Practice Makes Permanent

pic from this blog

The old saying is, "Practice Makes Perfect." That's only as long as the practice is perfect to begin with. You will play perfectly that which you have practiced. My orchestra teacher in 9th grade had a poster on the wall that he often referred to:

"Practice Makes Permanent."

If we are practicing our chords with the right fingers, we will play them with the right fingers. This phrase still pops in my mind, reminding me to take the time to practice the correct way. It often means that I won't get through all my repertoire in one sitting. It means I'll practice the two measures I fumble over until my fingers begin to remember the right way. And then it's easier the next time, and before I know it, it's easier to do it the right way than the wrong way!

And it's always better to play the right way, even if your child insists he plays "better" the wrong way. ;)

-Let's Play Music with Kendra Flake
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tips for an enjoyable practice

The wonders of a prize basket! Most every student came prepared and ready to learn due to their 5 practices last week. They knew that if they came with all five boxes initialed, they'd get a prize. Exciting day! Here are some ideas to keep the practices fun and encouraging.

by Jenny Smith
1. Have a baggie of their favorite treat (skittles, m&ms, smarties, chocolate chips). Give them 1-2 little treats after each song
2. Have them teach you how to play a song
3. Say, "HOLY COW! You can play this? This looks hard! Check this out everybody, Max can play this!"
4. Set an appointment with them and set an alarm so you don't forget. They get your undivided attention and you get to play with them.

more ideas:
5. listen to their practice from another room. When you hear something you like, quietly place an incentive on the piano. Try a penny, or a smartie.
6. play along, sing along, and point along!
7. When something is new and frustrating: "It's too hard!" you say, "This is sort of hard, isn't it? Would you like to be able to play it? How can you get better at it? I'll help you."
8. Let him catch you playing his songs and doing his practice. You can even make some mistakes. This leads to 9
9. Let him teach YOU.

There are some great scenarios here and here too!

You can also refer to the parent section of the student manual for more ideas and dialog examples.

Have fun playing music!

I've Been to Harlem

The Bell Practice for I've Been to Harlem in Lesson 6 says to play the bells while you play each verse! In this video, Carson and I play and sing the Major verse then switch the bells and do the Minor verse.

V-A-L-E-N-T-I-N-E

This is a special Valentine from Miss Genny that I also gave out to my students. Carson and I colored and played it this morning! That's me playing at the end of the video, but Carson will have fun learning it!

Piano Posture

Click here  to go to The Well-Balanced Pianist for some great tips on sitting properly at the piano. 

Nice and comfortable and ready to play her best.

If you want to know just how you or your child should be sitting at the piano, this is a nice little page to read.

Practicing Our Steps!

We had fun making use of the staff in the back of the Red Balloons manual and some Christmas candy! 

Carson really had fun playing notes from the staff! He's learning the relationship between the steps on the staff and the up and down of the bells. And he's having fun doing it! Music is fun!

What Matters Most: talent or effort

Sometimes a child wants to give up before even trying. This could be because they only want to do the things that are easy for them or that come naturally to them. They may not want to look "dumb" while doing something hard. Realizing that mistakes and imperfection are normal and are part of a learning process is important and a great concept to understand.


If you're looking for ways to help your child realize the value of effort, you'll find this article helpful. It gives some practical advice and some phrases to use while encouraging your child to make an effort while learning a new skill.

http://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/clavier/companion_20110910/#/10

Parent Testimonials: Let's Play Music!

One "Green Turtle Shell" (second year of LPM) mother says about practicing with her son and the Let's Play Music curriculum:


"I’ve really enjoyed sitting at the keyboard with him.  Not only is it necessary to help him, but I feel like I’m “relearning” some important basics in a much more useful way.  I think I would have enjoyed my own piano lessons so much more if I’d been prepped the way Let’s Play Music students are.  It’s such a great program, and you are such a great teacher!  Thanks for all you do –"


She adds this about her son's well-trained ear for tonalities:


"Last Sunday, our primary was learning a new song for the upcoming Christmas sacrament program.  After the music leader sang it through for the kids, Tate raised his hand and said, “That’s in a minor key.”  The music leader and a few other adults in the room were floored.  A few of them came up to me afterward and asked me how in the world he would know that!  I can honestly say it’s because of LPM J  When a child applies a concept to multiple settings, you know that he is truly learning!  It is exciting for me to see as his mom."

Yay for Tate! and Yay for Let's Play Music!

Online Note-Naming Drill

I hope everyone is having a great Christmas Break!


For you Purple Magician parents, here's a fun note-naming drill from emusictheory.com to help your child earn his place in The Minute Club and get his candybar! If your child gets a thrill out of using the computer, try this out for a change of pace.


The notes will scroll across the staff and when they turn black, click the correct name. Can you get 100%?! Go here to become a music staff genious! Good luck and have fun!

A Little Inspiration

A Let's Play Music teacher in Arizona says:

Every student has their ups and downs. Sometimes it's hard to get them to want to practice. I was having one of those days with my son. You know the line, "Why do I have to practice, I hate practicing!!!" Well, earlier that day I was searching for piano concerts at the Mesa Arts Center and came upon an amazing pianist, William Joseph. I remembered this when my son was asking "Why" and said, "I'll show you, come here"
As we watched the clip of this man playing, my son got very excited. I said, "See, this is why. This guy used to be just like you and now look how awesome he is. How often do you think he practiced?" Son: "A lot! Can we watch it again?" After about 5 times, he went back to the piano and practiced on his own. Sometimes we just need a little motivation, or inspiration.

Kendra here: My 2.5 year old also enjoyed watching it and wanted to watch it again and again and again!

Let the child be the guide

Try this this week.

Give him/her choices! After he's sung "DO is home" and checked it, read through the practice for this week and let him chose what to do first.

Then ask if he wants to play it high or low?

For the third years, does he want to play it with the left hand or the right? You can play the other.

"Do you want to play Row, Row, Row Your Boat or Bunny's Birdhouse next?

"Do you want to practice our bubble hand numbers or the yellow chord?"

They're all good choices and the goal for the end of the week will still be reached!

Have fun!

Children learn through play

Your children learn through play! If he doesn't want to do part of the practice for the week (for whatever reason), have him help you make a game!

The off-the-top-of-my-head idea for this week's practice comes from Green Turtle Shells:

When playing all the F's (or C's), set a timer for 20 secs. "Wow that was SO easy for you! Do you think you could do it in 15 seconds?" Be silly and say "F" with silly ghost voices each time he plays it.