the song has been played each day.  If you want your child to play it more than 4 times each day, then add more lines down in the chart.  The child then gets to check off a box each time they play the song or exercise.  This can also be rewarded with stickers, or with TV time or game time, or whatever fun thing that seems to motivate your child.
     I have some parents that have taken up piano to be able to help their child with it easier.  If you are a parent that can play some piano or are learning to play piano, get your child to be the "teacher" and you be the student.  Purposely playing it incorrectly, or sitting incorrectly, or acting out, to make your child correct you.  Have them show you the "correct" way so that you can "learn" how to do it correctly.  You can also have your child put on a concert for the family.  One night after dinner, have them play all the songs they have been working on and some of their favorites, while you and the family are the audience.  Even more encouragement and excitement can be given if you video tape the "performance".  Children love to be praised and the more you give them, the more apt they are to continue the behavior they are being praised for.
     One last one that is extremely helpful for the younger children is to talk to their fingers.   So instead of pointing out what is wrong, ask your child if you can talk to their fingers.  Then address the issue to the fingers.  "Now listen fingers, these are the notes each of you is supposed to be on."  and place the fingers on the correct notes.  Then when one of them plays the incorrect thing.  Address that specific finger. "Middle finger, you have to listen here to Charley (your child's name) and let the ring finger play that note, it's not your turn to play yet."  Then get your child involved in talking to their fingers as well.  Make it a game, which fingers are going to behave and listen this time around.  Then of course, rewards for when they do all behave and play it correctly.
     The rewards for practicing are so great!  For them, the feeling of accomplishment, the joy of being able to play their favorite songs, the value of having music with them the rest of their life.  And for you, the joy of knowing that you gave them the value of music for the rest of their life, and being able to hear something other than Old McDonald and Chopsticks being played on the piano!!
pianobycheri.com

The Real Reason to Take Music Lessons

     I was reading a blog today on a piano teacher's view on articles such as Studying Music Makes You Smarter. http://colorinmypiano.com  I thought that her viewpoint was quite interesting and I have to say, I very much agreed with it.  Anyone that deals with music of any kind online has seen the articles and posts that suggest studying music can improve your cognitive and social skills.  Well, I have read these articles and posts and not really put much thought into them.  The point this blogger was making was -- Did you take piano or any music lessons as a child to get smarter??  Do we as teachers teach piano and music because we want to make people smarter??    Well, the obvious answer to both of those questions for me was NO!
     So, that got me to thinking about why I did take piano when I was a kid and why I stuck with it.  I see so many kids come and go from my studio, and it's so disappointing to me, how was I not one of those kids?  What was different about me or my teacher that I stuck with it?  To help me jog my memory, I called my mom to find out about my practice routine and her involvement in it.  Well, much to my surprise, she was only involved in practice time for maybe a year.  So, I was practicing on my own at age 6.  Wow! Now back to the question, why did I take piano and stick with it?  Well, because she put it so accurately, I will quote Joy Morin. "I believe in music for music’s sake.  I believe that there is something magical about learning how to create beautiful sounds.  I believe music is a wonderful and powerful way for humans to communicate feelings, emotions, and stories with others." 
     I truly do believe that music is magical!  When I was a kid music was not only beautiful, it was an escape into a world that allowed me to speak without saying anything, to be sad without crying, to be angry without yelling, to be happy without laughing, to be frustrated without screaming.  I loved this world, and because I was not over booked and over stimulated like most of the kids today, I had the time and the energy to sit down at the piano and cloak myself in this world.

     Now, as a piano teacher, I get to see what that magic does for a child, through the eyes of an adult.  One of the best things a parent can do is give their child music lessons of some kind and help them through that first tough year of learning enough skill to be able to start enjoying the music that they are making.  One of the main reasons I decided to teach was to be able to pass on to someone else what my piano teacher gave me as a child -- another world, a beautiful world, a magical world that doesn't exist anywhere else outside of music.
     So, does music make you smarter?  Maybe.  Will it benefit other parts of your life?  Probably, but who cares!!  The real reason to take piano or music lessons of any kind is to be enriched by the beauty of music.  To be able to step away from the world around us and be able to create a beautiful musical escape.  And if you are being honest with yourself, that IS the real reason why took music lessons and now want your child to.
pianobycheri.com

Move your Hands, Move your Feet, and Them some ...

