SURREY MUSIC SCHOOL
  • Home
  • Music Moves ages 4-7
  • Piano Lessons age 7+
  • Blog
  • Our Philosophy
  • Free music activities
  • Resources
    • Student resources >
      • Improvisation
      • Beginners
      • Blue Jello cards
      • Chords
      • Christmas songs
      • Songs for Special Days
      • Listening
      • Rhythm Resources
    • Parent Resources
  • FAQs
  • Contact
  • Small print
    • Privacy Policy & GDPR
    • Terms of business
    • Safeguarding and conduct for online lessons
  • About Us
    • Testimonials
  • e-book - "learning the piano"

For a life filled with music

Ask about a space

Practical tips to support your child's practice at home (2)

7/10/2019

0 Comments

 
We continue this series on practicing with more really practical tips to help you support your child's practice at home.  These are better done in a video format, so please watch the videos below and download the resources at the bottom of this post.  Do let me know how you get on with implementing the strategies at home.  
Download the practice strategy cards and messy cards below. 
practice_strategy_cards.pdf
File Size: 2957 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

messy_cards.pdf
File Size: 486 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

0 Comments

Practical tips to support your child's practice at home (1)

17/9/2019

0 Comments

 
The last couple of posts have discussed the vital role parents play in supporting their child at home by negotiating a practice time and making sure it's stuck to.  For the next few posts we turn to practical strategies to help once you're at the piano. 
Make it a special time
In today's hectic world 1:1 time with your child is rare, so why not make practice time a special time when it's just the two of you and you can treasure the time spent together.  Put the phone and other distractions away, make sure siblings are occupied elsewhere, shut the dog out and really be present with your child. 
Along with Oprah and many others, Dr Christopher Fisher (father of two small pianists, piano teacher and academic) says your presence is one of the best rewards you can give your child.  Let your child know how special they are.  Remember, unless you tell them this they won't know it. Dr Fisher also suggests mentioning at random times (outside of practice) how proud you were of something they did in practice, it will light them up and motivate them.  ​
Picture
your presence is one of the best rewards you can give your child
Picture
Make it fun
A Suzuki teacher said that parenting is about paying loving, playful attention rather than education.  Practice needs to be filled with fun, laughter, fun and games.  Did you know it takes 400 repetitions to create a new synapse in the brain, unless it's done playfully and then it only takes 10-20 - WOW!
The power of praise & constructive feedback
You already know this, but children crave parents' affirmation but it needs to be:
  • honest
  • specific
  • about hard work
So ask questions - how could you make that better?  I wonder what that would sound like if you played it faster / higher / lower / etc.
Say 'I can see how fast you are progressing using that strategy'
Say 'I loved the sound you created just there'....and so on.  
Things to say!
The Curious Piano Teachers have created a set of practice cards for parents that are at the bottom of this blog post.  They include:
  • 'I love the way you're sitting at the piano today, you look just like a pianist'
  • 'I noticed how you counted aloud and clapped the rhythm before you started to play'
  • 'You were very confident at the beginning of this piece and knew just where to put your hands and fingers'
  • 'How could you play that differently' (higher / lower / faster / slower / more sadly / more excitedly)
  • 'What could you do to make that sound better?'
  • 'I'm curious to know what that would sound like played at snail speed'
  • 'I wonder if you can play starting at bar.....'
  • 'This might be a bit tricky, but what would that sound like played backwards?'
  • 'How difficult would it be to get the right hand to play the left hand notes?'
  • 'Let's go and find some unusual places around the house to tap the rhythm of your piece one'
  • 'What would that sound like if you played opposite dynamics?' (volume)
  • 'I'm going to sit down and when I hear the dynamics change I'll stand up'
  • 'That sounded very steady and secure'
  • 'That sounded a bit tricky, can you tell me why?'
  • 'I'm going to set a timer for 1 minute.  How many xxxx can you play accurately in that time?'
  • 'Call out aloud the letter names for the scale of....'
  • 'Mess around and do your own thing at the piano for 3 minutes'
  • 'Teach me to play something'​
I hope this has given you some ideas for practical ways to support your child.  There will be more next time!  
home-practice-cards.pdf
File Size: 363 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

0 Comments

Cadenza - a new way to motivate students to practise between lessons

4/12/2018

0 Comments

 
How do we solve the age old problem of practising between lessons?  I'm sure many of you reading this will either have children who learn an instrument or remember your own instrumental lessons and one of the major problems is practice. 

