From a young child’s perspective, music practice can be a pretty lonely affair. As other family members go about their business, little musicians can feel like they are missing out. But with your presence and attention, solitary confinement can be transformed into parent/child bonding time.
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Want to know what your child has been learning week after week? Tim Hansen manages to explain the complex system of musical notation in an entertaining, easy-to-understand five minute animated video.
Read MoreAt a conference called Notes and Neurons, Bobby McFerrin uses music to “play” the audience and leads them to sing a melody together. The only thing is, he doesn't give them any instruction.
Read MoreSitting in on lessons may be the number one thing you can do for your young child’s musical development. You’ll be amazed at how much you’ll pick up during a single lesson which will equip you to provide help that will ensure you get the most out of your psychological, financial and time investment.
Read MoreNeuroscientists say studying music enhances overall brain development because the multi-sensory nature and complexity of music requires us to give just about every area of our brain a good workout. It strengthens cognitive skills and self-regulation giving us more choice over the experiences which will come to shape our identity.
Read MoreYou could be forgiven for assuming that parents who are musicians are in a better position to help their children with music practice than those who have never had the privilege of taking lessons. Not so! When it comes to helping your child develop as a musician, it’s not your skills in music that counts.
Read MoreJust because you put a five, or even a ten-year-old, in front of an instrument in order to practice, doesn’t mean he or she is able to get the job done. Students will first need to learn how to be disciplined and self-regulated. You may just have to hover around them and steer them in the right direction until they learn to fly solo
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“Probably the easiest and fastest way to learn is to be placed in a situation that involves two-way communication, where we can ask for clarification as soon as something doesn't make sense to us.” (Brian Thwaits). The private studio offers an improvisatory environment that can attend and adapt to students’ needs as they arise.
Read MoreKnowing how to play an instrument and knowing how to teach children are two very different things... Good teachers need to have the ability to diagnose children’s needs and come up with solutions to break down concepts and to translate content to be learned into metaphors, images, examples and demonstrations that make sense to a particular child’s mode of thinking.
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