Our March 4th Recital is coming up next weekend! Here is what you need to know.
Mandatory Rehearsal to the Recital - Group Class on Tuesday February 27th at 5:00 (extra rehearsals may be scheduled)
Arrival Time - 1:30
Bring pocket change to buy Raffle Tickets & Candy Grams!
Dress Code - Comfortable
Location - (as always) Siloam United Church
This recital will feature Solo Performances as well as three Graduating Students. I'm looking forward to see who wins this years Magic Rosin and Mini Violin Lego!
Fundraising for Amy's Violin School starts today! Although, winners won't be chosen until the end of the recital on March 4th, you can check out what you could win this year at lesson and start sending your Candy Grams to friends in group class (or family members!).
Candy Grams & Raffle Tickets are:
$1 each or 6/$5
Parents - have something that you would be able to donate to this years raffle (musical or non?) Please talk to me about it.
Here are some of the important ways in which this fundraising is used:
covering accompanist
fees for all students
lowering or covering the cost of extra events
purchasing instruments
and materials for group and fiddle classes
having musical prizes
available to inspire hard work
the possibility of bringing in guest speakers or performers
The act of sending candy grams I think is so simple and yet can bring together friendships and connections in this small musical community that can last a lifetime.
This year, every student will receive one 'free' candy gram to send to the student of their choosing.
I hope every family will participate in sending a few more to those who they have spent time with in group class or even to family members who will be at the recital supporting everyone's musical efforts.
Learning any new skill depends on small steps. Lesson time is spent determining how to break down practice spots so we can isolate the problem, correct the problem, learn a new skill and then master the new skill.
Sometimes in lesson the steps seem obvious and sometimes they don't. Sometimes, more often than not, we see the small steps but don't acknowledge them, wanting to just be able to do it right the first time, from the start. Who needs to practice something that you can get by with? It may not be perfect but it sounds close enough right?
Why should we settle for being adequate? Why should we only do things so long as they are easy even if it means sacrificing what is true? Why can't we just stop and do the few minutes of work so we can actually play the music and produce the skill correctly? It's our lazy human nature I suppose, and it is internally hard to battle especially as we get older.
So what brought this discussion about today? Well, I saw a video about teaching your cat to jump through an arm loop and I felt very discouraged at climbing this morning and tried to come up with a solution. The randomness of my brain...
So I've been climbing off and on for a few years now. I'm finally in a good routine of attending the gym after having Maggie, but each time I go, I get discouraged by not being able to complete the easiest routes and then don't even want to practice them because I feel like everyone is judging me and I beat myself up that I should be better than I am. It's a vicious circle.
This evening, I saw a video about how to train your cat to jump through your arms made into a loop. They broke the skill into 6 EASY steps. 6 EASY steps for 1 skill. 6 EASY STEPS FOR ONE SKILL...!!!
When I break a violin practice spots into 1 or 2 small steps in lesson, I get groans, possibly some eye rolls. We all want a short cut, we all want it to just magically work.
What I love about the cat training video is that it's not just 6 steps, it's 6 EASY steps. EASY! When we break things down, we mean to make our lives easier. Yes, we are asking ourselves to commit time to the steps and therefore time to developing the skill. But isn't the result of achieving that skill what should give us satisfaction? Adrenaline? The need to learn and do more?
Sometimes, even when we break a practice spot into one or two steps, the steps can still be hard. If this is the case, why not break it down more until the steps are easy. Don't you think 6 easy steps will take less time to master than 1 or 2 still challenging steps?
Couldn't we apply the process of small, easy steps to any area of our life that we want to improve on?
So I'm breaking my climbing practice into steps.
Photo Courtesy of Junction Climbing
Step 1: is to go and do the job that I set out to do and not worry about what anyone else is thinking about (mentally prepare). Step 2: I'll try to master what is easy by repeating what is easy - Doing all the routes I can do easily multiple times (review). Step 3: Take a breather and watch someone else do a route that I want to work on (learning through observation) Step 4: Pick 1 or 2 more advanced routes and determine what the problem spot is. Work the problem through repetitions, observation and isolation (practice). Step 5: Try anything else that looks fun (ending the lesson on a high note).
Is this not how we organize our practice? We need to practice for ourselves and not for anyone else. We review what we already know so that we can become more proficient. We practice our advanced repertoire repeating and isolating difficult passages. We end our practice on a high note by doing something different or playing a piece that we love. All we have to do is think about the steps that we know will lead us to success and implement them. I've been back to the gym a few times now with plan in hand and what a difference there is leaving the gym. Discouragement is gone and I feel like I've actually accomplished something even though I'm not conquering the advanced routes.
Step by step is not hard work. It's just doing the work. It's about not accepting things as they are but always striving to do things better. Reflect on how you approach new skills or solve problems in your life. What small EASY steps can you take to be a better student, a better parent, a better human being.
Strive to be better. (I really needed this self talk - thanks for listening!)
Thank you so much to the group of parents who made it out to last nights Parent Ed Event. My public speaking skills are a continued work in progress as I always feel my plans and rehearsals of my talks seem more profound than how they come across in the moment. Regardless, I really appreciate you all taking the time to listen to the things I have to say and share, and sharing some of your own thoughts and ideas. That's really what these events are all about. To those of you unable to attend last nights event as well as those who did, here is a recap of what we talked about.
