Tag Archives: piano teacher

It’s Just a Sibling Kinda Feeling – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

“Siblings are the people we practice on, the people who teach us about fairness and cooperation and kindness and caring – quite often the hard way”
– Pamela Dugdale

It’s a good feeling when the sibling of a current student starts lessons; it means I must be doing something right!

As the younger of two sisters, I never knew what it was like to not learn piano while my older sister was also learning. We had lessons on the same days, we practised one after the other and we worked towards exams at the same time. We played duets together, we challenged each other, we created, transposed and harmonised together and we laughed a great deal.

I realise that for her as the older sister, it was probably a different scenario. While I idolised my big sister and wanted to do whatever she did, she probably didn’t appreciate a little interloper in her arena.

As far as lessons went, our wonderful teacher, Sr Marie Therese realised how different we were in style, technique and temperament. Also, our mother requested I didn’t play too many of the same pieces as my sister, even though I was three years behind her. (When you are practicing twice a day, exam pieces soon become extremely repetitive for the poor listeners!). While our carefully-chosen early method book pieces were the same, once we moved into grade work Sister catered for our different styles. My sister usually played the intricate, technical pieces, while I played the more emotive works.

Piano Teacher Wallsend Newcastle NSW In our late teens to early adulthood, these differences became our strengths. We worked together really well because we complemented each other and didn’t suffer from competition. Even when we sang, I sang the soprano to her alto. When she moved on to singing lessons, I accompanied all her practising. The picture on the right is a famous artwork that was on the cover of a card she once gave me.

These memories hold important lessons that I bring into teaching siblings – respect and encourage their individuality, make no comparisons and ensure enough variety in materials used to save the parents’ sanity!

Sibling rivalry/competition – whether blatant or subtle – can be a problem and for this reason it is usually not advisable to start siblings at the same time. However, the following positives usually outweigh the competitive aspect:

Both/all kids need to practise daily, so both are on similar schedules
The siblings can share a common interest
Older siblings can help the younger ones
Younger siblings can be inspired by older brothers and/or sisters
They can all have fun playing duets – even if they play different instruments
The younger sibling has seen the work involved by watching the older child, so goes into lessons with a clearer expectation of what is required (eg they know they need to practise)

The main thing is to remember each child is different, with different abilities. I will always work with the parents to ensure this individuality is respected.

If you are considering music lessons for your child or for yourself, please contact me to discuss the options. Piano lessons are conducted at my studio in Wallsend, NSW or mobile lessons are available in the eastern suburbs of Lake Macquarie.

The Labèque sisters, Katia (born 11 March 1950) and Marielle (born 6 March 1952), are an internationally known French piano duo.

Encouraging More Practise – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

Establishing a practising routine can be hard work! Playing the piano is not easy and your kids will try all sorts of excuses to get out of practising. It is important to set practise time into their general routine so it has a place and is not just something that is done if they have leftover time.

Following are some tips to encourage more practise:

Never underestimate a reward system. Use whatever works for your child; it could be anything from extra iPad time to an exemption from a household chore. Their reward may even be a favourite meal.
Schedule practise time to happen before something they can relax with – free play time, for example. Of course, if you suspect this may lead them to rush through practise with no concentration, try another tactic.
Give your child something exciting to work for. Anticipation works wonders! Set a practise goal, wrap a little gift and pop it somewhere they can see it. Only when they reach the practise goal are they able to open their gift.
Connect their practise session with another activity that occurs every day. Perhaps your child could practise straight after breakfast or maybe before they start their homework. Whatever works for you.
Remember to reward yourself. This is your journey as well, so find something fun with which to reward yourself when you are successful at getting your kids to practise.

Piano Teacher Wallsend Newcastle NSW

A great little resource for practising tips for parents is the e-book “101 Piano Practice Tips”, which is available through Amazon.

Want to Reward Your Brain? Listen to New Music – Piano Teacher, Wallsend, NSW

Recently I attempted to have an MRI. I say ‘attempted’ because I failed. Miserably. Previously-unrealised claustrophobia swept in and took over… big time. Crying, sweating, shaking and stricken with headache and nausea, I was pretty quickly pulled out of the tunnel of terror and sent on my way.

But while I may now be overcome with unpleasant sensations at the very thought of an MRI (or any closed space) the technology is increasingly being used in research with very interesting results.

We all know it is impossible to listen to music and not be moved. What music moves us, how much and why are mysteries that have for many years intrigued both musicians and scientists. Last year a study* was undertaken at the Montreal Neurological Institute at McGill University in Canada to find out some of these answers.

