November and Soirée 2019 News | Flourishing Muse
by Lorna | Nov 24, 2019 | Soirees, Studio News
The Soirée for Fall 2019 will take place on Sunday Dec 8 from 3 -5 pm in the Croasdaile Auditorium, at Croasdaile Village. The clearest directions are on their website. Once you get to the main entrance, register at the desk and ask the way to the Auditorium.
The ukuleles and guitar performances will be first in the program, followed by a selection of piano duets and student compositions. After this the pianists will perform and to finish the singers will have their turn. I am not planning an intermission but will have very short breaks after each section to reset. Everyone who is performing should try to arrive no later than 2:40 with ukuleles and guitars in tune. I know a couple of students have other prior engagements and are coming when they can but I would really appreciate it if people could come and stay for the whole event.
The Soirée 2019 program will be ready before thanksgiving and I will send out for corrections and changes. Some people are playing the same pieces but I like students to choose their performance piece and if they choose the same, we will have a wonderful variety of interpretations.
All students should warm up their pieces, their fingers, and/or their voices before arriving at the Soirée.
Music practice is sometimes a fraught subject! Of course any skill is greatly enhanced by practice but the right kind of practice is critical. The brain needs to be engaged. With the piano and the strings, you need to focus on a practice plan. Everyone is different but for me, I must do exercises first to warm up and work on technical issues, then I will work on the piece(s) i next need to perform. Some people have a warm-up piece they like to play to get in the groove. If I have time I will play things I want to learn or things I just enjoy playing. But the important practice needs to happen before the pleasure, because your focus is sharper at the beginning of your practice, and it declines gradually as your practice time extends. You can’t do worthwhile practice just sitting at the piano or ukulele or guitar and twiddling away.
However practice is a subject which needs to be age specific. Young people need less time than older, but the most important thing I think for young people is practice has to come from self-motivation. You cannot force practice. It must be something they either want to do or are willing to do without being forced. Often you want to demand that someone practice but it only sets up resistance.
Motivation is the key. It is the teacher’s job to set up motivation but the parents to encourage and show interest (sorry parents, your eyelids might be drooping but hang in there with the “I love that piece”. It works). I don’t always succeed with the motivation and I have various strategies but the twice yearly Soirées are part of it. Yes, I have students who feel they cannot perform in front of people, but I have many more who look forward to the Soirees as a goal they have reached to mark their improvement.
Singers are in a special category. Singing is so embodied that you need to at least use your singing voice every day, and you need to be much more specific about warming up. Lip trills are crucial on a daily basis. Then you need to practice your pieces as often as you can. Mostly I teach older singers and high school age singers. The little ones need to sing too but I like piano players to sing as they play. Ukulele and guitar players have to do double practice!
Finally, playing music is about enjoying your playing and/or singing. Please enjoy the weeks leading up to the Soirée – I am going to!
PS. One of my students gave me a very old music magazine and I thought you might like to see the cover. The date is May 1918. Even I was not alive then and in fact my mother was only 11 years old. Note what is says about music “A Present National Necessity”.
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November and Soirée 2019 News | Flourishing Muse
by Lorna | Nov 24, 2019 | Soirees, Studio News
The Soirée for Fall 2019 will take place on Sunday Dec 8 from 3 -5 pm in the Croasdaile Auditorium, at Croasdaile Village. The clearest directions are on their website. Once you get to the main entrance, register at the desk and ask the way to the Auditorium.
The ukuleles and guitar performances will be first in the program, followed by a selection of piano duets and student compositions. After this the pianists will perform and to finish the singers will have their turn. I am not planning an intermission but will have very short breaks after each section to reset. Everyone who is performing should try to arrive no later than 2:40 with ukuleles and guitars in tune. I know a couple of students have other prior engagements and are coming when they can but I would really appreciate it if people could come and stay for the whole event.
The Soirée 2019 program will be ready before thanksgiving and I will send out for corrections and changes. Some people are playing the same pieces but I like students to choose their performance piece and if they choose the same, we will have a wonderful variety of interpretations.
All students should warm up their pieces, their fingers, and/or their voices before arriving at the Soirée.
Music practice is sometimes a fraught subject! Of course any skill is greatly enhanced by practice but the right kind of practice is critical. The brain needs to be engaged. With the piano and the strings, you need to focus on a practice plan. Everyone is different but for me, I must do exercises first to warm up and work on technical issues, then I will work on the piece(s) i next need to perform. Some people have a warm-up piece they like to play to get in the groove. If I have time I will play things I want to learn or things I just enjoy playing. But the important practice needs to happen before the pleasure, because your focus is sharper at the beginning of your practice, and it declines gradually as your practice time extends. You can’t do worthwhile practice just sitting at the piano or ukulele or guitar and twiddling away.
However practice is a subject which needs to be age specific. Young people need less time than older, but the most important thing I think for young people is practice has to come from self-motivation. You cannot force practice. It must be something they either want to do or are willing to do without being forced. Often you want to demand that s
omeone practice but it only sets up resistance.
Motivation is the key. It is the teacher’s job to set up motivation but the parents to encourage and show interest (sorry parents, your eyelids might be drooping but hang in there with the “I love that piece”. It works). I don’t always succeed with the motivation and I have various strategies but the twice yearly Soirées are part of it. Yes, I have students who feel they cannot perform in front of people, but I have many more who look forward to the Soirees as a goal they have reached to mark their improvement.
Singers are in a special category. Singing is so embodied that you need to at least use your singing voice every day, and you need to be much more specific about warming up. Lip trills are crucial on a daily basis. Then you need to practice your pieces as often as you can. Mostly I teach older singers and high school age singers. The little ones need to sing too but I like piano players to sing as they play. Ukulele and guitar players have to do double practice!
Finally, playing music is about enjoying your playing and/or singing. Please enjoy the weeks leading up to the Soirée – I am going to!
PS. One of my students gave me a very old music magazine and I thought you might like to see the cover. The date is May 1918. Even I was not alive then and in fact my mother was only 11 years old. Note what is says about music “A Present National Necessity”.
Studio News (92)
Archives Select Month November 2019 (3) September 2019 (1) August 2019 (1) June 2019 (2) May 2019 (3) March 2019 (1) February 2019 (1) January 2019 (4) November 2018 (1) October 2018 (2) September 2018 (2) August 2018 (2) June 2018 (2) May 2018 (2) April 2018 (3) March 2018 (1) February 2018 (1) January 2018 (2) December 2017 (1) November 2017 (2) October 2017 (3) September 2017 (2) August 2017 (1) June 2017 (2) May 2017 (2) April 2017 (1) March 2017 (1) January 2017 (2) October 2016 (2) September 2016 (1) August 2016 (1) July 2016 (1) June 2016 (1) May 2016 (1) April 2016 (1) December 2015 (2) September 2015 (1) June 2015 (3) February 2015 (1) December 2014 (1) October 2014 (1) August 2014 (1) July 2014 (1) June 2014 (2) March 2014 (1) January 2014 (6) December 2013 (4) November 2013 (1) September 2013 (3) July 2013 (3) May 2013 (2) March 2013 (2) January 2013 (1) October 2012 (1) September 2012 (3) August 2012 (2) July 2012 (4) April 2012 (1) March 2012 (1) February 2012 (2) December 2011 (1) November 2011 (1) October 2011 (1) September 2011 (2) August 2011 (1)