Students from all over Charlotte, NC will be participating in the National Federation of Music Clubs festival on Feb. 22. We pick pieces we can learn successfully. We memorize. We polish. What is left? The students need to mentally prepare for the event.
I had a student in a lesson tonight who just hasn’t mentally prepared very much. Her pieces are fairly well prepared and she’s participated in this event before. In the lesson she just unravelled from the start. It was totally a mental game. She came in saying she was nervous and it showed. What are we doing to remedy this situation?
In lessons this week, we are having mock festival. The kids come in and play one scale. Then they pick which piece they want to begin with and play their first festival piece cold. I score them as if I were their judge that day. They then move straight into the second piece with no comments from me in between. After finishing their performance, we go over my written comment. Then we keep the comments sheet to compare to what their judges will say this weekend. Our goal is to try and not have any of the same negative feedback. If I said work on dynamics, then hopefully they will work extra hard on that between now and Saturday and upgrade their level of playing.
I’m having students have their parents record their performances and practice at home. Due to the snow last week, students were even sending me video for some long distance help. The added pressure of having it ‘on tape’ can help bring the flaws to the surface and simulate the environment of the event.
Then there’s the ever not popular stern lecture. You know the one. Buckle down and do your best. Don’t just throw away months worth of work. Fight for a good performance. Don’t let mistakes snowball. Once a mistake has been made it’s done. You can’t undo it, but don’t let it rattle you.
Being mentally prepared is just as important as having learned the music. So put those game faces on and go own your performances. Good luck!
Author: Heather Brunner
NFMC Festival
Brunner Studios students will be participating in the NFMC Piano Festival at Queens University on February 22. Keeping practicing!
For the Love of Music
Since yesterday was Valentine’s Day, my thought is just to ask you one question. Who inspired your love of music? Was it a piano teacher? A parent? A recording artist? If you are able to thank that person, do so. They would love to hear that they’ve had an influence on your life.
Royal Conservatory Music Development Program
Brunner Studios participates in the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program. This program is an internationally recognized standard for musicians. We can participate in the Piano, Voice, Oboe, Theory, and Music History portions of the program. I am currently looking to enroll serious students who would like to participate in the exams that take place starting in December of 2014. This is a wonderful program to help students develop into well rounded musicians. Any age is welcome to participate. The program is not for children only. If your student is interested in studying abroad or your family is here in the US from another country, this is an easy program to step into and continue your musical education.
Please contact Brunner Studios for further information on signing up for lessons and preparing for this wonderful and internationally respected musical experience.
Bad Bowing is Contagious
There are still a few things that make me want to roll my eyes and giggle as a teacher. Simply because I’ve been guilty of doing the same things. Bowing well it’s a wasteland of poor etiquette. I remember my teachers telling me over and over that I needed to give a good bow. That I was telling the audience thank you for listening to me play the piano.
Last Saturday I took my students to a local assisted living facility. This was a very informal event but a chance to hone our skills before the big winter recital in a few week. Before we began, I reminded the students to bow after each piece. Then one of my more bowing conscientious students gave us a demonstration of what a proper bow looks like. Off we went to the performance.
The first round of pieces was somewhat dubiously played but perfectly bowed. The second round started and the playing was better but the bowing was headed down hill rapidly. After about 4 half-hearted bows, a student made a break for it with only a head nod. I had to interrupt between students and remind them that I expected correct and polite bows. Then we were back on track.
It seems like if just one student slacks off in the bowing department it sets off a chain reaction. We will be practicing a little bit more before the winter recital.
Upcoming November Performances
Brunner Studios students will be performing twice in the month of November.
On November 2, they will be presenting a studio class performance at the Little Flower Retirement Village in Mint Hill. Play for the elderly and infirm is a great opportunity for the students to serve the community. We will be playing Halloween music, Patriotic music, classical, pop, and show tunes.
On November 23, students will be performing at Miller Piano. This will be our winter recital. Christmas music, classical music, and everything in between.