     I have recently gotten involved with the local Dance Hall here in Kittery, Maine.  They offer classes such as tap, belly dance, ballroom, african dance, hoop dance, and others, as well as, hand drum classes.  And they also bring in wonderful music and dance artists to perform on the weekends.  thedancehallkittery.org
     I discovered the little venue from a Spot Light article in the local paper.  They were having a performance featuring Guinean dancers and drummers.  I love African sounds and dance, so I grabbed my friend and we went.  This was last October.  The performance was amazing, and on top of that I discovered that this little venue right around the corner from me offers great classes at a very reasonable price!
     Well, as I've been able, I have taken classes there.  The drumming class is so invigorating.  The teacher, Namory Keita, is very patient.  He is great at working with drummers from any level, and even as a beginner I felt like I was able to learn the song that was being taught to us.  What I underestimated was just how sore my hands would be after that first class.  WOW!  It really takes some getting used to.  I liken it to the first time you ride a bicycle as an adult or the first time you take a spin class.  Your butt is very sore when you get off, but after a few times you don't even notice it =).
     Now, I've never taken any dance classes, unless you count the zumba classes at the gym, but I love dance.  And, African dance intrigues me, in fact so much so that I finally decided to join a class.  I thankfully picked a good night to start, because there were several other first timers there.  The teacher, Liz Fowler, is amazing!  She is joyful and exuberant, and takes you through every little step.  She dances in a really great medium ground, so that you don't feel like you have to kill yourself to keep up with her.  I got to stomp my feet, flail my arms, shake my butt, play drums, connect with neighbors, scream and holler, and get my sweat on!!  How can you go wrong with that?
     So this past weekend they did another performance featuring Guinean dancers and drummers.  It becomes an all day event, because they also do drum and dance workshops throughout the day.  I said, why not, I might as well take advantage of the artists while they are here in town, so I signed up for ALL of them.  Now, in hindsight I may have been a little over zealous.  I don't think I put much thought into what my body would be saying to 2, hour and a half dance classes back to back.  And clearly I underestimated the amount of energy it would take to do all the work shops.
     But, I started the day gung ho, with a drum workshop.  Ismael Bangoura was our teacher, and he is so much fun!  Always smiling, making you forget you are concentrating, and making you smile too, his energy is contagious.  If I had had him as a teacher when I was little, I would have wanted to drum 24/7.  His son was there drumming too, and he was better than all of us in the circle.  Two amazing talents right here in little Kittery, Maine.

     My first dance class of the day was with Sidiki Sylla, Now, don't let his age affect what you think this man is capable of.  Ten minutes into the warm up and I'm already short of breath and sweat is poring off me in rivers!  OMG I still have 80 minutes left of this class!  Unfortunately for me, I was in a room filled with people that have been taking African dance classes for quite a while now.  They picked up this dance the first time every time!  That left me in the back row, flailing my arms in the completely wrong direction, going right when I should be going left, standing up when I should be squatted down, and completely lost, but still sweating my ass off!
     Well, needless to say, I did not make it to the last dance class.  But, I did come back for the performance that night.  And it was everything that was promised.  Liz Fowler's classes got to show off what they have been learning, the Guinean dancers and drummers got to give us a little taste of what the celebrations in Guinea would be like, and the audience got to participate with singing and dancing.  Overall, a very exciting, joyful evening in the Dance Hall, that I hope all the neighbors got to hear, because the drumming was spectacular! pianobycheri.com
 