Piano teacher Wallsend Newcastle NSW While most previous studies had used only strongly-emotive music, this study had participants bring in music they preferred. This ranged from classical music through to techno, country, film soundtracks and heavy metal. The participants were then studied using MRI while listening to 60 different excerpts of new music, based on their musical taste. They also had the option to ‘buy’ a song in a mock online store, based on the 30-second samples.

What was discovered was that a particular part of the brain becomes active when we hear a piece of music for the first time. This part of the brain is the nucleus accumbens, a zone that is operated by the chemical dopamine, which plays a major role in reward-motivated behaviour.

One of the researchers, Dr Valorie Salimpoor, said, “What’s cool is that you’re anticipating and getting excited over something entirely abstract – and that’s the next sound that is coming up.” The more a participant liked the music they were hearing, the more stimulated the ‘reward region’ of the brain became.

Because our brains are so well-suited to using patterns to predict what will happen next, we are constantly making predictions. Even if the piece of music we are hearing is new, our brains are predicting – based on past musical experiences – how it will unfold. If we enjoy the music more than predicted, the nucleus accumbens (partnering with pattern recognition and high-order thinking centres) fires off with delight.

“What makes music so emotionally powerful is the creation of expectations. Activity in the nucleus accumbens is an indicator that expectations were met or surpassed,” Dr Sapimpoor said.

So if you want to get that dopamine pumping and reward your brain, treat yourself to some new music. Launch your Spotify app or go through some recommendations in iTunes. You never know what joys you may discover.

And I promise you won’t have to visit an MRI machine to feel the benefits 🙂

Credit: Image courtesy of MGH-UCLA Human Connectome Project.

* The study is published in the journal, ‘Science”.
Salimpoor VN, Benovoy M, Larcher K, Dagher A, & Zatorre RJ (2011). Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music. Nature neuroscience, 14 (2), 257-262 PMID: 21217764

Helping Your Child Achieve Good, Quality Practise – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

Let’s assume your child has made a commitment to learning to play the piano and has ceased to see you as the ogre in the household because you are constantly hounding him/her to practise. “That’s a fantasy world!” I hear you exclaim. Well, it may never become quite that easy, but there are some things you can do to ensure the practise sessions they do get through are as effective as possible.

Overall I think the most important thing you can do to show your child you are committed to their learning and progress, is to schedule their practise time in to your weekly schedule. It should be included in their regular tasks, just like school homework (and also ensures “too much homework” doesn’t become an excuse for not practising).

Try some of the following tips and see what works best for you:

Encourage your child to practise most days (with a couple of ‘rest days’ interspersed in between). Consistency is so important and regular, shorter practise sessions are far more effective than one or two long practises. The more they practise, the more they will improve and this will increase their enjoyment of playing the piano.
This may seem obvious, but encourage your child to really focus when they are practising. Chances are their mind is more engaged in what they are wanting to do next and if they are rushing to finish, they will make more mistakes. This will only result in increased frustration and no improvement in their playing. A short practise brimming with focus is far more effective than a long, unfocussed session.
Encourage your kids to play the pieces they find difficult. If they are becoming frustrated, have them play with hands separately and become comfortable with that before joining their hands back together.
Let them write on their music (in pencil, of course). While you don’t want them writing in every single note name, marking up spots where they are having trouble every time may help. It might be the note names of a tricky passage or an unusual timing count that trips them up. Having a little help written in may increase their confidence with the whole piece.
Encourage slow playing, particularly of new songs. Most of us – not just the kids – have a tendency to want to play quickly, particularly once we know how the piece should sound. What we risk doing is ‘practising-in’ mistakes and learning the piece incorrectly. It is also frustrating for both there person playing and the person listening! Playing slowly also helps increase control. Once they are more familiar with the piece, playing it faster will come naturally.
Count out loud. Nice and simple. If the timing is tripping them up, counting out loud is far more effective than counting silently in their heads; it makes the count more dominant.

Think Long-Term – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

Remember the great info-graphic/picture from last week’s blog post that talked about all the ways learning music helps to train your brain?

There are so many benefits to learning to play an instrument, but they aren’t all going to happen overnight. As well as the cognitive training, the muscles required to play the piano need to be developed as does the control and coordination required to play.

Piano teacher Wallsend Newcastle NSW Because of this, it is not really appropriate to take the, “we’ll try it for a few months and see how it goes” approach. The commitment needs to be made for at least a couple of years. It’s about being realistic about what it takes to gain musical skills.

Besides, you have made a substantial investment in not only time, but tuition fees, music and possibly even an instrument. You want it to be worth it!

Piano Lessons Are Good For You… And Your Brain! (Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW)

Piano lessons involve so much more than just music; dedication, discipline and critical thinking are all part of learning to play the piano.

