In discussing life benefits of music study, the authors report, “The most heavily reported life preparation skill was self-discipline, with respondents acknowledging that the hard work and dedication that are integral to participation in school music groups teach the valuable lesson that if ‘you stick with something and practice,’ the rewards will be bountiful. Other students conceded that the concentration required for learning music and the process of memorizing music pieces had honed those skills in other areas of their schoolwork.

“Music was frequently described as a force for building one’s character, and many students expressed their belief that music was capable of directing them in shaping their broader sense of self, who they were becoming, and how they might succeed in the world. The respondents highlighted confidence, responsibility, compassion, pride, patience, and respect as aspects of their character they feel they owe, at least in part, to music.”

Attribution

Patricial Shehan Campbell, Claire Connell, and Amy Beegle (2007), “Adolescents’ Expressed Meanings of Music in and out of School,” Journal of Research in Music Education, 55(3), p. 229.

The excitement of a new adventure is enough to provide an ample supply of positive motivation for the first several weeks of the instrumental music experience. Once the initial enthusiasm wears off, it is important to immediately develop wholesome practice habits which will guarantee a successful and personally gratifying process for your child. Your support and guidance will be the key factors in establishing the practice schedule insuring the attainment of musical goals.

For our first year elementary players, we like to see three days per week of home music practice – even if just a few minutes. The first year is “exploratory” and our goal is to instill a love for music. We encourage students to play at home for their parents. Practice is encouraged but not heavily stressed.

The most effective home rehearsal program for the second year elementary players is based on a fifteen minute session four to five times per week dedicated to quality practice. It is suggested that you and your young musician mutually agree on a practice time, and a special area of your home designated for their area of musical study. A final one or two minute recital is always effective in building performance responsibilities.

Every instrumentalist enjoys the opportunity to display their talents. You might even ask for a paragraph of what new progress was made during the practice. A special calendar can also serve as a reminder as well as a reward poster for the commitment needed to accomplish the assigned material. Remember, positive reinforcement is the most effective communication you can share in this important quest.

As students mature, it is vital to develop a discipline which makes home music practice a natural part of the day. Although many new concepts are taught during instrumental music rehearsals, the limited time does not afford the personal attention which is vital in developing the technical facility required for the upcoming years of musical exploration. The cooperative efforts of the instrumental music director, the student musicians and the willing parent/s constitute the proven recipe for success.

• Let your kids explore music. The first year a child plays an instrument is an exploratory year. The goal of the music educator is not to quickly turn a child into a virtuoso, but to help instill a love of music.
• Try group lessons. We find that most kids do better in group lessons because they like the social interaction.
• Show up for lessons. Parents should try to attend a child’s first few music lessons. Knowing what’s going on in the class will allow you to better help your young music student at home.
• Help kids learn the basics. Learning the fundamentals is very important. Violin students, for example, will need to learn to hold the bow correctly and develop proper posture.
• Stay connected. One of the most important things you can do as a parent is to stay in touch with your child’s instructor. You may find that email is the easiest way to do this.
• Keep the instrument handy. Children can get really attached to their instrument. It’s important for parents to leave the instrument out, rather than storing it away, so that the child can always have access to it.
• Don’t make practice a chore. In the first year of study, don’t force practice. Instead offer encouragement and show that you’re interested in how your son or daughter is doing. When you’re folding laundry or doing paperwork, for example, have your child perform a mini concert of songs he or she is learning.

Don’t expect flawless play from your young musician. The clearest indication that child is successful in music education is that he or she will show love and enthusiasm for the music.

Instrumental music means more to your child than just playing an instrument. It offers an opportunity to experience a whole new level of communication. This artistic language will be with them for a lifetime. These formative years of music education can open up a world of aesthetic possibilities which will bring new meaning to the growth and development of your child. Let us join hands in establishing a solid foundation of growth by creating a disciplined practice schedule at the onset of their instrumental music career.

Click Here for a QuickTime Video by Larry Newman on Home Music Practice

1.  The study of piano increases a child’s imagination through musical self-expression and increases self-discipline and concentration.

2. Create a suitable learning environment away from distractions, such as TV and cell phones. Create piano time to open the door to musical exploration.

3. Choose a piano teacher based on qualifications and referrals, not on location. This is not real estate.

4. A piano teacher is one of the greatest motivators in a child’s study. Interview to find a good fit for your child.

5. Maintain your piano regularly as the seasons change. It’s an investment.

6. Become involved in your child’s piano pursuits. Encourage and support strong practice and performing habits that will last a lifetime.

7. Piano education doesn’t stop at the piano lesson. Help your child set goals, not watch the clock, in order to achieve new skills, build self-esteem and encourage self-motivation.

8. Instill a love and appreciation of music in your child’s daily life by attending piano recitals and concerts and listening to varieties of music in your home.

9. The study of piano is a strong foundation for all other musical pursuits. The keyboard range of the piano encompasses the ranges of all the musical instruments found in an orchestra.

10. Consistency in study is the key to nurturing good habits that affect all other aspects of life.

– from Hana Janatova, founder and executive director of the Mundi Project

Just listening to music is fun, and yet it’s even more fun to create.

There is a simple joy in experimenting with an instrument, in playing real notes and melodies, and in performing as part of band or orchestra. And, your child will know the pleasure and satisfaction of meeting and handling each new venture.

MUSIC IS CREATIVE AND DEVELOPS THE MIND

All children naturally want to create something that is all their very own. When your child plays a musical instrument, he will be creating something that reflects his individual personality and style.