Owl Craze Insanity

     I have somehow been unwittingly sucked into the owl craze that is in full swing right now.  How can a beautiful, scary, head swiveling, over sized eyed, meat eating bird become a fixation for us??  Who woke up one morning and said I think I will spread that word that it is cool to go mad over owls?  I want to be that person!  I want to be the person that creates the next CRAZE!  Hmmm what shall I pick, ooh, how about the dik-dik.  Don't you want to decorate your baby's room with dik-dik? I mean who wouldn't like a miniature deer/antelope decorating their house?   Way cuter than an owl I think.  But who am I to say what pop culture will choose to fixate on next.
     So, owls it is.  I'm not sure exactly how I got sucked into the craze, but I was surfing the net one day looking for inspiration for a new painting and I found a picture of an owl with a scarf around it. So I chuckled a bit over it, and then realized that if I thought it was cute, other people would too, and that translates into sales.  So I did a painting of an owl with a scarf around it.
     Well, now, I can't just have one owl painting, I have to do a couple more so that I have a collection.  Back to the internet I go for owl inspiration.  OMG, talk about owl overload! Now, I knew that they were popular because of working in retail, but Jiminy Cricket, I had no idea to what extent. So I'm surfing and saving pictures for future inspiration and I realized that I've saved like 25 pictures!  What am I doing?  How did I get so sucked into owls?  How can there be so many cute pictures of owls out there?
     Well, with more than plenty of inspiration, I start painting.  I added two more owl paintings to the first one, to create an owl collection, that is pretty darn cute, if I say so myself. They are now on Etsy for purchase. http://www.etsy.com/shop/artbycheri
along with some of my other art.
     But, now, I have been commissioned to paint a baby owl suitable to give a mom at a baby shower.   So, back on the internet I go to look at more owls!!  I think it might be impossible to avoid this owl insanity. As long as I don't start buying any of it, I might be safe.  I'm still all for the dik-dik, anyone with me?? Together we can start our own craze over miniature antelope.! pianobycheri.com

moe. The band that brought me the love of my life!

     So, I have been trying to figure out where I want to take this blog, or maybe where the blog wants to take me.  My crazy life stories, don't happen on a daily basis, although I feel like they do most of the time.  But, what do I really want to write about?  What do I really love?  Well, that's easy, MUSIC!  But do I know enough about music to write about it?  Ok, so I'm not an expert in it, but what's to say I don't have an opinion about it that someone might want to hear?  And music is such a broad topic that there would be plenty of material out there to keep me and my readers interested.  The tricky thing is where to start?
    Well, I happen to be badly missing my boyfriend today.  He is away for the week, yes I know it's only Tuesday!  He is visiting friends in Vermont, and going the moe. shows in Burlington this week.  My initiation with moe. was at a New Year's Eve concert, which incidentally is where I met my boyfriend.  moe. for those of you not familiar with them, is an American jam band, formed in 1989.  The music as described by the guitar player is  "...an amalgamation of a wide variety of the history of rock, all regurgitated and recycled through the eyes, ears, hands, whatever of the guys in our band and all of that with a sense of adventure, a sense of humor, also a constant desire to push the envelope. All in this arena of taking chances, improvising live, and making things up on the spot."  
     As with any jam band, the magic happens during the live shows.  In fact, moe. was smart enough to include the audience in their album THE CONCH.  The first two weeks of recording for this album, took place in the State Theatre in Portland, ME.  Then two live shows at the same venue were also recorded, including mass crowd participation that made its way to this album.  But THE CONCH is not their only album, DITHER received a 4-star review from Rolling Stone Magazine in 2001, and WORMWOOD also received a 4-star review in Blender Magazine in 2003.  But ask any of their fans, "moe.rons." and they will all tell you that no matter how good the albums are, the live show is indescribably better.
    moe. live, well that is an experience you have to see, hear, and feel for your self in order to grasp is fully.  It definitely captures all your senses and has a way of settling deep inside of you.  The music will take you on a journey if you let it.  It will excite you, amaze you, and give you reason to dance.  The light show that goes with the music adds that extra punch to go with the sensory journey.   The crowd at a moe. show is all about good vibes.  Strangers talking to each other, sharing with each other, dancing with your neighbor even if you just met them, a community of strangers coming together to celebrate music.
     You can find out more about moe. and their music on http://www.moe.org/ .  Or if you maybe want to go see them this week at Highter Ground in Burlington, VT you can get tickets at https://higherground.frontgatetickets.com/ .