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When choosing where to sign up your kiddos for music lessons, you might ask yourself, “Why Harmony Arts?”  Today we tackle that question!

About Harmony Arts:

1. We provide unlimited make-up classes.  You never have to worry about getting your value here. As long as you inform us ahead of an absence, you have the option of making up your class by attending a different class of your choice!
2. We train our teachers. You may have learned from one of our previous articles,  Elements of Quality, that teachers receive at leastthree hours of training and 3-4 hours of observations before they begin teaching at all, but did you know that their training continues throughout the rest of the year?  This is on top of the education and experience that they already have. All of our adult teachers have degrees in education, music, or a related field, or are in the process of completing that education.  We know that our teachers heavily influence your child’s experience, so we continually strive to improve as a staff so that experience can be beneficially life-changing!
3. Our program includes parent participation. Why does this matter? Because parent involvement increases a child’s success! Parent time at the end of each class not only allows us to show the parents what we learned, it also provides quality time between parent and child. We encourage parents to support their children in goal-setting and nurture that special relationship through the power of music! We sing, dance, and learn together so you can discover simple ways to be a part of your child’s success story.

Here at Harmony Arts, we see our students as individuals with different strengths and abilities. Our program is designed to nurture each child on an individual level while still providing a safe environment for social development. In addition to caring about our students, we care about their families—we care about YOU! The very things that set us apart also allow us to better serve families and provide opportunities for relationships to continue growing.

Stay tuned for more elements that set Harmony Arts apart!

What do YOU like/appreciate about our studio? Please let us know!

In all our efforts to become musically literate, it is important to maintain an element of FUN. Without it, we lose the enjoyment, devotion, and passion that make the practice pay off and turn out our best results. To keep the excitement of music alive, here are ways music students can tap into the fun!

Mood Improvement.

Many people are aware of the effect music has on their mood. Athletes use it to prepare for games, academic students listen while they study, mothers sing their young ones to sleep, families jam out in the car together to keep the peace on long drives… There are many ways music, if chosen well, can improve moods!

To promote music for emotional maintenance, try putting together a few short lists for different occasions. You can listen to, dance to, or sing your chosen songs to help address your emotions and improve your mood. This connection with music not only builds a relationship with it, it makes music fun!

 Expression.

Music is not only meant to help us shape our day by shaping our moods. It is open to shaping from us. Part of the fun in music is taking a song and making it personal. It can feel monotonous to play mechanically, with stress on accuracy and perfection.

Rather than focusing on playing a song perfectly, try putting yourself into the song. Try different tempos and dynamics, starting with the ones provided by the composer. When playing for self-expression, YOU get to determine the interpretation of the piece! The opportunities this provides to choose what sounds good to you, adds an element of fun to repetition!

Experiment.

Alongside expression is the opportunity to experiment. Again, variance in tempo, dynamic, octave, rhythm, and touch, open the door to countless options! It is often in experimenting that a personal connection with music is made and a new level of self-expression becomes possible. Additionally, when music is practiced with this kind of excitement, it often leads to self-discovery.

What are you waiting for? Give it a try! Make a game out of it by making one to three categories of options to experiment with. Draw from each pile and apply the suggestions to a song you are learning. (One idea at a time is appropriate for beginners.) Categories might include:

• Dynamics (pp, p, mp, mf, f, and ff)
• Tempo (largo, adagio, andante, allegro, vivace, etc.)
• Touch (long staccato, short staccato, legato, tenuto)
• Rhythmic variations (long-short, short-long, long-short-short, etc.)
• Other (octave, pedal, tone, etc.)

At the end of the day, we tend to get the most out of learning when we make it fun. Music is no exception. We encourage you to connect with music and tap into the fun by using it to improve your mood, express yourself, and experiment!

“IN TIMES OF TRAGEDY … The events of September 11, 2001 will long be remembered as a day pivotal to world and American history.  Teachers and parents are hearing advice – important advice – about how to care for children during these turbulent times.  Many of us are working to establish stronger links with one another – simply because we need the love and security that families and friends provide.