The November 23 performance is open to all who wish to attend. There are plenty of seats. The Nov. 2 performance, students will be limited to 2 guests as there is very limited room at the facility.
A Little Inspiration
A thermal pool in Yellowstone National Park. What music would you pair with this picture?
A Return to Lessons
Brunner Studios in Mint Hill, NC, will begin the fall semester on September 10. Hopefully everyone has had time to get those school schedules settled and is now ready to either resume or begin music lessons. Brunner Studios offers piano, voice, oboe, theory, and music history lessons. Tutoring for AP Music History is also available. We will be having recitals and performance opportunities throughout the year.
Please call or email and ask about scheduling a trial lesson to decide if Brunner Studios is the right musical home for you or your student.
Curriculum Questions
As students are heading back to school here in Charlotte, NC, and all over the country, we should ask ourselves; are we teaching the way students learn in today’s environment. Honestly with the competition between extra curricular activities we as teachers need to be up to date on the latest methods and learning styles. Are we incorporating the newest technology in our lessons? Are we excited about teaching?
What are questions that we should ask ourselves as teachers and what same questions should parents be asking?
1. What curriculum do you use? And part two of this question. Why do you use this curriculum?
As as teacher, do you use the same material because it is always what you’ve used, or because you believe it is the most relevant to today’s students? Do you use the best correlation with local festivals? Do you try to expose students to a wide variety of music and print styles?
2. Are your students active in the community? Festivals, talent shows, recitals, playing at nursing homes.
3. Do the students use technology to help keep them interested during the challenging parts of the curriculum? Online apps or flashcards? Notation software? Youtube performances? Are you utilizing these resources?
4. Are you following a curriculum of any kind that can aid a parent in understanding the rate of progress for the student?
5. Are the students learning about areas outside of music that relate to music? Roman numerals, world history, different cultures that have influenced nationalistic music?
Many times I think as teachers we can get in a rut. Even with a tried and true curriculum, there are opportunities for evaluation and introspection. As parents are calling and emailing, do you seem excited about the coming year or are you feeling the grind of hearing those same pieces again? It is up to us as educators to try to instill excitement for music and knowledge in our new and returning students.
A Break, A Sabbatical, A Vacation, A Return
I’ve been either in school or teaching full time since the fall of 2000. That is a long time! The month of August is a notoriously slow month on the lesson front. This year, I decided to do something different. The studio is closed for the entire month of August and the first week of September. What about the students? Most were vacationing at least part of the month, and all were glad not to have to negotiate the first few weeks of school with an after school activity.
I’m using this time to think about my methodology and where I want the studio to go in the next year. What’s been working and what needs a revamp?
The most useful thing that I’ve done this year is to have started using either a candle or incense on lesson days in the room off the studio. This combined with a quite minute. The quality of lessons has improved dramatically. So many of my students come directly from school or other activities. The students just aren’t as focused on that 30 or 45 minutes as they should be. As the student enters the studio we talk briefly about how the day went and get the books arranged at the piano. Then I ask the student to close their eyes and think about “how you practiced, what did you improve upon, and what you want to show me in your lesson.” Just a minute of silence for most of the students allows them to reset and leave the rest of the day at the door. I feel as a teacher that I’m getting a more accurate read on what the students are accomplishing during the week.
As we come back in the fall, I hope to have more students signing up for The Music Development Program exams. Previously known as RACE and the Carnegie Hall Achievement Program. This is a program that I believe in strongly. Whether the student takes the exams or just uses the principles laid out in the curriculum, my students are on a stronger and more through track than ever. Having an internationally recognized standard makes it so easy to know how a student is truly progressing in the literature. If you would like to find out more about this program, please let me know.
As always, Brunner Studio is scheduling lessons. Just because the studio is on break doesn’t mean that my email and phone don’t work! Please call or email if you would like to know more about piano, voice or oboe lessons for this fall. I can’t wait to hear from you.