And We Have A Winner!

Actually, we had three winners of our Count the Beats! Contest. Ashlie, Tyrus, and Braxten all counted 49 1/2 beats, which was correct. Very tricky. At Group Lesson we again worked on our counting and understanding of rhythm. We also went around the world with note flash cards and KATELYN remains the champion!

We also played holding our bows upside down to help improve our bow hold and tone. Yes, you CAN DO THIS AT HOME! Please do!

Count the Beats!

We have one more week to count the beats on the poster to win a prize. Winners will be announced at Group Lesson on February 24th. If you have a guess, write it on a paper and give it to teacher. You will find out at Group Lesson if you are right or not.

Keep working on the 21-day Vibrato Challenge. So far, onlyAshlie has completed the 21 days without a miss!

Spring Recital Set

The date for our Spring Recital has been set. It will be Wednesday, May 19, 2010 at the Piano Gallery just off 10600 South and 300 West. Many of our students are learning new songs for this recital so it should be very entertaining with some new and different songs. Put this date on your calendar and be sure to invite whomever you would like to hear you play! Time will be 6:30 P.M. sharp. (The store closes at 7:30.)

Listen, Listen, Listen

I would like to encourage everyone to listen a LOT to their Suzuki CD's and other good classical and fiddle music. Listening to our songs makes our progress go much faster. Students do not have problems with the rhythm, intonation, tone, and memorization when they listen on a regular basis.

Two kinds of listening are Passive Listening and Active Listening.
Passive Listening is hearing what is in our environment. We do not consciously respond to it, but it streams into our subconscious. Your child masters the skills of passive learning very early in life. Even when you think he is sleeping or doing another activity his ears are taking in information in the passive mode. Putting on music when your child is doing homework or sleeping will store it in the subconscious brain for later retrieval.

Active Listening involves a more concentrated effort. Listening actively helps us correct mistakes, figure out how to play a difficult section, and pay particular attention to how we want the finished piece to sound. Active Listening causes a conscious awareness of the music that creates a response in the body. We may want to tap our toes, fingers, clap, or dance. Watching the music while listening connects our visual and auditory senses. A child who listens learns to read music easier than those who do not listen. Let's get listening!!

Rhythm

We had a fun group lesson focusing on rhythm. We did some math problems, substituting notes values for numbers. We played the game "Rhythm", keeping the beat while calling out names. Play this one at home!
Contratulations to Ashlie for passing off Suzuki Book 2. She played the Minuet by Boccerini for our group. Several of our students are very close to finishing Book 2.
We are working towards a Sprng Recital. We play together as a group quite often, so it will be exciting to hear each student play a solo. Some have requested playing duets so we will work hard to get ready for our recital. The date will be announced soon.
Welcome to our new student and friend, Jordan.

Music Has Power to Train the Brain

"That's the view of brain and music specialist Frank R. Wilson, M.D., a California neurologist. Amazed by his daughter's progress on the piano, he wondered how she learned so swiftly to coordinate hands, ears, eyes, brain.
His research showed that skill in playing an instrument results from effective use of the cerebellum, the part of the brain that directs muscle control and coordination. When music meets the brain, there's a two-way transaction that somehow benefits both motor skills and mental faculties. What's more, emotions are stimulated too.
Back when your mother told you to practice, practice, practice, she was thinking mostly of social graces. Now you have a more persuasive argument-- you can talk about brain power when you encourage your son or daughter to master the piano, violin, guitar, flute, or drums."

21-Day Vibrato Challenge

Many of you are starting the basics of vibrato study. In order to vibrato, we need to develop the muscles of the left hand that allow us to have a beautiful controlled vibrato. I have given exercises at lessons to do this, but here is the key: You must do vibrato exercises every day without missing a day to benefit from the exercises. So we are having a 21-day vibrato challenge starting this week. You must do a vibrato exercise (some can be done without the violin) EVERY DAY for 21 days. If you miss a day, you must start over the 21-day challenge. Have fun with your vibrato and don't forget the tic tacs!