In considering how we might establish a more secure environment for our children, we can turn to what we know to be most basic about childhood development.  We know that children make connections to their world based upon the bond that exists between the child and primary caregiver.  Thus, it is a time for emphasizing family ties, especially those one-on-one relationships that thrive within the immediate family.  Through the ages, music has been used to enhance family bonds; so now is a time to sing and hold our children close, using music’s power to comfort and console.  we also know that children need order in their lives.  This includes times of daily quiet that feature rest or relaxation with very little chatter or activity.  Listening to soothing music during this time will provide a nonverbal reminder of the beauty and order that exist in our world.

… It is important for children to realize that they are part of a larger world and that there are many good people in their world.  Patriotic songs express a connection between the self and a larger body, while often conveying a common ideal.  This might help explain some of the emotions felt when singing such songs – or when hearing stories about the courageous actions of men and women.  Such stories and songs are what epics are made of and are central to the storytelling process of days gone by.  Through song and story, children learned about the greatness of their ancestors and pondered their own place in  their communities.  Perhaps it is time to retell such stories and to craft new stories that will inspire today’s children.

Children are moved by events both tragic and heroic, by deeds both great and small, and they need to find expression for such thoughts and feelings.  We can set a good example for our children by telling heroic stories of our own (representing our own families, communities, and beyond) and by singing and making up songs that convey what words alone cannot express.  Music can help our children – and us – through these times.  Keep the songs and stories coming!”

ECC Leadership Bulletin, Vol. 7 No. 2.  Pub. by the

oundation for Music-Based Learning, Greensboro, NC.

Welcome to “Make Practice Count!” where we share ideas that will help you get the most out of your practice! Today’s tip: Start and end with something FUN!

“Wait a minute… Practice is never fun!” If that’s what you’re thinking, sit tight. We sincerely believe that is about to change…

What’s fun for Susan may not be fun for Jack, so if you pick different activities from your friends, that’s ok! The important thing is do what’s fun to YOU. Adding fun to practice has numerous benefitsincluding:

• Greater enjoyment in learning
• Increased confidence when accepting a challenge
• More patience with yourself
• Appreciation for progress
• Decrease of students who quit lessons

Here are some ideas you may choose from, or feel free to come up with your own! Fun to start or end with:

• A song you’re most excited to learn. Your excitement adds energy that makes practice fun!
• A song you can already play well. This way you can be sure to start or end on a great note!
• A fun challenge. For example, “Let’s see how many times in a row I can play  ________ correctly!” (Perhaps a scale or a line from a song.) Play it slowly if needed until your accuracy and confidence increase. Tally each success and reward yourself with a goldfish or another small snack for each tally you earn.
• Drum, Dance, or Doodle. Choose a song from your assignment and choose one of these activities to engage while you listen. All three can help improve your mood and prepare your mind to focus!

The more we enjoy practice, the more effective it becomes. We hope these ideas help you discover what makes practice fun for you!

Here at CMG, we are a team! We enjoy helping each other succeed, so comment below what YOU do to make practice fun!

What gives a music studio quality? What do you look for in music lessons? Harmony Arts has gone to great lengths to deliver a quality musical education that promotes positive family relationships, helps children learn to communicate thoughts with clarity, and helps students develop important attributes such as patience and diligence. But HOW to we go about it?

L – Language. Music is a language, and we teach it as such by immersing our students in it from the moment they enter our studio. A great part of being human is using language to express ourselves. By teaching music as a language, we help children learn how to expressthemselves through music. Language also obviously includes the words we speak to each other. We encourage communication between students and teachers alike to be kind, positive, and helpful.

O – Opportunities. In addition to teaching music, we provide opportunities for our students to share their talents with others, and this starts first and home and in the classroom. We also help them learn how to discover opportunities on their own. We believe performing music and sharing talents is a form of service. We strive to help our students develop the skills to create opportunities and the courage to embrace them.

V – Value. We value the input we receive from parents and families. We continually ask for Parent feedback because we are here to serve your children, and you!  Please continue to provide feedback so we can improve the experience our studio provides! It is our joy and privilege to serve families in our community. Your input enables us to serve you better.

