Summer Practice Tips

Finding it difficult to fit practice into a busy summer schedule, or even a not-so-busy summer schedule? Believe it or not, so do we even. Summer lacks the structure that many of our practice schedules thrive on. Here are a few tips for keeping up your chops this summer season.

*Try practicing outside! Sometimes just the idea of being cooped up on a beautiful day is enough to inhibit practice, but there’s no reason for you to keep you and your music trapped indoors! If you’re nervous about the neighbors hearing squeaks and squawks, take a good amount of time warming up on scales and play the pieces you know and love. Also, remember that most people never hear live music in any form and are probably glad to hear your practice!

*Get a group together. Plan to play a duet with a friend for fun or church; get a barbershop quartet together for the summer and plan an end of summer concert and cookout for family and friends. Use the summer to rekindle your love of your instrument while keeping dust from building on your music stand. Plus having a plan with someone else can breathe new fun into your playing while giving your some accountability to practice some.

*Taking a vacation? Load a playlist of your favorite musicians or pieces onto your ipod before you go. Spend some car or plane time listening to the virtuosos, or reading about your favorite composer. Bring flashcards along to look over during breakfast or quiz during your layover.

Overall, have fun! Mastering any skill takes discipline, but it also takes passion. So take the season of fun and re-discover what made you love your musical pursuits!

Joy

Well, it is official, summer is upon us. Ripe tomatoes, popsicles, and bees. For us here at Sonata Music, that means coordinating summer lesson schedules and booking summer and fall wedding! Pachelbel rings from the windows while Suzuki graces the piano and strawberries adorn the table. Mmm, I love summer! Current projects which are being worked around lessons, weddings, and graduation open houses are:

• Finding enough studio time to finally bring demo tracks around for chamber music.
• Working on expanding our musician base as old friends move on and new friends grow closer. (stay tuned for a new variety in our offerings!)
• Working with local composers to *hopefully* bring customized and original pieces to our wedding offerings

Phew! What a crazy time! What are you filling your warmer, longer days with lately?

Helping Your Student Practice

As the parent of a music student, your responsibility towards your child's music lessons can seem daunting. I have had parents tell me, "I can't really help him practice, I don't know anything about music."

I definitely understand the feeling. The first time a child asked my advice on how to throw a baseball I froze.

You, however, are an irreplaceable part of your child's learning no matter the subject matter. Sometimes we adults don't realize the insight we have even without being an expert. Here are some encouragements you can offer your student without ever having touched an instrument:

Is anything here to distract you?

Teaching your student to practice goes hand in hand with teaching study skills. Where is a quiet place with minimal distractions? Should she silence her phone before starting? Does she have enough light to see her music?

Find a mirror.

If your student plays a portable instrument, encourage him to practice in front of a mirror in order to see his posture.

Build a routine.

Set aside 15-20 minutes of practice time at the same time every day. Something like right after dinner works well because there is a built in reminder besides the clock, and dinner happens daily.

Don't give up!

This is one of the hardest things I see in private lessons. Many younger kids feel like a failure when they cannot "get" something right away, because they are used to learning at quite an accelerated rate in most situations.

Encourage your child to stick with his efforts. Would you quit a sports team after a lousy practice or two? Tell your child to play a challenging piece or section 3 or 4 times slowly every time she practices. When she can get it right, still play it 3 or 4 times and see how many times in a row she can get it right!

That's great!

Think of something -ANYthing- to compliment your child on every time he practices. You stuck with it even when it was hard, good job. - I hear a big difference, don't you? - You should feel proud of yourself, I'm proud of you! - You remembered what your teacher said about circling tough notes! Your child needs praise not just for a task accomplished, but for proper practice along the way.

What did and didn't you like?

Ask your student to evaluate her performance. Can she identify something to improve on? Can she identify something she felt proud of and try to apply it to other pieces?

Above all, be present in your child's process! An involved parent makes a successful and happy child.

Top Tips To Maximize Your Ceremony Music

So, it's not top ten. Or top five. It's just what you need to know, and that's enough said....

In reverse order, please:

6. Take lighting into consideration

If your wedding will be outdoors or in an unconventional location then your should take a moment to consider the lighting. If your ceremony will be outdoors at 7:30 pm, you may need to locate your musicians near a light source, or simply provide book lights that can clip onto the top of their stands.

5. Make sure you have stands, chairs, or microphones if needed.

Check ahead with your church or venue to ensure that you will have the number of chairs and stands needed for your musicians. String quartets and trios will play seated, as will any cellist you hire. Most soloists will play standing. Make sure that chairs you provide do not have arms on them. The coordinator or pastor should be able to tell you whether your musicians will need a microphone or not. Your musicians can probably also help you to assess your sound needs.

4. Utilize rehearsal time

One of your musicians should attend your rehearsal for many reasons. Ask the attending musician to bring an instrument and to play while the wedding party walks down the aisle. This enables your wedding party to get a feel for what speed to walk and what they will hear, and enables your musician to plan for when to stop playing. Most processionals do not get played the entire way through. Other things to answer at the rehearsal are where to set up musician stands/chairs and who will cue and pay the musicians. If you have hired someone to play with a friend or family member, - say an accompanist for someone to sing a special song - both of those people should be in attendance to rehearse together. Check with your musician to see if you need to pay a fee for extra rehearsal time.

3. Give your musicians a “call time”

Tell your musicians what time you expect them to be at your venue. Especially if you are using a less-experienced musician, they may not know what an acceptable time frame looks like. On the other hand, be reasonable in your expectations. Arrival twenty to thirty minutes before the time that music should start playing is a perfectly acceptable expectation, but not much more.

2. Make sure your musicians/dj. know where they’re getting their cues from

Your musicians should not just start when they think it’s right, they will need a cue. Usually this comes from the officiant. Remember, your musicians are likely playing many weddings and may not remember what your particular grandmother looks like, and may not even be able to see the beginning of the aisle.

1. Put someone else in charge of music on the wedding day.

Many couples’ biggest wedding-day mistake is thinking that they can do it all. You have strived to coordinate perfection for so long, but your wedding day is the time to relax and enjoy the fruits of your labor. Delegate responsibilities for the wedding day. If you don’t have a wedding planner, the ushers make especially great people to ask to pitch in, as do the best man and maid of honor. Make it one person’s job to have the musicians’ phone numbers, know what chairs etc. they need set up and where, and to have their check ready. If you are using an ipod for ceremony or reception, have some one else run it and go through a test run a week or two prior.

Hello, welcome to the Sonata Music weblog! Here you can keep up on the latest news and get to know the personal side of our company a little more. Feel free to explore, and don't forget to visit our website www.sonatamusic.weebly.com as well!