There are many components to learning a musical instrument such as learning about rhythm, learning to read music, interpreting musical terms which are usually in foreign languages, understanding different styles from different periods of music, learning about composers and how a composition comes into existence, learning about how to play one’s instrument of choice, that is to say, what one has to do physically to create sounds.  All of these parts are important in order to understand and appreciate music and be able to play an instrument such as the piano.

But encompassing all of these parts is the phenomenon of sound.  Music is something we hear and its power to move us and impact us comes to us through listening.  But too often the actual listening to music is forgotten in the discipline of trying to master an instrument.  We have music all around us in shopping areas, amusement parks and even at gas stations!  We can hardly escape hearing music but that fact of our modern lives only makes real listening even more challenging.

So how can parents help their children who are studying an instrument to actually  listen to music?  Here are some suggestions:

1.) Only play music when you can really pay attention to it- avoid having it as simply background noise.  2.) When you are choosing to listen to music ask yourself or dialogue with your child about how the music makes you feel- Energetic? Introspective? Dancelike? Smooth and Gliding or Jagged and Aggressive? Peaceful? Turbulent? Majestic?  This is also a good opportunity to  expand your child’s emotional language and enlarge the types of emotional labels they use.  Music gives us the vehicle to move beyond just happy or sad. 3.) Listen to the types of instruments being used to create the music.  What do they sound like?  Brassy? Mellow? Rich and Full? Sharp and Piercing? 4.) Does the music tell a story?  If there are words do the words and music match? 5.) What is the form of the music?  Does it have a chorus that repeats? Does it have an opening idea followed by a second idea and then a return to the first idea?

The more we can actually listen and take in the complex sounds of music the more it will feed us and enrich our lives.  Music is powerful but only if we let it in and truly hear it.  In this new year begin an exploration into the world of sound with a new way of listening!

The holidays are behind us and now we are clearly in the season of Winter.  Sometimes this can be a “droopy” period when the motivation to learn is low, energy and enthusiasm have waned and we want to just curl up in a warm nook and read a book.  But this season can also be a very productive one, though the fruit will not show until later.

Here are a few suggestions for helping your child benefit the most from this season of learning:

1.) Continue to create the designated time for practicing.  We are accustomed to making New Year’s resolutions so in this time of starting anew, recommit to helping decide with your child when they will practice each day.  Encourage them to keep their commitment to give time to practicing, but do not take on their responsibility.  You can encourage and give appropriate consequences for not following through but it is their commitment to keep with themselves.

2.) Be sure practicing takes place the day after the lesson.  The day after a lesson is the most important day to practice.  When we learn something new, brain studies have shown that there is actual new neuron pathways that are formed.  These pathways are very fragile and the brain will trim them away if not reinforced within a short period of time.  Practicing the day after a lesson will give the student the best chance for remembering what was taught in the lesson and applying new skills to keep the neuron pathways growing stronger.

3.)  Attend a piano concert.  There are many fine performances available in our area and sometimes a student will be energized and motivated in ways that could not happen otherwise by attending a live performance.  Here are a couple of upcoming concerts:

San Francisco Performances 2014-2015 Season / Kuok-Wai Lio, piano

Sunday, January 25, 2015, 2:00 pm PST at:
San Francisco Conservatory of Music Concert Hall, 50 Oak Street, San Francisco, CA 94102
See Description

Davies Symphony Hall is another great place to find concerts.  This Sunday night, January 11, Emmanuel Ax will be performing at Davies Symphony Hall.  He is an impressive musician and will be playing Debussy and Chopin.

http://www.sfsymphony.org/Buy-Tickets/2014-2015/Emanuel-Ax-in-Recital

This winter, then, let’s work together to promote deep learning, and focused practicing that will in due season, produce the fruits of the hard work done now.

Some days it may feel like more effort than it is worth- driving to the lessons, keeping track of the music, encouraging the practicing, practicing with your child, listening to the complaints, attending events.   Is it all worth the effort?  Of course my view is terribly skewed but I thought you might enjoy this article from Scientific American which adds some research to what we music teachers have observed over the years, which is that studying music in particular helps students to learn better in general.