E – Experience. Our teachers are highly trained and prepared in their specific areas. Several hours of training and observation are required of the teacher before s/he can begin teaching.  Our teachers have weekly 1-on-1 meetings with the Director and attend continuous staff training meetings throughout the year. But we know it’s not just about our experience. Our goal is to go beyond just teaching music and help your student experience the freedom musical literacy provides. Lessons build skills. Experience builds character. We strive to fill our classes with lessons that develop skills and experiences that help shape children into creative, uplifting, effective leaders, starting in their own homes.

What do you look for in a program or activity for your child or teen?  We love to hear from you!

Vision Boards and Music

Have you ever heard of a vision board? Most people don’t realize it’s not just a nice decoration or a collage of wanted items. When used correctly, a vision board is a tool that helps individuals generate their own solutions. But what does this have to do with music?

You well know that learning instruments requires hard work and dedication and mastery most certainly does not come overnight. A vision board can help students break down steps toward mastery, whichincreases recognition of progress and decreases discouragement. It also helps students become problem solvers–and not just at the piano!

Vision boards are “AWE”-some! A-Ask, W-Write, E-Experiment!

Imagine Susie is assigned the items she needs to practice at home. She can draw or print a picture of the hardest task and put it on her vision board.  Each day before practice, she looks at her board and asks, “What can I try differently today that will help me play this just a little bit better?” She then writes down any ideas that come to mind. Throughout the week, she experiments by testing her ideas until she finds the ones that work best for her.

For example, let’s say she is learning single octave scales and is struggling to remember where the black keys are. The picture on her vision board could look like this:

Before practice, she looks at this picture and brainstorms ideas of ways to remember where the black keys are in her assigned scale. Perhaps she makes a song out of the scale indicating the placement of the black keys. Perhaps she discovers a pattern or makes up a catchy chant. She might even think of someone who has learned that same scale that might be able to share some tips with her.

All of this can take place in less than 30 seconds! No need to stand there for minutes at a time. She’ll be back tomorrow to search for new ideas.

After writing down her ideas, Susie takes them to the piano and gives one a few energetic attempts. If the idea proves unsuccessful after at least 3-5 honest tries, she picks a different idea from her brainstorm list and gives it a go. With this kind of work ethic and attitude, Susie not only learns the scale, she learns how to problem solve, builds confidence in her ability to learn hard things, and inadvertently develops teaching skills.

-a very solid foundation in rhythm,
-opportunities for exploration on different kinds of drums, barred instruments, and some percussion instruments,
-exposure to various drumming styles, opening the student’s mind to appreciating a variety of percussion work.

For now, the individual instruction will be taught on the djembe, however, we will cover basic percussionist skills for the snare, bass, xylophone, and other symphonic band percussion instruments.

The student will also have 30 minutes in the lab practicing on an electronic drum kit, which is very similar to playing on a drum set.

AND CHECK THIS OUT! We also emphasize drumming composition with the intent of helping our students use drumming for enjoyment and self-expression. With opportunities to write, play, listen, teach, and perform, drum students develop a strong sense of rhythm, discover confidence to improvise and compose, and improve skills.

Our Drum Curriculum has been built on Musikgarten principles, so you can be sure that your experience will be both fun and enriching!

Our Drumming lessons are an individual 60-minute weekly lesson (30 minutes with teacher, 30 minutes in lab on electronic drum kit), and run from March to May. Individual Drum Instruction will also be available during the summer, and also during the next school year.

Thanks to piano mom, Jodi Goodwin, for sharing her valuable insight! From Jodi…

Piano practicing is one of the greatest contributors or one of the biggest barriers to a child succeeding with piano proficiency.  You can have the best teacher in the world, but if your child doesn’t practice, they will not learn to play the piano well.

After growing up in a home where my mother taught piano for 25 years and after working with my five children, I have learned that piano practicing is up to the parent, not the child.  Let me explain- if the parent doesn’t invest the time with the child from the very beginning, the child will not learn to play the piano.  A child can’t be in charge because they do not have the wisdom to understand that sacrifice now will pay off, but at a much later date.

Here are a few suggestions that I have to make learning the piano successful:

1. Be consistent.  When my children started piano lessons, the most important thing was that I was consistent.  I had to make piano practicing a priority and make sure that I scheduled it as a priority.  If I didn’t set aside a time every day, practicing didn’t happen.  I discovered several interesting things:  when my children  practiced every day, they progressed and were excited about playing the piano.  They want to practice!  They felt successful and in control !!

