Maintaining Skills During the Summer

Posted on May 17, 2020 by Marie

With the school year coming to an end, many families will go without the routine that school offers. Music students often lose their skills during this time because summer usually allows for a relaxed schedule, but I would not want that to happen to my students!

One thing that you can do to maintain your child’s skills is to keep a practice log. This helps because you can:

  • Keep an eye on practice time.
  • Clearly see if there are a few days without practice.
  • Maintain focus on musical goals.

To use your log more effectively, I’ll share a few tips during the next few weeks.

Download your FREE practice log PDF here.

On with the show!

Tip #1  – MAKE A LEGEND

Just like making a legend of a key for a map, make a legend for the different things that you will be practicing.

Draw a box to make a chart on one of the blank sections of the practice log. If you like to work on scales, drills, and sight reading, the first column of the chart might have the simple drawing while the second has the label.

For example:
a zigzag to represent Scales
a round swirl to symbolize Drills
parallel lines to mean Sight Reading

This will keep your log from being too cluttered when it starts to fill up. You will also save time when writing down what you have practiced. It might also save you from quickly scribbling your work and then coming back later to not being able to read it.

See you next time, and have happy practices!

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Push Them Out of the Comfort Zone

Posted on February 17, 2020 by Marie

Both my parents worked outside the home. My mother used to be an editor for the local newspaper. I took advantage of her editing skills to spruce up my school assignments.
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It’s not easy being the music teacher’s children, I imagine. One has to learn music proficiently if it is expected. Thankfully, all of my children learn music easily, and most of them seem to enjoy it.
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I push them a bit harder out of their comfort zones than I do my students. I do not expect them to become concert pianists or international touring rock stars, but these are the skills that I know and can pass on.

I don’t want my children in their adulthood to claim that I let them quit.  In what ways so you push your children or if their comfort zones ?

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What Do You Want To Be?

Posted on January 22, 2020 by Marie

Did you always know what you wanted to be? Did you always want to be a spouse, parent, cop, fire fighter, mechanic?⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I have always enjoyed teaching.When I was in little, I would line up my stuffed animals and teach them the alphabet.  In high school, I took a class that allowed me to teach preschoolers everything from phonics to nutrition. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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My first piano teacher saw teacher qualities in me when I would work patiently with duet partners. My drill sergeants in the Army would ask me if I aspired to become a drill sergeant myself… I think because I was good at leading cadence.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

(Try running and singing simultaneously.
Fun times! )

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I’m a third generation teacher. My mom and dad taught catechism, and my maternal grandmother taught grade school.  I have been a homeschooling mom since our firstborn heard my singing in the womb, and I’ve taught our five children to read, write, solve mathematics problems, and play piano.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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You could say that teaching is my calling,
music my passion, and
family my vocation.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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I’m very blessed that I get to live out all three everyday.

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Performance Fail: I Forgot My Recital Piece!

Posted on December 9, 2019 by Marie

I was thirteen, playing a memorized, four-minute piece at the Dade County Auditorium. I thought that I was well-prepared, but a minute into my piece, I forgot where my hands were supposed to go!

Uh-oh. I took my hands off the keyboard, which obviously stopped the music. There was dead silence. I clenched my fists, took a deep breath, started the piece again from the top, and finished it beautifully. It is one recital that I will never forget.

Funny, I’ve forgotten the recitals in which I didn’t make major mistakes!

Now that I’ve shared my “performance fail,” I’d like to share some tips to help you have a successful music recital:

  • Be prepared. Know your piece very well. Practice, practice, practice, and repeat. You should be able to start the piece from any measure.
  • Show up to the recital venue early. Fix any hair or wardrobe malfunctions. Chit chat with other performers. This will calm your nerves.
  • Sit on your hands. Yes, sit on them to keep them warm. The air conditioning keeps the air cool and dry, causing your fingers to be cold when you approach the piano. For the time that the student performer is playing before you (3-5 minutes), do what you can to keep those fingers warm.
  • Remember that the audience can’t tell the difference. Most people are not trained in music and don’t know what your piece is supposed to sound like. If you flub or skip a part or repeat a part, just keep going. They love it anyway.