Long after someone can no longer throw the football or shoot some hoops, they can still usually play their musical instrument and continue to enjoy and grow in their musical abilities.  I am interested in giving students a musical skill that will last a lifetime and I applaud you parents for your wisdom to see the value of this endeavor. Take some encouragement from the following article knowing that you are giving your children an invaluable gift.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hearing-the-music-honing/

One of the challenges of being a parent is figuring out how much to help one’s child.  All of us are eager to come to the aid of our children and do everything in our power to help them succeed.  But we also know, that part of the success of whatever the endeavor is about, depends on our children doing for themselves what they are able to do and us letting them do it, even though at times it is frustrating and even painful to watch them struggle.

So what does this have to do with learning to play the piano?  Actually a great deal.  As parents you play a vital role in helping your child learn but sometimes it is hard to know what that role is exactly.  In truth, your way of helping will change as your child grows and matures and is able to do more for themselves.  But in any stage, what is important is that the child be taking at least some ownership and that ownership will continue to grow until it becomes  completely their own.

In practical terms this is generally what  the partnership of parent/child in terms of learning to play the piano will look like.  For the first two to three years, the parent will be more involved, attending lessons, supervising the practicing at least for the majority of the time and helping to create solid habits that will pay off in the years ahead.  Above all, this means carving out the scheduled practice time so that the young child is not left with trying to accomplish something for which there is in truth no time to do it.

Usually by the fourth year a student is able to manage their time somewhat and a parent’s job will change slightly.  What is crucial during this season, is that again the parent helps to create the schedule, but it is the child’s responsibility to live out that schedule.  What is extremely wearing on everyone is having to constantly “nag” a child to do the practicing.  That is not the parent’s job nor is it helpful or productive.  The parent’s job is to sit down with their child and to agree together when the practicing will take place for that week and also the consequences of not fulfilling their commitment (withdrawal of certain privileges is usually effective) and then let the child remember their own commitments.  It is common in this “middle period” of learning for a child to want to shift over to their parents the responsibility for reaching their goals.  It is hard for them to hang onto why they wanted to learn to play in the first place and they begin to think that it is all their parents’ idea.   Your job is to remind them that they made a commitment, they are to see it through and that they can do it.  This is such a valuable life lesson, in that all of us get discouraged part way through a big endeavor and want to quit.  What keeps us going?  Often it’s having someone “hold our feet to the fire” and also encourage but not take on the actual responsibility.  That belongs to us and us alone just as our children need to carry their own backpack with their choices in it.

This process of helping to create the schedule, encouraging, and not entertaining the “quitting” notion midstream, will continue throughout the high school years but more and more you will see your student take ownership of their own choices and by doing that find more satisfaction in the results.  Your joy will be in seeing your child with amazing life skills earned through years of persistent effort that they could not have accomplished without your guidance and vision.

“Music washes away from the soul the dust of every day life.” Berthold Auerbach

We all understand what is meant when someone says, “You’re not listening to me.”  Physically, our ears take in the sound waves but mentally we are not truly listening.   This can be done on purpose because we don’t want to listen to someone but much of our non-listening state is a defense against our environment .  We live in a noisy world, from the noise of cars, to the constant hum of electronics to the seemingly ever present music jingles associated with advertising.  Just notice how quiet your house becomes when the electricity goes off!  And so we have learned to tune out a great deal of our environment and we shut out sound.  This is probably a good thing but we sometimes don’t realize that we need to then intentionally switch on our hearing again and choose to truly listen to something and not just hear it.

One of the important aspects of learning to play the piano is learning how to listen.  Students are learning a whole new language- the language of music- and it requires that they learn to listen.  In its essence, listening is really paying attention to something, being fully present and taking in every aspect of it.  It helps to know what to listen for, especially if it is something completely unknown which is why I give the students guided listening assignments each week.  I want them to be exposed to a wide variety of music but also to learn how to really pay attention to something and be completely present, not thinking about what happened in school that day, or what might be happening tomorrow.  But isn’t that the challenge for us as well?  We struggle to stay in the present and to really pay attention to each passing moment.

I would encourage you to listen to the listening assignment along with your child at least once during each week.  They are not very long and I offer a wide variety of music.  Try waiting about 30 seconds before you start the excerpt and just let there be silence.  Silence is the best environment in which to hear music.  Music can be as refreshing and invigorating as a cool breeze on a hot day and in our busy chaotic lives we need that refreshment.  Take a few moments this week and truly listen to music.

