Creating Your Personal Repertoire

Some music educators feel it's important to have a playable repertoire ready to play at a moment's notice. Why do we feel this way?

The reason it is important to have a repertoire ready to play (even if the repertoire is Mary Had A Little Lamb and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) is because it is satisfying to the player as well as any listener; and in addition, it keeps the player motivated to continue learning new music.  Think about it--if you've been studying architecture, baseball stats, finance, ballet, or any other activity, the more you build upon your foundation of knowledge, the more excited you are to keep studying.  In music, the way we keep our repertoire list fresh and ready to play, is by reviewing the pieces we've already learned.

 

Reviewing Repertoire

Enjoy the repetition of your songs that you've worked so hard to learn by choosing one or two pieces to review each time you practice.

Notice how you glide right over that fingering that used to be difficult and can direct your thoughts to the phrasing and musicality of the piece.

Luxuriate in the wholeness and beauty of the music.  You have earned the privilege of conveying the composer's wishes because you've mastered the technique of the piece.

If you are helping a child review their pieces, the above concepts will be second nature to them.  Watch as they musically blossom after reviewing their songs over many months and years.

Adult Music Students



Are you an adult music student?  Or, are you thinking of dusting off your old instrument and starting to play again?  What a good idea!

As you know, learning how to play an instrument has so many benefits.  Not only does playing an instrument focus your mind away from all the cares of the world, it fosters your creativity in all aspects of your life.  After you start practicing, you may notice a new calm in your daily awareness, too.  Maybe you will take a different approach with that problem at work.  You will probably be more cheerful as you go about your day and week.  As with children studying music, your focus and attention will be enhanced because you've been cultivating the two during your practice sessions.

Don't forget to have your instrument cleaned up or repaired if it's been awhile since you've played it.  Many music stores offer a repair service or are able to refer you to someone that may help you get it back in good shape.

Invite yourself into the wonderful world of music!

Practicing For A Performance

                    

Sometimes we or our children have a recital or another kind of performance coming up in the future.  You may want to change your thinking about practicing, at least until the performance is over.

Here are some tips for getting ready for a performance:

 

* Spend a litte more time (5 - 30 minutes depending upon your age and ability) warming up with tone and technique exercises. These are the basics for musical performance and offer a foundation of support from which to emote. This may mean spending a bit less time practicing new repertoire and other exercises; but, you may put those "on hold" until after the performance.

* Visualize the performance. Many athletes use this technique to get ready for a game or competition. Close your eyes and imagine the room or recital hall, see yourself sitting in the auditorium getting ready to play, or backstage behind the curtains. Feel yourself walking on stage and taking in the atmosphere--there may be audience members moving, whispering, etc. What will it feel like to take that first breath or strike that first chord?

* Play this simple game while practicing your performance pieces: Start out playing your piece from the beginning but stop suddenly and wait 5 - 10 seconds. Then, start playing again exactly where you left off. Stop again in another random place in the piece and wait 5 - 10 seconds. Start playing again exactly where you left off. This game helps with concentrating/focusing and also helps psychologically reassure you that you would be able to go on playing if you were to make a mistake while performing.

* Remember that the composer of your performance piece wrote it so that you could play it and give others the gift of his or her piece. And, here's hoping it will bring you great joy, as well.

While some of these tips are rather sophisticated and wouldn't be appropriate for a young child, you may draw upon the tips that would work for you and your child.

Good luck!

 

Repetition

What is your response to the word repetition?  Many Americans have a disdain for the action of repeating something.  Whether it be memorizing for a test, flossing teeth everyday, or practicing a phrase in a piece of music, we tend to equate repetition with boredom.  Not all cultures view repetition this way and that is apparent when we compare our children's test scores in this country to test scores in other countries. 

What if we use some psychology when we help our children learn the repetition of tasks and studying?  Shinichi Suzuki, the great Japanese teacher, observed that small children love to repeat words; that they love to learn their "mother tongue".  No matter what country or culture, children love to learn and repeat over and over, the sounds of their language.  And what do the parents of these children do?  They delight, they exclaim, they encourage, they affirm these children as they are learning.  It really is as simple as that.

Benefits Of  Repetition In Music

*It leads to a gateway of understanding a piece of music.  Once the student gets beyond the technical aspects and hurdles, they are free to interpret and creatively soar

*The act of practicing repetition of fingerings, measures, phrases easily translates to other forms of repetition--whether studying for a test or learning a different language

*Because the brain and the body are engaged, the student's right brain is communicating with the left brain

 

 Tips For Practicing and Enjoying Repetition

*Walking around the house while repeating a phrase or song on your instrument.  Bathrooms are a really fun place to play because of acoustics

* Set a number goal of repetitions before you begin practicing--this is much like counting the number of jumps while jump roping.  Then, when accomplishing the number goal, yell, "yay for me!"
* Use an abacus to move a stone over the wire everytime a repetition is made.  It's pleasing to touch the stone and hear it move
 

 Please remember as your children learn to play their instrument, learn to read music, learn to count music, you must always encourage them, in a specific and honest way.



Storytelling With Instruments

 

Listening and Interacting



Here's a fun idea for kids of all ages.  Tell a story in a musical way by using maracas, triangles, cowbells, rainsticks, etc.  You or someone else may write an original story or maybe you will just want to use a story from a well loved book. (i.e. The Ugly Duckling,  The Three Little Pigs)  Depending on the age of the children, you alone may want to use the instruments while you are reading the story; or, if the kids are able to listen, wait, and then play the instruments when cued, they may play the instruments, as well.

Some of the original stories I've written involved rattlesnakes (maracas), ponies galloping (tone blocks), and rain (rainsticks).  Kids also enjoy the interaction of helping tell the story by laughing on cue, calling for a lost child in the story, and cheering on the hero.

Have fun, stay on the beat, and keep it musical!



Activities For Young Children While Listening To Classical Music

You may find yourself in the position of needing some ideas while working/playing/teaching young children. 

Here is an article I wrote for the Minnesota Public Radio website in early March of 2015.  It's rather long so I'll just post the link so you may read it at your leisure!

www.classicalmpr.org/story/2015/03/02/activities-children-classical-music

Keeping The Enthusiasm For Playing Your Instrument







  Whether you are helping a youngster learn a musical instrument or are trying to learn to play one yourself, there may be times where you wonder if it's worth it.  Sometimes it is just plain old difficult to get excited and revved up about practicing.  This is an age old problem and no musician, amateur or professional, is exempt from this feeling.  How can one stay positive and enthusiastic about consistently practicing?

• Music is infectious in a good way so make sure and have lots of it playing on your radio, mobile device, and videos.  Your choice and/or your child's choice of music in the air will always remind you of why you are pursuing playing an instrument
• Don't forget to allow yourself and family the luxury of live music--whether it's a concert, musical, or opera
• Remember to congratulate your kiddo and yourself on all the progress you've made.  In this day and age it's easy to turn on old videos/DVD's to compare your playing in the past years compared to now.  The encouragement of comparison is so helpful as well as the humor of seeing old hairstyles and clothes styles from your younger years
• Rome was not built in a day.  There is no reason to put pressure on your child or yourself to over-practice just because you somehow think you should practice a certain amount of time.  Joyful practice, once started in your practice session, has momentum to keep you practicing all the music you love, so let that be your guide.  When it's no longer pleasurable that day or you have other responsibilities to attend to, please give yourself a pat on the back and be done
• Similar to what is going on in this picture: talk to other students, parents, friends, teachers about feeling unenthusiastic about practicing.  Ask them what they do when they are not feeling excited about practicing