We had a great time together on December 5th sharing music that first time performers bravely shared with family and friends. Adults and Children joined in to share Holiday Favorites and more. Congratulations to these musicians! And a special thanks to Annie O Love's Cafe of Sweet Abundance for allowing us to occupy her fun space for this event.
A question I am often asked by young teachers is, "How long should it take my students to get through each method book?" The short answer is 3 - 9 months. The long answer is, it depends on the family. (You thought I was going to say it depends on the student.)
The average student needs parental help to schedule, maintain, and support their music practice and scholastic homework through the age of eleven years. This is the same for after school athletic activities.
It is interesting to note that athletic coaches realized (about 35 years ago) that parents were no longer encouraging dance and sports routine practice between lessons. Dance studios and soccer coaches took the lead in restructuring private coaching sessions and team classes as a requirement on more than one day a week to be accepted as a student.
Few musicians pay attention to the body alignment and technique approaches taught to them in their youth. And fortunately young bodies are made to handle this struggle. But as musicians age they will often start to notice aches and limitations. Flute players develop tendonitis, others develop hip pain, etc. That is when they return to a professional coach for alignment help with their instrument. The Alexander Technique has helped many musicians and was often taught to us in University classes. But the popularity of that technique has waned and now musicians often turn to other specialists for help. I have had the privilege of working with artists as a bodywork professional for musicians when I lived in metropolitan areas: I am still called upon for virtual help by musicians who live in other areas. I know the challenges are still out there. So, I want to share a link here that I have shared with my private clients. I think it will help you to be more aware of your body, and movement, while rehearsing, performing.
Here is the link to the website: avoid injury
When I was a child I had two metronomes that I used to practice my music. The oldest was an electric box with a lightbulb on top. It was very impressive and had to be from the 40s or 50s. When it stopped working I acquired the traditional triangle shaped metronome with a pendulum. You would wind it up like a clock. If you had a cat that liked to sit on the piano while you played, the cat would be batting at the pendulum when it went back and forth making for a lot of missed beats. (And a lot of fun!) Today, choosing a metronome is a more complex task.
For budget minded individuals, you can use your phone's search bar and simply put in the word "metronome." A simple metronome will appear with a slider bar that allows you to increase or decrease the beats per minute (bpm), and a start/stop button. The sound you will hear is a clean consistent tick.
For those who own keyboards, you may have a metronome built into the unit. However, the sounds of the metronome vary with keyboards: some are clicks, but simpler models have beeps.
If you go to a music store and request a metronome, you will be faced with many choices. And this is where students get lost. Many of the metronomes produced today contain beeps that are irritating to some students. Others are not as simple as turning off and turning on a beat. Some devices make you choose the time signature and note breakdown. New students are simply not able to understand how to figure out and enter this information into the metronome - so they give up on using a metronome altogether.
I realized recently that I need to tell my students which metronome to purchase because a customer service representative in a store will often have them over-purchase. I felt especially bad when I sent an elderly student to purchase a metronome and he was talked into buying a $200 unit that he never could understand how to use.
So here is my suggestion. It is a Wittner MT-50 metronome that produces one sound - a click. It is run by a single battery and can be found for under $25. If you are a student of mine and the music store does not carry this model, or tells you they can not order it for you, you can order it online, or I will be happy to order it for you. In my book, a simple metronome, with a toneless click, will always be a student's best choice.
Since I last posted a lot has been happening in the music studio. I have been donating time every month to hold an online music class so that children and adults can have the opportunity to play music for one another. Without the space or opportunity to come together for recitals (due to the pandemic restrictions) this has been a positive and fun experience for everyone. The children get to see one another and everyone is so supportive.
I am excited to tell you that I am building a Patreon site. You know my passion for making music a part of everyone's life: Well, I am hoping this site will be a key to that manifestation. When I lived in other areas I had Angels that would give financial scholarships to my studio so families experiencing financial challenges could have 6 - 12 months of music lessons at low to no cost. I am searching for those Angels in this Holy City. I believe there are people here that would love to help - I simply haven't met them yet.
If you would like to become an Angel and donate a dollar a month or more to my Patreon project you can join my Patreon page at www.Patreon.com/LowCountryStudios.
Another step in a positive direction, for this music studio, was made in 2020. We were blessed to be welcomed into a Columbia chapter of the National Federation of Music Clubs. Their kindness in welcoming me and my students, and allowing me to form a Junior Music Club here in Charleston, has given my students the opportunity to take part in these yearly National Music Festivals. The NFMC requires each student to perform a piece of music by an American composer in addition to a foreign composer. So many children can name Bach, Beethoven and Mozart - but are not aware of our rich heritage of American composers. Nine of my students are taking part in this event next month. Charleston has never had opportunities for private music students through this well respected organization. I am so very grateful to have been given the opportunity to open this door for music students.
