Dear Students,
Congratulations – you did it! You survived the first two weeks of a new school season and rolled through all the changes that happen at break-neck pace – new teachers, new classmates, new classrooms . . . all of the New Things All at Once . . . with in-process renovations.
I thoroughly enjoyed our first week of lessons – reconnecting with those who studied with met last year, and those who are just starting. We are going to have so much fun this year! To help us all stay on the same page I’ve put together a list of five practice tips to give us a good foundation to build on.
- Make practice part of your daily routine – just like eating breakfast and brushing your teeth before bed. Find a time of day that you can consistently practice during, and ask your family to hold you accountable. It might be right after you get home from school; or as soon as the dinner dishes are done; maybe even in the morning before school. Find something that works for your family’s schedule do what is necessary to make it stick.
- Keep your instrument and books in the same place – that way you can find everything right away when you’re ready.
- Eliminate digital distractions – don’t practice where the TV is on, or audio stories are playing. Leave phones/iPods/iPads in a different room so you’re not tempted to pick them up during your practice time. This time is about practicing your music.
- Set a timer – it will take a while for you to get comfortable with the practice length we set during our first lesson. If you sent a timer, you won’t have to check how much time you have left, and pretty soon instead of taking forever your timer will go off sooner than you expect.
- Maintain realistic expectations – and have fun! Itzak Perlman didn’t become a world class musician over night – you and I are no different. Practicing an instrument is really hard work. Even if you understand the concepts we talk about in our lessons right away, it takes time and repetition to train your body to consistently perform the motions correctly. You’ll enjoy it more if you give yourself grace to make mistakes and then try again. Anything worth doing is worth doing well – and music is worth the effort, so enjoy your journey through it.
Practice well this week!
I’ve decided practice is practice, and progress is progress. Hailee Maunu
Paper & Tea Studio 