A while ago I wrote a blog post about the parent's role in the piano learning journey; a major part of which is helping with piano practice at home.  Today's post is about a free online tool called Cadenza developed by Professor Rena Uptis of Queens University in Canada that teachers can use to help motivate students to practice at home. 

Given that students see their teacher for only 30 minutes a week the progress they make is quite remarkable

Given that most students see their teacher for only 30 minutes a week the progress they make is quite remarkable.  Compared to the hours children spend each day with their teachers at school, instrumental students, their parents and teachers do a job that is nothing short of amazing!



Imagine what would happen to progress if there were more support available to children outside of lessons.  Where children would have clearly set tasks they could tick off, access reminder videos, upload their own videos and most importantly of all receive teacher feedback between lessons.
Cadenza is a free online tool that increases the support available for children outside of lessons.  It allows:

  • teachers to set practice activities for between lessons; 
  • students to access the activities and check them when done; 
  • students to choose an emoji to rate their practice and write comments or notes for themselves or their teacher;
  • the teacher to upload videos during the lesson to help the student during the week; 
  • perhaps most exciting of all, Cadenza allows the student to upload videos of progress during the week on which the teacher can provide feedback.  No longer is the child alone for the six days between lessons, but he or she can upload videos and ask for help / feedback. 
perhaps most exciting of all, Cadenza allows the student to upload videos of progress during the week on which the teacher can provide feedback
Children will need access to a tablet during their piano practice time.  They can work through the activities set by the teacher, monitor their progress during the week, see how much time they have spent working on activities and write notes for themselves or their teacher.  The tool can help develop the skill of reflection as children can note what went well and what they need to focus on during the next practice session. 

The creators of Cadenza report that students 'love' using it and that it's fun.  Teachers and students report learning more quickly with Cadenza and experiencing more satisfaction as musicians.  And why not, the goal is to make music and the sooner we can all do that the happier we will all be!

If you'd like to learn more about Cadenza then visit The Curious Piano Teachers blog where the creator, Rena Uptis has written a great introduction.  Alternatively watch this short video.

From January 2019 Surrey Music School will be using Cadenza with all students.  If you have lessons with us please sign up and let us know when you've done so.  We can then connect  and the fun can begin! 
0 Comments

The parent's role in the piano learning journey

10/11/2017

0 Comments

 
So, you've signed your child up for piano lessons and just like every other extra curricular activity, you pay the bill, drop your child off on time and your job is done.  Or is it?

Picture
Learning an instrument is not like other extra curricular activities where the learning takes place once a week (or more often), at the venue, and doesn't have to be thought about again until next week.   It involves a three way relationship between parent, child and teacher - sometimes referred to as a 'triangle'.  Unless all three elements are functioning there will be barriers to learning and progress. 


The work in learning an instrument actually takes place after the lesson, when the child is at home, putting into action, on a daily basis, what they learned during the lesson.  


There are 10,080 minutes in a week and children spend about 30 of those minutes with their instrumental teacher.  Children, particularly young ones, are unable to manage their time sufficiently to arrange their own piano practice, so it's vital that parents take control of this.

Picture
For a child to make good progress they really should be playing most days of the week.  Learning an instrument cannot be crammed, so please don't think you can just practice the day before the lesson - by that time the child will have forgotten 90% or even 100% of what they learned and the next day's lesson will involve a repeat of the previous week's lesson which, on an ongoing basis, becomes very frustrating for child, teacher and parent.  Of course sometimes life gets in the way and if you've had one of those weeks then do tell the teacher.
Dr Andrea Creech of UCL found that students thrive where a good three way relationship exists between parent, child and teacher.  As a parent you can contribute towards this relationship by:

  • Discussing how much you will be involved.  Obviously younger children will need more help;
  • Providing a structured home environment for practice - for example playing at the same time every day;
  • Taking an interest in promoting good teacher / student rapport;
  • Listening to your child play and being his or her 'cheerleader';
  • Not letting problems fester - address them immediately with the teacher before they become an issue. 