Before your recital, play for your friends and family on as many pianos as you can. Call retirement homes and ask if they have pianos in their recreation rooms that you can play.  The residents will love you for it and don’t mind mistakes and repeated pieces. The only way to learn to perform is to perform.

Above all, don’t forget that all the great performers were once students just like you.

Break a leg!

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Acoustic or Digital?

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Marie

Many piano teachers will answer plainly and strongly, “Acoustic, all the way.” I have a different attitude which is totally biased.

In the 80s, my parents bought an acoustic upright for my brothers and me to learn piano. They didn’t come from musical families (though I have an uncle who used to busk on accordion in the streets of a village in the Andes). My parents believed that a holistic education included music, so one by one, my brothers and I took piano lessons.

When I married, I took the piano with me into my husband’s home. We had children who learned on the same instrument. I played piano for a church that moved to a location that already had a piano, so the congregation gave me the instrument. We had two acoustic pianos in our home. How rich!

The South Florida humidity and insect population didn’t do much kindness for our two pianos. Eventually, felts unglued, strings rusted, and wooden keys swelled. We were struggling to practice on these acoustic instruments. Soon we acquired an electric keyboard, which really was an upgrade because all the keys played the right tone, but it didn’t have the feel of a piano nor the necessary range.

I have to add that having a keyboard was really helpful in that anyone who wanted to practice could do so without affecting the volume of the household. With seven people living together in a modest house, the volume of an acoustic piano competes with watching a football match on television or listening to a podcast while doing chores. The electric keyboard allowed the pianist to plug in earphones and practice quietly.

Enter the Digital.

One Christmas morning, we woke up to find a digital piano sitting in the living room, just waiting to be played. This machine is a beauty! Full weighted keys. Full 88 key range. Damper pedal. EARPHONE JACK! It is so light, too, in comparison to an acoustic. We easily moved it from room to room, depending if we wanted to rehearse singing in a bedroom or singing carols together by the tree. Talk about an upgrade!

Now, when asked, “Acoustic or digital?” my answer is, “Yes.”

We can’t have an acoustic in our current home. We certainly can’t have one if we move into an RV. If we ever live in a sprawling house with great, many rooms, I’d probably like to have a Bösendorfer Imperial Concert Grand in one or two of them.

Whichever route you’d like to go, acoustic or digital, take into consideration your family’s lifestyle, the size of your home, how the ambiance of a played piano will affect other family members, and the cost of maintenance. Above all, be sure to play the instrument.

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Bigger Bang for the Buck

Posted on October 2, 2019 by Marie

Many parents want to be reassured that they are not wasting their money on music lessons, so they ask me how often should students practice their instruments. Though there really is no hard and fast answer, I do tend to give a rule of thumb: an hour a week, which seems doable for busy families, but if the child is sitting at his bench, going over easy drills, taking several breaks, and just killing time, he is practicing – but not really.

The kind of practice that will end in results involves in-the-moment self-assessment. This is a profound concept for young children to understand, but communicate it to him in familiar terms. It’s not just the amount of time that he’s on the bench that counts as practice. He has to be listening to his playing, perhaps beginning more slowly than normal so that he has a little bit of time to think between notes during the more difficult passages.

Practice involves repetition. When he does play the passage or piece correctly, ask him to play it again. “But I did.” Ask him to show you that he can do it again. You may want to spend a few minutes per week actively listening to his playing to recognize progress. Some children may require careful monitoring during practice. After practicing, have a short discussion on what were the harder parts and how he might understand them better.

If your child wants to learn, he’ll improve with time. The goal is to improve performance. The more he practices with focus on improvement, the better musician he’ll become sooner, and you’ll be getting bigger bang for you buck.

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Preparing to Play Piano

Posted on September 3, 2019 by Marie

Piano teachers don’t just teach music. We teach posture and coordination, resilience and confidence. These life skills can be learned in other activities such as ballet or karate, but do you notice that playing an instrument, unlike ballet or karate, requires sitting? Lots and lots of sitting?

Your young musician may practice for a few minutes then declare, “I’m tired.” You think, Tired of sitting? Really?
Believe me, he really is tired. This is because his muscles are tired from poor posture.