This creativity will also strengthen independent thinking in many areas besides music. National research proves that students in school music programs average higher grades in all subjects and develop faster academically than other students.

THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF THE PARENT

Your child’s success in learning to play an instrument depends a lot on you.

Getting involved is vital to your child’s attitude and progress. Encourage him/her to play for you every day. Be generous with enthusiastic praise. Offer your support when he/she becomes discouraged. Above all, participate – meet the music teacher and attend concerts and recitals.

Regardless of your own musical background, you will derive great satisfaction and enjoyment from following your child’s progress.

New Studies Suggest Music Enhances Mental Power

Mozart’s music can raise your IQ… at least temporarily, according to research published in the British science journal Nature. Thirty six college students listened to 10 minutes of Mozart’s Sonata in D Major for Two Pianos, 10 minutes of a relaxation tape and 10 minutes of silence. They took different tests of abstract reasoning after each listening, and the average post-Mozart score was 119, as opposed to 111 for the relaxation tape and 110 for silence. The sonata’s IQ boost disappeared after about 25 minutes when students were tested after hearing something else, so it’s not clear whether the benefits simply “wore off” of if they were “erased” by whatever the student heard next.

SAT SCORES AND THE ARTS

Students of the arts continue to outperform their non-arts peers on the SAT, according to reports by the College Entrance Examination Board. In 1996, SAT takers with course work or experience in music (“study or appreciation”) scored 60 points higher on the verbal portion and 42 points higher on the math portion than did students with no course work or experience in the arts. Scores for those with course work in music performance were 51 points higher on the verbal portion and 36 points higher on the math portion. And longer arts study means higher SAT scores: In 1996, those who had studied the arts four or more years scored 59 points higher on verbal and 41 points higher on math than students with no course work or experience in the arts.

Data for these reports were gathered by the Student Descriptive Questionnaire, a component of the SAT that provides information about students’ academic preparation.

Few will disagree that the arts teach our children to appreciate the aesthetic beauty of life. But, couldn’t they stare at some flowers and learn that? OK, so maybe it helps them understand emotion and to express creativity and individuality, all helping them grow. But, is that going to cover the bills at the end of the month? Here’s a different take on the subject.

First, if you don’t read music, pick up a music book and read it. Now, pick up a book written in ancient Greek. You will probably not be able to make sense of either. Music is a language. It’s really just black marks on paper until it is interpreted by someone who understands what those black marks mean. Then, it magically becomes music! In this way, children who learn to read music are in fact learning a second language. But, it goes much deeper than that.

Time magazine recently stated that if school boards understood biology, every student in America would be learning an instrument by the age of five. It seems music education wires young people for success, teaches them the unteachable and literally makes them smarter. That’s what you pay for when you have your children in music programs. That’s why you are writing that check each month and the truth is, it’s one of the best investments you can possibly make.

Music programs give us future mathematicians. Why? Because music is kept in time. These time “signatures” are subdivided in many different ways. Learning to divide different beats and rhythms is an excellent and fun way to teach kids math (without them even knowing they are learning)! The next part is a bit trickier.

You see, music is a form of expression. Just playing the notes is a mechanical exercise. But, playing a song is a means of exploring the abstract. Loud/soft… slow/fast… light/hard… to a child, these are mind broadening concepts that are not based on cold facts. They are complex and spatial. They are also the difference between A’s and C’s when young people get to high school.

Here’s the bottom-line: Next time you are visiting your child’s school, take a look in the band and orchestra room during rehearsal. Notice how it’s full of the good kids? The ones with involved parents like you that ask a lot of questions? These children are engaged and involved in learning individually and as a team. How much is too much to pay for that? Every child plays and every child wins.

Why should music be included as a basic part of the curriculum?

Music is worth knowing.

Music is one of the most important manifestations of our cultural heritage.  Children need to know about Newton and Einstein.

Music is a potential in every individual that, like all potential, should be developed to its fullest.

Music provides an outlet for creativity, self-expression, and individual uniqueness.  It enables us to express our noblest thoughts and feelings.

Music teaches students about unique aspects of their relationships with other human beings and with the world around them, in their own and other cultures.

Music opens avenues of success for students who may have problems in other areas of the curriculum and opens approaches to learning that can be applied on other contexts.

Studying music increases the satisfaction students derive from music by sharpening sensitivity, raising their level of appreciation, and expanding their musical horizons.

Music is one of the most powerful and profound symbol systems that exists.

Music helps students learn a significant lesson – that not all aspects of life are quantifiable.

Music exalts the human spirit.

It is exact, specific: and it demands exact acoustics. A conductor’s full score is a chart, a graph which indicates frequencies, intensities, volume changes, melody and harmony all at once with the most exact control of time.

Music is mathematical

It is rhythmically based on the subdivisions of time into fractions which must be done instantaneously, not worked out on paper.

Music is a foreign language

Most of the terms are in Italian, German, or French, and the notation is certainly not English – but a highly developed kind of shorthand that uses symbols to represent ideas. The semantics of music is the most complete and universal language. Vocal music is performed in many languages.

Music is history

Music usually reflects the environment and times of its creation, often even the country and/or racial feeling.

Music is physical education

It requires fantastic coordination of fingers, hands, arms, lip, cheek and facial muscles, in addition to extraordinary control of the diaphragmatic, back, stomach, and chest muscles, which respond instantly to the sound the ear hears and the mind interprets.

Music is all these things, but most of all Music is art

It allows a human being to take all these seemingly dry, technically boring (but difficult) techniques and use them to create emotion. That is one thing science cannot duplicate: humanism, feeling, emotion, call it what you will.