Check out the information in the following picture to find out all the great ways learning and playing the piano can help to train your brain.

If you are considering music lessons for yourself or your child, please contact me to discuss the options. Piano lessons are conducted at my studio in Wallsend, NSW or mobile lessons are available in the eastern suburbs of Lake Macquarie.

Tips for Making Piano Practise Fun – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

We all know practising anything can quickly become a drudgery. We need to go over and over the same thing, often with frustration at the mistakes we make.

Following are some tips to make your child’s piano practise more fun:

Do you know another family with children taking music lessons? Set up a buddy system and let the kids set practise goals together. They can encourage each other to practise and celebrate together when they meet their goals.
Encourage your child to perform. They could host a little recital for family and/or friends. As well as being a fun way to encourage practise, it also allows your child to become accustomed to performing, which will help with exams.
Use the grandparents/relatives. If your child has a grandparent who lives a distance away, have your child call or Skype them and play a piece for them. The grandparent will love to hear how they are progressing and the child will love the support and encouragement to practise the piano regularly.
Find a role model for your child. Perhaps an older child who plays the piano, or even a musician at church. Somebody whose talent your child admires and who is willing to encourage your child.
Duets! It’s always fun to play with a friend. Siblings often enjoy playing together, even when it inevitably ends in giggles. If you don’t have siblings both learning the piano, see if any of their friends are at the same level.
Be working on some sort of goal yourself. You and your child can set goals together and when you both meet them, you can treat yourselves together. It’s a great bonding opportunity as well as teaching your child the value of working consistently for a result.

Piano teacher Wallsend NSW

If you are considering music lessons for your child, please contact me to discuss the options. Piano lessons are conducted at my studio in Wallsend, NSW or mobile lessons are available in the eastern suburbs of Lake Macquarie.

Practise Tips: Things You Can Do Right Now – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

Providing piano lessons for your child is providing them with a blessing – the gift of music. But like anything of value in life, it requires work and unfortunately for the parents this usually means hounding your child to practise.

Following are some tips for practising:

Make practise a priority! If children don’t practise, they don’t play well and they may start to believe they can’t play the piano. You have committed to your child’s piano lessons by paying for them, so they need to show the same commitment by practising or your money will be wasted.
A great time to practise is straight after the lesson and on the next day. This is when what they have been taught is fresh in their mind and will result in a much better quality practise. If they wait a few days after the lesson before the first practise, chances are they will forget what was discussed.
Consistency is so important. Shorter, focussed but consistent practise of 4 or 5 days a week is much better than a longer session at the piano on only one or two days.
Should you remind your kids to practise? YES! We have to remind children to do all sorts of things from brushing their teeth to loading the dishwasher (or whatever their given jobs may be) so piano practise is no different.
Decide on a minimum number of years your child will commit to lessons. Often when things become harder and they start to feel challenged, they will see the solution as quitting. Everybody struggles at some point… it just means we’re growing and learning.
Have your child see you practising something or learning a new hobby. They will realise that learning anything involves work.
Give your child lots of encouragement when they put in the effort at the piano. It’s great for them to overhear you telling somebody else how well they are doing.

Sight Reading Tips – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

Sight reading is such an important skill for any musician to master. As a teacher, my ultimate aim is to teach my students the skills they need to be able to pick up a piece of music and play it on sight. No stress, no struggle – just enjoyment.

For examination students, it is also a component of the exam (for grades beyond Preliminary), so is certainly a necessary skill.

But sight reading doesn’t come as easily to some as it does to others.

The following article was written in consultation with educators who specialise in the skill of sight reading, hoping to make it less scary and more enjoyable 🙂

10 Tips for Sight Reading Music

10 Stretches for Musicians – Piano Teacher in Wallsend, NSW

It is easy to underestimate the physical demands placed on our bodies when playing music. To prevent common injuries, we need to develop endurance, control and overall flexibility. Instrumentalists use their arm, hand and finger muscles extensively while performing and practising, making them vulnerable to a range of injuries.

Our bodies were designed to move, not hold static positions for a length of time as we do when playing an instrument. Added to this, musicians have the general problem of often spending these lengthy periods in far-from-natural positions.

Good posture is important whenever possible, so the body experiences correct alignment, therefore placing minimum stress on the body. Because the inevitable reality for musicians is a less-than-ideal posture that can lead to imbalances in flexibility and strength, it is imperative to keep our bodies flexible.

We can prevent injuries, relieve tension and ease arm and hand pain by integrating stretching exercises into our routine.

The following helpful article lists ten essential stretches for musicians. We warm up our instruments, so we should warm up our bodies as well.

10 Essential Stretches for Musicians

merri bell music

Piano and Music Tuition