Dr Creech points out that parents need to be 'versatile'..... whatever does this mean?!!  The Curious Piano Teachers have written a whole blog post about this 'The Power of Practice: 7 Practice Hats for Parents' and it's summarised below.  There's also an excellent e-book from them, for you at the bottom of this post to help you keep track of your 7 hats! 
Picture

Hat 1 - The Personal Organiser

Schedule in playing sessions - how about setting a daily alarm to remind everyone when it's playing time?

Hat 2 - The Services Provider

Is the room warm and central (children don't like to be sent off to practice), is the stool at the right height, can your child read the teacher's notes,  is the light right, are there other distractions such as siblings playing computer games or making other noise?

Hat 3 - The Number One Fan

You don't need to be a musician - sit down, listen and comment on any improvements - if necessary ask your child what they thought of the performance!  Praise achievements, give performance opportunities - for example when friends visit. 

Hat 4 - The Flexible Friend

Take an interest in the homework notes - if you don't understand them ask the child what they think, if you still don't then email the teacher - they will be delighted you're interested and love to help you. 

It's quite fun to get your child to teach you something they already know!

Hat 5 - The Communicator

Remember, it's a three way relationship - keep channels of communication open with the teacher.  Ask questions, give feedback. 

Hat 6 - The Diplomat

Learning an instrument is hard.  Sometimes children just won't want to do it.  Negotiate with them to find a time that suits them better; pick just one thing to do; work out how to break tasks down; play an old piece; have fun messing about on the piano.  If it becomes an ongoing problem then speak to the teacher.  I always want to know what is going on and what I can do differently to help, but if I'm not told I don't always work out there is a problem - we aren't mind readers!

Avoid arguments at the piano and bribery.

Hat 7 - The Patient Parent

Practice doesn't sound good.  It consists of playing the same bit over and over until it's correct - note, not the whole piece - if you're hearing the whole piece then your child is not practising properly.  This is a subject for a whole other blog post. 

I hope you've found this helpful, do share any experiences you have of being a piano parent below.  Next week we'll be looking at the child's role in the triangle. 

Don't forget to share with friends  who might find this useful and download the e-book!

e-workbook-for-piano-parents.pdf
File Size: 13935 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

0 Comments

    Caroline Blount

    Director of Surrey Music School.  

    Archives

    September 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    June 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017

    Categories

    All
    Benefits Of Learning Music
    Good Music Teaching
    Improvisation
    Kodaly Approach
    Music Exams
    Music Lessons For Children Guildford
    Online Piano Lessons
    Piano Exams
    Piano Lessons
    Piano Lessons Chertsey
    Piano Practice
    Piano Teaching
    Reading Music
    The Curious Piano Teachers
    Traditional Music Teaching

    RSS Feed

Locations:
  • Meadowcroft Infants School, Little Green Lane, Chertsey KT16 9PT
  • Beaufort Primary School, Kirkland Avenue, Woking GU21 3RG
  • Boxgrove Primary School, Boxgrove Lane, Guildford GU1 2TD
  • Home
  • Music Moves ages 4-7
  • Piano Lessons age 7+
  • Blog
  • Our Philosophy
  • Free music activities
  • Resources
    • Student resources >
      • Improvisation
      • Beginners
      • Blue Jello cards
      • Chords
      • Christmas songs
      • Songs for Special Days
      • Listening
      • Rhythm Resources
    • Parent Resources
  • FAQs
  • Contact
  • Small print
    • Privacy Policy & GDPR
    • Terms of business
    • Safeguarding and conduct for online lessons
  • About Us
    • Testimonials
  • e-book - "learning the piano"