However, if they didn’t practice, they didn’t progress.  When they didn’t progress, they became frustrated and felt out of control.  When they became frustrated, they didn’t like the piano and wanted to quit.

2. Know what they need to practice (their assignments) and how to practice their assignment.  I found that I needed to sit down with them every time in the beginning and make sure that they were practicing correctly.  My children frequently needed to be corrected during their practicing.  I found that simple corrections in rhythms, notes, or even fingerings made a big difference in their progression.  Together, we learned that perfect practice makes perfect and that imperfect practice makes a lot of work later (because you have to unlearn the incorrect way and relearn it the right way).
3. Immerse your child in piano music! Listening to music helped my children play the piano better!  We listened to classical piano pieces, modern piano pieces, and hymns.  We would talk about the music, make up stories to the music, and talk about the pianist.  It made them want to play the piano even more!
4. Make practicing fun! We would put stickers on a chart.  The stickers led to rewards that each child wanted.  We also make up lyrics to the music that they were learning.  We made practicing fun and not a chore.
5. Adapt practicing to your child. Not every child can sit at the piano for 15 minutes or an hour.  Sometimes, my child would practice for 5 minutes, take a break (sometimes a long break- a really long break) and come back to the piano for another 5 minutes.  Gradually, we could increase the time.
6. Be realistic. Most people want their child to take piano lessons so that they can “just play the hymns”.  It is important to understand that for your child to be able to play the hymns, they will need to be in piano lessons for a few years. This doesn’t happen overnight.
7. Realize that not every child will love the piano. It’s ok if your child doesn’t play the piano.  Sometimes you want them to play, but they don’t have any desire.  Don’t force the issue.  They have other talents.  Help them discover them.  Let them enjoy music in whatever way they can.

Check out these great tips for piano practice from the Call family! 

• We practice everyday Monday – Saturday
• The day after or the day of their class/lesson we sit down together and go over what they need to do this week.
• We write what they need to do down (most of it is already written in their books from Nan) and how many times a day they need to do those things. So if it is practicing a song, depending on how well they have it down, we say they play it 2 times a day or maybe 4 times a day if they need a little more practice on it. If it is a card game we will write down they need to do that 3 times that week and we pick what days (depending on what day they have a little more time) they will do their card game. We also pick what day they will be doing their workbook pages. I find that after we have gone over all that together the rest of the practices that week go smoother because they know exactly what they need to do on each day of practice for the week. Also taking that time at the beginning of their practice week helps me not have to be so involved with every practice, only if they get stuck or have a problem.
• Having 6 girls needing time on the piano is a struggle. We have a regular piano and a full size keyboard hooked up to piano marvel at our house and that helped a lot with scheduling time on the piano. We have a schedule with who is on the piano and at what time. We have one who plays in the morning before school, two who play while the others girls are at school and 3 who play after school.
• In our opinion piano practice is as important as homework or reading. It also can be as frustrating. If my girls have fits or are in a cantankerous mood about piano practice I send them to their room until they cool down however, they have to come back and finish their piano before they can go play or do anything else. So the longer they fight doing it the longer it takes.
• At the end of school and lessons for the year we take them out on a huge family fun day. So that is their reward for a good year of work. We also give them tons of compliments and lots of “so proud” moments. Also, it is amazing what they will do for a balloon or treat!
• Although they all have their moments of struggle, one of my daughters in particular struggles with practice sometimes. We have made a contract with her and Nan that she signed and we signed and Nan signed. We keep it up in the music room and it reminds her of the promise she made and the reward/consequences of her behavior.
• We love music, it fills our home, souls and minds with light and joy. On the bad days I have my older girls play hymns or peaceful songs that bring the Spirit and after the girls (and I) calm down I remind my little ones “don’t you want to bring that Spirit to other people someday too? You must practice, it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert, every minute you practice brings you closer to your goal”. Then we hug it out and I send them right back in to finish their piano!
• Side Note… My 16 and 14 year old would tell you I have mellowed a lot from when they started taking lessons. I don’t cry/yell nearly as much, I am more detached about fits. I have found a lot more eternal perspective as I grow older and it helps with all aspects of my life, including piano!