First, we watched this video from SECE Teacher in Toronto Lenni Jabour. Everything that we are trying to establish in the Small Steps Music Class for children 0-3 are the same concepts we are encouraging in the violin studio (just on a different cuteness level!)
I am so excited to be running a full Small Steps music class for Parents, Babies and Toddlers Thursdays at 10:30 at my place. If you know of any new babies or toddlers, please tell the moms and dads about this great opportunity - for more information CLICK HERE!
Keep your eyes peeled for Group Class dates as they will be somewhat sporadic over the next two months because of Family Day, March Break and Easter. I don't like having this inconsistency, but looking ahead, next years schedule seems to level out a bit. Please don't head out to Group Class before confirming that there is a class!
The use of electronics in the lesson is rising. Using voice memos has become a great tool to send home exactly how a practice chunk should be played eliminating things lost in translation. The use of tuner and metronome apps are also going to be needed as we head into our upcoming challenges of working on intonation and tempo. Get organized and create a music folder on your devices that hold all your practice essentials. If you haven't already, check out the cool features of the app Anytune.
Everyone received the AVS Fund annual report (please ask me for a copy if needed). I am asking for donations (musical or non) to this years fundraising at the March 4th Recital. If there is something convenient that you could contribute, whether it's a donation from work (gift cards?), a musical trinket, or a fun kid item you have laying around. We've had some beautiful homemade musical art contributed in the past or even an older student donating babysitting hours or practice time for younger students. I would love to hear of any ideas you might have to enhance this years raffle.
There is a lot in store for today's class with games that include posture check in's, listening for mistakes and knowing what the practice spots are in our Suzuki pieces.
Upcoming events include:
An early PARENT ED Event NEXT WEEK on January 30th.
Fiddle Class Registration is also available and due February 3rd.
Our next Recital is Sunday March 4th at 2:00.
We have a couple challenges at class which include the following:
What does INTONATION mean?
Do you know all the bowings to Two Grenadiers?
We will be focusing on these over the next few weeks.
I'm also checking in with everyone and their LISTENING HABITS. There is such a change in how we listen to music. From records, to tapes, to CD's, to everything being digital. How do you listen to music and how do you make it convenient to listen to music everyday?
I have been working on getting into a listening routine with Maggie which has consisted on making sure our music is available on multiple devices and organized into playlists. Then it's picking consistent times of the day that certain listening will get done. We have our classical Suzuki music that we listen to daily (normally at lunch time), our baby class music that we listen to in the car as it helps when we are feeling fussy, and then new music that we try out in the evenings to see if we like it.
SPOTIFY RECOMMENDATION:
If you use Spotify, this weeks recommendation is to check out Liz Carroll's album Lake Effect. Maggie was dancing around to this last night... too cute!
That's all the updates for this week. Happy Practicing!
Our first AVS Fund performance opportunity was a success!
(AND on a side note - PLEASE REMEMBER there is NO GROUP CLASS TOMORROW Jan. 16th)
On Wednesday December 13th, a few students joined me to see The Next Generation Leahy perform at the London Music Hall. I think everyone who attended left with motivation and a sense of possibility. Children learn so much from one another and it is such a unique opportunity for young children to see other young children perform on such a grand scale. It also goes to show really what living and breathing music daily can do to our abilities. The few minutes we set aside in our lives for music is just the start. Under different circumstances and different lifestyles, the object of daily practice turns into something spectacular. Get inspired to practice and watch below some of what we saw back in December!
I am on the look out for other great opportunities to send students too. Let me know if you come across anything in the area. In the meantime, keep listening to the music you love and invest some time in checking out some incredible youtube artists (such as Lindsey Sterling, The Piano Guys, Bailey Pelkman) to keep your motivation going through this dreadful cold.
The kids are back at school... sort of... I'm assuming many were left at home today. We've lost the dreadful cold but the snow has been constant. The magic of snow always dwindles as the holidays come to a close and the next few months just seem to drag on. It's hard to pull ourselves through this time of year but filling the day with things we enjoy and love is the best we can do to get through.
For me, this starts with music. We are going to be talking lots about listening as we get back into lessons. However you listen to music, get it playing throughout your entire house. Listen to what you know and love and listen to something entirely different. Listen while you work, while the kids play, while you have your meals and when you just need to sit and relax for a couple minutes.
Next, plan some fun things to do in the week. Especially if you have little ones, even on the worst weather days, getting out for just a few minutes can make all the difference. It's important to have things to look forward to in a week, for ourselves and for kids.
With that in mind, lessons will be up and running again next week so I look forward to seeing everyone back at their lessons starting January 15th and Group Class on January 23rd.
Registration is also available for
Small Steps Music Class & Fiddle Class!
Small Steps Music Class is back for two Winter/Spring Sessions running Thursdays at 10:30.
For more information CLICK HERE and to register CLICK HERE!
Winter Fiddle Class will start back on Saturday February 3rd from 1:00-2:00. CLICK HERE for class dates and to register.
All class registration links can always be found in the right column on the website.