In thinking about the students in my studio this year, I became more aware of the stages that are encountered in studying music or really any discipline for that matter.  I realized that some of my students who used to be “beginners” have now progressed to “intermediate” and those who used to be “intermediate” are now moving into “advanced.”  This is all very obvious, but what I want to draw out from this is how these transitions affect you, the parent.  Each part of this musical journey has its rewards and challenges and if you as the supporting parent are expecting the changes then they will not catch you by surprise.

The beginning phase of learning a new skill is always exciting and generally it does not take much effort to encourage the practicing.  Parents will often feel so pleased as the child wants to go and practice and they don’t have to remind them!  We can all enjoy the “honeymoon” period but what you as a parent can capitalize on during this phase is to create the routine, the structure, the habit if you will, so that the enthusiasm is channeled within a framework of habit that will be in place when some of that excitement wanes.  You can also say things like, “you will continue to improve as you spend time daily doing your assignment,” or “isn’t practicing fun because we improve when we practice something!”   At this point your child will agree with you that practicing is fun!

In the intermediate phase, the thrill of newness has worn off but there is something else that is positive to take its place- skill.  The intermediate student can read more fluently, they understand a great deal about music and they are beginning to play pieces that sound more impressive.  All of that can be very satisfying.  However, it is in the intermediate level that the most number of students give up and quit.  Practicing becomes a chore and parents weary of the constant reminder to get to the piano and practice.  What can parents do to weather this season of learning and encourage their child to keep going?  The most important contribution a parent can make at this stage is to create a daily schedule for practicing.  Decide with your child at the beginning of each week when they will practice on each day during that week.  Making those decisions ahead of time will make the implementation much easier.  The power is in the decision.  Also, make sure you as a parent continue to take an interest in your child’s practicing and progress.  Working alone can be just that- lonely, and kids need encouragement that what they are doing matters to you as their parent.  Families are very busy, but if a student feels like no one really cares about what they are doing, then it will make it harder for them to want to keep going.  Have your child play for you, attend a piano concert with them, encourage them to play for relatives when they come over.  All of those things will tell your intermediate student that you are with them in their endeavor and will encourage them to keep going.

In the advanced level of learning one begins to reap the results of all the years that have gone before.  The advanced student is able to play more advanced music and understand the complexities of interpreting that music.  Their skills have continued to advance and it is satisfying to be able to play something that years before seemed unattainable.  So what are the challenges in this level?  One of the challenges for the advanced student is to be willing to use their skills to master a piece of music.  For many advanced students it is easy to become satisfied with just being able to play it through and to not fully explore all that the music is communicating.  It is easy for parents at this level of student to also be satisfied with what they are hearing because it sounds pretty good!  What parents can do is to ask about the music and dialogue with their child about what he/she understands about the music. Also, listening to master performers or attending concerts can expand the expectations of both the child and the parent. At this age, students are usually exploring many other activities at school and parents can be of great help in not letting their child get over-booked.  Learning to make hard choices of how to spend one’s time is an extremely valuable lesson, and parents can help by teaching that one should only take on activities that can be supported with integrity.  We live in a society that wants instant gratification, even though we all know that things gotten instantly are also forgotten about as fast.  Whether it is working on a long-term project at school, writing a lengthy paper, or learning a complex piece of music we want to encourage our children to go the distance, be thorough, explore every nook and cranny, and be satisfied that everything was brought to bear on the project.  That kind of work brings deep and lasting satisfaction and a life well lived.

September 3, 2012

The Magic of Scheduling

Dear Parents,

I love new beginnings.  It feels like anything is possible and it’s exciting to explore and think about what can be accomplished from a new starting point.  Tomorrow is the beginning of my piano studio year and I have enjoyed thinking about each student and planning music and ways to help them grow and develop.  I love the first few weeks of teaching as well, as students are excited to be back and are eager to start and learn new music.  You as parents are probably looking forward also, to seeing what will happen this year and to hear how your child progresses.

There is one thing that you parents can do that will help more than anything else to keep this enthusiasm going and working for everyone.  That one thing is to schedule your child’s practice time.  I have heard from some of you the complicated schedules your families have with multiple kids and multiple activities.  It is truly remarkable and admirable how you get your child to my studio each week on time and with your sanity more or less intact!  But it is so easy to forget that it is the practice time that will implement all that is learned at the lesson.  Without that time, kids will not progress, then they get discouraged and soon want to give up.

Sit down with your child and together talk about when they are going to practice each day.  Make it an agreement that you have with them and me (see contract) and help them to learn to honor their commitments.  This agreed upon time will also eliminate the nagging that all of us hate.  Creating that special time that is as honored and protected as coming to the lesson will go a long ways in eliminating a nagging and whining relationship with your child.  See this as an opportunity to teach your child  how to manage their time well, and to not get overbooked.

I look forward to this year with great enthusiasm and appreciation for the wonderful group of parents and students that I am so fortunate to have in my studio.  Create that schedule and see for yourself how it is almost magical in its ability to keep life running smoothly, and  with regular practice you are going to be amazed with your student’s progress this year. Thank you in advance for doing your part in making this a successful year together!

The Van Cliburn competition is an event that was started in 1962 in honor of Van Cliburn, a young Texan, who rocked the world by winning the International Tchaikowsky Piano Competition in Moscow, Russia in 1958 at the height of the Cold War.  Van Cliburn was embraced by the Russian people and many feel that his accomplishment there, helped to thaw some of that ice that had built up between the United States and Russia (then called the U.S.S.R.).  So the Van Cliburn competition was started and has continued to this day with some of the finest pianists in the world coming every four years to compete for the highest prize.

In 1997, Jon Nakamatsu, a “local” who lived in Sunnyvale, CA won the first place prize.  His journey of getting to that prestigious place was unconventional to say the least, having essentially studied with only one teacher and not training in a Conservatory setting.  He studied German and secondary education and at the time of the competition and was teaching German in a local high school in Sunnyvale.  What I didn’t know was the back story which is told in the clip that I am sharing with you.  Jon Nakamatsu describes to an audience at the Van Cliburn competition, where he was a judge for that year, all the failures that he experienced before his triumphant moment in 1997.  Sometimes when we only see the final end of something we don’t think about all the steps and failures along the way, and we forget the effort that it takes to accomplish anything of lasting value.  I hope you enjoy his perspective and find it as inspiring as I did.

In just two weeks from today on April 29 at 4:00 p.m. we will be sitting in Grace Presbyterian Church listening to your wonderful children play their piano pieces.  They have worked hard this year and I have seen some amazing improvement in many different ways, from better sight reading skills to better practice habits, deeper understanding of musical concepts and more confidence in expressing the music.  This recital is an opportunity for the students to share with their families and friends and other students the results of this progress.  It is a high point of our year together and we all look forward to it.  Hopefully the students will continue to practice consistently in the next two weeks but are there other ways to prepare and how can you as parents help?

In the last 20-30 years there has been a lot of research done on the psychological aspects of performance whether in music, sports, or really any other discipline where someone must perform under pressure.  The author, Don Greene, has written extensively on this subject and has worked with primarily athletes but also musicians to help them prepare not only with their own individual practicing of their discipline but the mental preparation as well.  What research has shown is that performance under pressure takes a tremendous amount of mental energy and this has to be fueled by adequate rest and eating well prior to the event.  Here are the key recommendations of Mr. Greene for optimum results in a performance:

1. During the 2-3 wks. prior to a performance, get increasingly more sleep (8,9,10 hrs.) and drink more water 4-6 8 oz. glasses per day

2.  Keep up regular exercise

3.  Mentally think through how you want the performance to go

4.  Restrict sugar intake, especially 2-3 days prior to the event and certainly on the day of the event.

5.  Get plenty of rest the night before- no sleep overs!

6.  Bananas are a good “brain” food and are often the food of choice for many performers on the day of an event

Parents can be of tremendous help during the last stretch before a recital, by keeping the schedule as simplified as possible and not adding in a lot of extra curricular activities.  This tends to be a busy time of year, I realize, and we all do the best we can, but if possible, keep life as simple and routine as you can and maintain the regular practice schedule.  Doing these few simple things will give your student the environment they need to realize the best possible outcome on the day of the recital.

