Connecting Head and Heart Part II

The first part of helping your child/student connect head and heart is to help them technically master their repertoire.  If your child is 10 years old, that may mean getting them through Suzuki Book 2 with all musical details in tact. (Of course, with the help of your teacher!)  Or, if your student is 14, mastering their repertoire may mean learning a simple Mozart concerto with all three movements memorized.

Scales must be fluid, phrasing smooth, repeats in the music must be solid.  Beginnings and endings must be confident.  Posture must be natural and supportive of the instrument ergonomically.

Connecting Head and Heart

How can we as teachers and parents help our students and children really connect to their art?  This is the preview to a series called Connecting Head and Heart.

The reason we want to give the gift of music at all is to let our children experience the aesthetic, aural, and wonder of this amazing art form.  Many music teachers would argue that the idea of children internalizing the music that they are creating is not possible until they mature into adulthood.  Those of us who are lucky enough to teach and mentor young musicians would respectfully argue that children may indeed emote while playing/performing on their instruments.