Sitting at the piano is not like sitting at a desk, where one can lean back on the chair. If you’re using a chair for your piano bench, have your child sit on the very edge of it, with his legs able to move about. An important detail is to keep his knees below the hips. Trying to sit upright if the knees are at the same elevation as the hips puts a strain on the lower back, which forces a slouch. Bringing the knees down will keep him sitting upright and, not to mention, improve circulation, which keeps him awake.
If his feet do not reach the floor, then a small step stool placed at his feet will offer support.

A keyboard at the dining room table is too highly placed. His wrists should be straight and his elbows slightly greater than a right angle. If you put him on a high stool so that his wrists are correct, you’ll see that his knees will bump against the lower lip of the table, and he’ll be too far back. He’ll have to hunch over and declare, once again, “I’m tired.” A solution would be acquire a keyboard stand (double braced is better) and a music bench. Both these items are adjustable and will improve his posture, thus increasing his practice time.

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Back to School!

Posted on August 9, 2019 by Marie

It’s every parent’s favorite time of year!

I write that tongue in cheek because, as a parent myself, I enjoy the lazy summer days, but I also really like the structure and predictability of the school year. Above all, I love the anticipation of what my children will learn and what events will take place.

While the search for the right soccer or swim team or the perfect karate or ballet school commences, you have found yourself reading this blog post, which means you are looking for a music teacher.

We’ll guide you along way.

Look no further. At Home Music teachers are friendly, experienced teachers who travel to your home to save you the driving hassle, so you get to stay home and help Sophia and Caleb with their homework while juggling dinner and laundry during Olivia’s piano lesson. Yes, we know a thing or two about real life because we live in real life.

Registration is super easy, too! It’s just a phone call, maybe 20 minutes, some questions about the student’s musical background and general mathematics and reading skills, discussions about a proper instrument, and of course, scheduling. Please take a look at our policy page.

Are you concerned that, because your child may be on the spectrum, we will refuse lessons? We will match you with a teacher who will gladly follow IEPs. I am a mother of a handful of children and know how differently each child learns. Your child will be given the same respect and attention that all children deserve.

If you’ve gotten through this whole article, I tip my hat to you as you are clearly serious about beginning lessons. Call today. It’s easy peasy!

piano teacher

Mrs Y. Marie Sleppy,
Founder and Director
At Home Music, Inc.

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4 Ways to Practice During Summer Break

Posted on June 6, 2019 by Marie

School is out! Summer vacation! Yay!

It’s all fun and games until we realize that our young musicians will lose their skills if we allow them to dream away their summer holidays. Some families will choose to have the music teacher come for a lesson a few times during the summer, but that still may not be enough to simply maintain skills. Here are four activities that your child can do to keep her skills during the summer.

1. Time Travel. Flip backward through the lesson book and ask her to play one piece that was learned each month during the school year. Most teachers will have the page dated. Typically, students learn about one page per week, so she will have a few pieces of music from which to chose.

2. Create a Portfolio. These are also called repertoires. You’ve probably heard all the pieces that your child has learned this school year. Ask her to go back and perfect the ones that you enjoyed hearing the most. Two to four pieces should be enough depending on their length and difficulty.

3. Improvise and Compose. Allow your child to make up her own pieces. Record them as audio or video files and share with your teacher. Allow her to make up her own arrangements for already learned pieces. Children love to be creative and change the music to reflect how they think it should go.

4. Look into the Future. Ask her to play something from future lessons, pages in the book not yet covered. She may not have the knowledge to play them perfectly, but she does have skills to figure out what she can. Circle with pencil the parts that give her trouble. Even a line or two learned on her own will make her feel accomplished.

The best option is to continue music lessons and even get in a few extra lessons. It is better to use summer downtime to get ahead than to fall behind.

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5 Ways to Help Your Child Enjoy Music Lessons

Posted on May 21, 2019 by Marie

Don’t make music lessons the bad guy.

Are you struggling to keep your child interested in lessons? We’ve all read those articles about how important to development musical training can be. As parents, we want to give our children the best opportunities to succeed, but if they are not interested, they will not accomplish.

Let’s cut to the chase. So here are five ways to help your child gain some interest in music lessons:

1. Don’t make the lesson the bad guy. That’s right. Don’t pull him out of the pool during a summer afternoon because his piano teacher showed up. Don’t turn the TV off because he finished his homework early and has a few minutes to watch Unspeakable Gamer. Doing that will make him hate his lessons. