Nanny Music #33 – what’s in your mind

Tags

Arts, Education, Muscle memory, Music, Shopping, Suzuki, Suzuki method, Teacher

Recently I read an article talking about practicing on instruments, some professor said if you practice with absent mind, the longer you practice the more imprint of the mistakes in your brain, and that makes improvement impossible. No doubt. I know this right from the start and I never asked my children practice a certain amount of time. I just told them to practice the part they can’t manage yet then a few more times to ensure the right way and bring into their muscle memory. if they could practice 5 to 10 times a day, I am happy. I also told them to think of the music and play in their mind when they are in the car and can’t physically play on the instruments. Seems i am with the experts all along.

My children both play fiddle good but they have different styles even learn from same teachers. They heard different things from the same song. When my daughter thinking about long stroke bowing my son is thinking legato in the same phrase of melody. The main thing is they all HEARD the music and they are not just play notes. They play fiddle with passion and expression because they play like that in their mind before they apply it on the instrument.

Practice is to make it better, if you just remember the notes and don’t have the music ringing in your mind, you are just a robot do what you told. Anyone can play notes. soon or later. But the musicians can hear how their music touch the audience before they play. i felt annoyed when a teacher or parent told the kids to wave around when they perform, it is awkward and make them look like clowns. my daughter’s teacher said, just relax and let the music drive your body moving so the audience can feel your enthusiasm. Yes, close your eyes and your music is dancing with you. There is another pianist said when you reach the highest level your body will move less because you are playing through your heart not through your body. I think he is talking about the impulse. Why not teach the kids play from their heart from the very beginning. I heard people applause kids play with squeaky sounds because they thought they are too small to make it sound good. No, they are wrong. Suzuki method teaches kids distinguish the tiny difference between sand and beans sound like in a jar while shaking it. Even a 4 years old can recognize beautiful sounding. All they need is to use the right technique and experiment it when they play instruments.

Feel the music is the best way to practice, when you play beautifully in your mind. Your brain will teach your fingers to play like that. I don’t think my kids ever play squeaky notes even when they were 4 and play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. They are not prodigies, they just really hear and feel the music. a 10 minutes practice in your mind is better than 5 hours sawing on the instruments.

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Nanny Music #32 – What do you do

Tags

Classical music, Compact Disc, Fiddle, Lia, Music, Music education, Teacher, Violin

After the kids won the talent show, someone approach to me and asked who is their teacher. He assumed I will say the names well-known locally. Well, one of their teacher, Calvin Dyck, teaches Lia classical music is a famous musician who owned a doctor degree. But that’s not the reason I chose him for the lessons. He has a very powerful colorful style and uses a fun method to teach. And he loves fiddle music. I was amazed by the detail and expression he brought into music and surely he made a big change to the kids performance. I understands why others always want to know who is the kids’ teacher, most parents want the best for their children and if they can get the same teacher as my kids, they will give their children a jump-start.

My children might be lucky to have different teacher to help them through different stages. Their second classical teacher force them to read music instead of copy him. He also took out the tape on their violin from the previous teacher to train them get in tone by ears and it really open another chapter. Their third teacher speed up their path by introduce fun pieces. And their last teacher is like a martial art master bring them into power and style which are not on the paper. When they were 8 and 9, fiddle master Calvin Vollrath took them in his own class in the fiddle camp, a pioneer step no one else dare to do. he gave them a chance to learn in professional level at very young age.

Yes those good teachers make significant changes. Buy when my son start to teach as charity, Dr Dyck told him, he can’t just teach anyone, but only the one who want to learn. I found out later it is true. But not just about the kid but also the parents. Kai has a couple brilliant students who learn fast. We helped them get a donated violin and drove Kai to their place to teach for free. We suggested them to join the local fiddle club to get in camp free. When all sounded good, their parents kept cancelling lessons because they are busy and they never show up in the camp or club. Why they were asking help and not cooperate with the teacher?

I also heard a friend said her son got MVP but she can’t let him be in the baseball game that summer because they HAVE TO go to their share-time cabin for vacation. What? Anything special happened to my kids maybe the only chance to make a change to their life, what are those parents thinking?

It bothers me when I see kids stand like statures in a fiddle group while others perform because they only know a few songs. The first time my children join the local fiddle club they are just beginners in playing violin. I didn’t let them sit there to watch other’s play. I told them picking up their little violins and follow others’ fingers. in a half year they are winning in contest, getting paid gigs and even recorded with the club in the CD. Do you dare to let your kids try?

To find a good teacher is important but more important is your input for your children. When you complain your kids don’t practice enough, please play some music to let them fall in love with it. When you envy with other kids play better, maybe work with the music teacher a little close, not just drop the kids off for lessons and take off. My daughter heard a Beethoven piece played in the movie, she said it’s so beautiful, I want to play it. So I searched all night on-line to find the sheet music. Do you ever do that? When you kids want to play something harder than the level they are learning, do you encourage them or say you can’t do it? Do you ever let your kids holding a pretend violin to mimic the musician? Do you play music for your kids since they still in the womb? So don’t blame the kids or teacher, check how much did you do.

 

Nanny Music #31-Recycle orchestra and music teachers

Tags

Arts, Asia, Education, lesson, Music, Music education, Music lesson, Teacher

One of Dryden, Ontario’s Landfill’s. This one is located in Barclay. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Because of our own financial problem, I encourage my children to help other kids when they can. since they start to perform at very young age, they have being the volunteer entertainers of Child Run,an annual fundraising event for BC Children Hospital. Now they established a charity program to teach kids from low-income family for free. We always know how hard it is to pay for music lessons and buy instruments as we experienced it ourselves.

Just saw a trail of a documentary film called Landfill Harmonic, a couple of music professors and a luthier is help the poorest kids who live in a landfill city make instruments from trash and teach them to play. They took those amazing sounding young musicians on tour in Europe with their instruments made from garbage. One of the orchestra kids’ father said they make a living by resell the trash, surviving day by day. They don’t have money to buy any instrument or pay music lesson. And his daughter said she can’t live without music. I cried when I heard the outstanding music they played. My guitar teacher who is the best in Asia want to teach me for free too when I was young. I asked him why, he said, because you really want to learn. Unfortunately I couldn’t continue the lessons because of some family issue.

a few days ago a music teacher send me an article written by a music parent who is an economist talking about why music teacher should charge the missing lesson without give out make up lesson. He compare music lesson with swimming lesson, he said, you can’t ask for make up lesson for swimming or university class so you shouldn’t ask make-up music lesson if your kid is sick. he forget one thing swimming lessons and university classes are group lessons if you missed one you can ask your friend, or the instructor to give you a tip or assignment within short time. But music lessons are set for individual, private lessons. Music skill take time to progress and very detail learning in person there is nothing a friend or assignment can catch it up like a make-up lesson will do. Plus in a group lesson the instructor already spend his time with other students, of course it’s not fair for him to spend extra time with single student. But for private music lesson, the teacher won’t need to do anything if the student is not there, so make-up lesson is just move the same amount of time he spend on teaching to different spot. He doesn’t lose anything.

what a contrast, the music professors teaching for free to change lives, and a rich parent want the teacher enjoy his free time when his kid missed a lesson. My family struggle financially, even my kids have some talent and they need a good teacher I can’t afford to pay a lesson not taught. I think the professor in the movie know that and he won’t ask for money from the landfill orchestra. Music teachers need the tuition for living, but get paid even their student is sick or can’t make it to the lesson, umm. I know I want my children to be the music teachers who give to make a change.

Nanny Music #28 – the shiny eyes

Tags

Benjamin Zander, Classical music, Compact Disc, Fiddle, Lia, Suzuki method, Teacher, Zander

English: Benjamin Zander (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

After Kai and Lia did the speech for Tedxkids, I realize how a person’s perspective view can inspire others. And then Lia’s violin teacher talked me about a video from Tedx Talk video by Ben Zander, a conductor. He talked about how classical music can light up people’s heart and when you see the shiny eyes you know you make someone love classical music. The shiny eyes, yes, I have seen it in my children’s eyes when they heard a beautiful piece and eager to learn to play it. Should all music learning students have the same sparkle in their eyes? Why some of them quit learning before they can enjoy it? Mr Zander said when the kids start to learn they impulse on every note, and by the time they impulse between phrases, they can play pretty good. This is what exactly I tried to show my children when they start to learn instruments. I never asked them practice for certain a mount of time. I asked them to listen and feel the music when they play, once they got the part they try to manage, they are done practicing that day. When they feel the music the notes become fluent like running water. Even just 5 minutes, it will be better than mechanically practice for hours. And why some teacher think the kids only can play the songs or pieces they learned? Let them try, mimic other musicians, music plays from their hearts not their fingers. When Kai and Lia started, their school teacher brought more than 40 kids to the local fiddle cub. Kai and Lia were the only kids can stay and play with the adults in the fiddle club, They join the club gigs and recording after a few month of learning. What happened with the other kids who start to learn fiddle earlier and better than them in that time? Well, they were not been told to try. When they heard a song they don’t know yet, they just sit there and soon get bored and restless. Eventually their eyes are muted to the music. Like sitting in the coffee shop and not hear the background music. I can guarantee you won’t see any shiny eyes. Music learning could be like an experiment, keep trying and get sparkles on the process. I don’t think more than half of the songs Kai and Lia performs are taught by their teachers. They heard them from concerts, CDs even from their friends, their repertoire from the teachers are just the sprinkles on the ice cream. Mr Zander said everyone can love classical music. I am thinking of what Dr Suzuki who create the Suzuki method said, everyone can learn to play music, if you make their eyes shine.