Purchasing a piano is a major investment and one needs to be wisely armed with information before going shopping.  Think of buying a piano in the same way you would think of buying a car.  The more you know about a car and what type you want, and what is available the better able you will be to make an informed decision.

The first decision to make is what size of piano.  The two categories are upright and grand.  The upright piano comes in a range of sizes from 36″- 60″, with the spinet being the smallest upright, next is the console, and finally the studio upright.  I would recommend the studio size as the length of string will be longer and thus produce a better tone quality.  The grand model of pianos comes in a range of sizes between 5 ft. and 7 ft. and then there is the concert grand which is 9 ft. in length.  Again, the longer the string length, the better the tone quality, but a good size for a home would be from 5′ 4″- 7 ft.

The next decision to be made is whether to buy new or used.  The advantages of buying a new piano is that there will be a warranty, a one time tuning and free moving of the piano to your home.  But with those advantages comes a higher price.  Used pianos are generally less expensive and sometimes one can come across some amazing pianos for an amazing price.  However, it is in this area of used pianos that one has to be especially careful and well-informed.  If you buy used, there will be no warranty, you will pay for the cost of moving it, and it will need to be tuned once it has been moved.  Here are some questions to ask when evaluating a used piano:  Where has the piano been housed?  Because the piano is primarily made of wood it is especially susceptible to changes in temperature and moisture.  Ask if the piano has spent any time outside or in an unheated/cooled structure.  Has any liquid been spilled on the sounding board? How often has the piano been tuned?  If the piano is badly out of tune it is difficult to know if it will ever hold a tune well in the future.  Look to see if there is any rust around the tuning pins of the strings and if there are any missing strings.  What is the condition of the keys?  Any cracks or missing keys?  Are the pedals all functioning?  If after playing the instrument, you are serious about buying it, I highly recommend that you hire a trained piano technician to come and assess it.  They are trained to know what are serious problems and what can be easily fixed without too much expense.  The cost of this advice will be around $120- $150 depending on the distance that the technician has to travel to give the evaluation, but it is well worth the money as you don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on an instrument that may not be worth it. A number of years ago, one of my students came across a 7 ft. Steinway for an incredibly low price.  I went and played it and looked at, it and it seemed like an excellent instrument, for an excellent price.  However, I had this student contact my technician who came and evaluated it.  He found a crack in the sounding board and some other well-hidden problems that would have surfaced in the near future and have been costly to fix.  I was so glad that I had insisted on calling him for his advice!

Another good way to be prepared to purchase a piano, whether new or used, is to go and play on new instruments in a piano store.  Play the best piano in the store, not because you plan to buy it but because it will help you to know what a really fine instrument sounds and feels like.  There are three music stores in Walnut Creek and you can learn a lot just by going in and having them show you around and listen and play on their instruments.  The stores are:  Sherman & Clay located at 1605 Bonanza St. Walnut Creek.  Justin Levitt, the manager, is very helpful and knowledgeable and not “pushy”.  His stores sells Steinways, Boston and Essex pianos.  The Music Exchange is located at 1501 N.Main St. also in Walnut Creek.  They sell primarily Yamaha pianos.  And finally the Colton Piano Store is located at 1539 N. Main St. in Walnut Creek and they sell a variety of brands.   I also recommend the reading The Piano Book by Larry Fine.  It has a wealth of information about pianos and what goes into making them and what to look for in buying one.  It is available on Amazon

Results for February Frenzy

This past month the students have been keeping track of their practicing with prizes to be awarded for their efforts.  Hopefully, the habits created or more firmly established, will continue throughout the remainder of the year.  I realize that for some of you, February had quite a few long week-ends where you were away on previously scheduled vacations which affected the points earned.   This month is just one snapshot and may or may not reflect the usual practice habits.   Remember parents,  that one of your jobs is to help your student create and keep a regular practice time, have a quiet environment in which to practice, and encourage the practicing process.  Thank you for your help and support!

550-600 points earned
Gisele*
Grant
Kelsey
Makena*
Owen
Tem
*indicates higest number of points possible earned

500-550 points earned
Aditi
Alex
Amanda
Anthony
Chloe
Golanz
Madison
Neha
Samantha

Under 500 points
Alice
Brandon
Brianna
Cameron
Charles
Michael
Nolan