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Hello all,
I have finally (a little late, but nevertheless) posted my 3rd Tip-of-the-Week! You can read it on my Facebook page by clicking here: https://www.facebook.com/AmandasMusicLessons This week's tip is about Listening and why it is so important to listen to ourselves when we practice. Any comments or suggestions for future tips of the week? Send me an email at [email protected] Hope you are all doing well and getting back into the swing of the Fall season
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Hello everyone! I am very excited to announce that I will be putting on a workshop for beginner clarinet and saxophone students on October 5th, 2013 at St. John's Music. This workshop is for those brand new instrumentalists who are in the process of learning their instruments and will provide them with tips and tricks to help them get started. There are two separate workshops - one for clarinet students at 10am, Saturday morning, and one for saxophone students at 12pm on Saturday afternoon. If there is anyone you know who may be interested in attending, please pass along the information. Anyone and everyone is invited to attend! And remember, this is a free clinic! All you need to do is show up! Topics to be covered include: - how to put your instrument together properly - correct cleaning and maintenance of your instrument - what additional supplies you may need for your instrument - how to hold your instrument - how to blow and form your embouchure - how to play your first notes - how to play your first scale (if time!) Additionally, I will discuss the value of private music lessons and be on hand afterward to answer any questions from students and parents. If students do not have an instrument, the amazing staff at St. John's Music will be available to discuss rentals and purchases. This is a fantastic opportunity for new students to get a jump on learning their band instruments for the year. Feel free to print and share the poster below with your friends, family and students! 
Hello again,
If you haven't already taken a look, check out my 2nd Tip-of-the-Week on my Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/AmandasMusicLessons This week's Tip is another bit of practicing advice - how to practice WITHOUT YOUR INSTRUMENT! Stay tuned for next week's tip and make sure to Like my Facebook page so you don't miss any updates. Happy Practicing! Amanda Hello everyone!
As kids go back to school this week and we all settle into our new Fall routines, its important to get back into regularly practicing our instruments. Here are five great tips on how to set up a regular practice routine that is effective and enjoyable: 1) Pick a Location Sometimes the hardest part about practicing is finding a good place, as our homes are often full of people and distractions like pets, computers and televisions. Always choose an area to practice that is somewhat isolated from the rest of the house, where you will have some privacy and not be interrupted. This may be your basement, your bedroom or even your garage! The best part of practicing is getting lost in what you are doing, becoming so focused that time passes you by without even knowing it. This can't happen if you are playing in the main room of your house as family members traipse up and down stairs, clatter pots and pans and watch television. As well, you want somewhere comfortable - not too cold so you're hands are stiff, not too cramped so you have to peer at your music around a corner, and always with a comfortable but upright chair to sit on while playing. Posture is important! 2) Pick a Time Just like when choosing a location to practice, you also want to choose a good time to practice. This means pick a convenient time when you are not disturbing other people (5am may not be the best time for your family and neighbours) and again, when you are not going to be interrupted (starting to practice right before dinner means you won't get much done before you have to stop). If possible, make practicing a regular part of your day or week. 30 minutes every day right when you come home from school might be a nice mental break before you start your homework. And if you're practice time is a regular part of your routine, you won't have to scramble the day before your lesson to learn and prepare your music homework. 3) Plan your Practice Before you begin practicing, it is always important to have a plan in mind of what you are going to work on. Pulling out your instrument and opening your book to the last place you left is not the most effective way to improve your skills. Always start with a good warm up to get the blood flow moving in your fingers and the air moving through your diaphragm and lungs. This may include scales, arpeggios, a short tonguing exercise or longtones. Whatever works best for you and gets your body and mind ready for practicing. This also gives you time to think about your embouchure and tone before you begin working on more technical passages. Next, review what was covered in your last lesson. There may have been things that you have forgotten and will need to know in order to correctly prepare your homework. Lastly, after working on your homework, play something a bit more fun and interesting as a reward for working hard. This could be a song you make up, a song from the radio, or a fun piece given to your by your instructor. 4) Take Breaks Taking breaks gives your body and mind a chance to let what you've been working on sink in. Without breaks, we tend to work ourselves to exhaustion so that our brain and fingers don't have the ability to retain any of the information we've just worked on. This doesn't mean you should be stopping every five minutes to check your phone or watch some TV. I like to take a short break after each section of my practice: warmup - break - technical work - break - preparing homework - break - fun piece or song. This allows my muscles to rest a bit and for my mind to stay focused for longer. 5) Have Fun If you're not enjoying yourself when you practice - what's the point!?! You are much more likely to learn and improve your playing when you enjoy working on it and are motivated to continue. Of course, we all have days where we have other things on our mind or we are not feeling well. Often, these are days when we might just need a break. We are not going to get much done if we do practice and we are not going to enjoy ourselves. So make sure you're enjoying your practice sessions and enjoying playing and learning music - if you're not, talk to your instructor and hopefully together you can find a new way to make learning music fun. |