 

 

Nanny Music #27 – Balance life

Tags

Child, Homer Simpson, Lia, Moscow, Nanny, Teacher, Television, United States

Lia told me she would like to learn gymnastic stuff, well, maybe that’s not a good idea to add it in her busy life. One thing I know about gymnastics, balance. Wonder if she can borrow this idea for her learning, or maybe she already implant the idea and using it to organize her schedule. She told me her project has been used as a example to show how a good work can be done  by her school teacher. And she is progressing well in classical music as well as fiddle. She hand out with friends and watch lots TV on the days she is free, and still get As in school, even advanced a grade in math. Um, she seems balance well in all area. That make me think, we are told to get all 5 groups of food to balance our nutrition, why not balance the activity or jobs we do? I never think practice 5 hours a day 7 days a week is good for a musician. As Homer Simpson said, “No beer, No TV make homer crazy.” I will say, all work, no leisure make everyone crazy. Even a musician need some balance in life.

Nanny Music #26 – learn to be a leader

Tags

Arts, conductor, Fiddle, Jam session, Kai, leader, Lia, Music, practice fiddle club, Sight reading, Stringed, Teacher, teaching leader, Violin

Kai joined one of the fiddle club practice without Lia, the club president asked him to lead some tunes. Count in, arrange the pick up, show other member how to play when they are not familiar with the arrangement. Even play harmony for most of the tunes. And there is a moment let my heart skipped a little. She asked Kai to record a tune so others can take it home and learn. The song is not very hard but Kai never heard it before, all he have is the sheet music he get a few minutes before the request. He played perfectly with vibrato just by sight-reading right after the request, the recording is once through. And when he plays harmony by request he make it up on spot too. Hmm, the only other fiddlers who done it before are either teachers or being play like mature player for a long time. Kai is only 14. And no, he is not genius, he learned how to do it from jam session in the fiddle camp, his fiddle buddies.

Sometime, experience come from trying, like Kai learned composition from the camp workshop, and figure things out when he have brain storm jamming with friends., even just doodling around. And you will never know when or where any request will pop out. Like in the club, he need to be a teacher, leader and conductor or composer. I am happy he took the challenge with an ease and enjoyed it too. The main hing is that he is ready, and all the effort worth it.

Nanny Music #22-count your blessing, and pay forward

Tags

Arts, Education, Educators, Facebook, K through 12, Student, Taiwan, Teacher

Here is a comment I posted to a fiddle group in Facebook while people discussing about musicians charging for teaching.

–I never asked music teachers to teach for free, matter of fact i hate some of those event organizers don’t pay my children because they are younger, even they are performing in a professional level as all adults. But some teacher offer cheaper or free lessons because they admired the desire of learning, like my guitar teacher, I had offer to pay many times, he just said if you pay I won’t teach you. He do charge fair amount to teach in college and performance and still the best teacher in Taiwan. We have to respect those masters. On the other hand there are musicians count every minute they teach even charge extra for a emergency earlier leaving because they are short of money. The main thing is not how much you charge, but how you treat your students. My son is teaching fiddle now, he don’t charge much but according to the student’s guardian he is a great teacher, patient, connect with the kid, really bring the kid’s attention to the music, is that all what we expect from the teacher, a great mentor.—

Truly, everyday we are learning from someone, paying or not. Are you appreciated what you get from people? Are you going to pass it on and give the blessing to others? At the end of the year this is what we all need to think about.

Nanny Music #20 – learning through teaching

Tags

Education, fiddle teacher, Music, Music education, Music theory, Sheet music, Teacher

Image via Wikipedia

Kai got his first fiddle student, a 6 years old little girl who have no music training at all. She is like a blank canvas ready to be painted. Her colourful life depends on Kai’s teaching. Will she like music as much as her first music teacher? Will her music approach go even farther? The sky is unlimited. And Kai definitely will learn how to deal with a mini musician to be, to bring her interest with his violin and bow like a magic wand. Sure the little blank paper will make Kai think and learn to not just be a better player but also a better teacher.

Nanny Music # 17 – the kid’s view

Tags

Arts, Cello, Education, Educators, K through 12, Lia, Star War, Star Wars, Teacher, United States, Violin

When we drive by piles of logs, Lia show her sympathy, “poor dead trees” I reminded her, “Your violin and cello are made of dead trees.” She replied, “That’s different, my instruments can be used many times. Making papers is waste.” “So we need to recycle them.”

Her cello teacher usually good at teaching kids in kids words, he would pretend using the sword from Star Wars ‘zoom, zoom’ cutting the thumb stick out the cello neck so she won’t choke the cello. Or tell her don’t ruin Mrs. Smith’s garden when she put her bow too close to the finger board. Her violin teacher would tell her and Kai, it’s just like the Canucks always go to the gym when they don’t have games, practice scales is violinists’ work out.

Doesn’t matter how good the teachers can play or teach, if they talk in the kid’s language, the youngster usually accept better and show more interest what they are learning. That usually the way we choose their teacher. They might not have most famous teachers. But a teacher fit their taste and able to fix their problems in a kid friendly way is the best for them. And we are lucky to find some around.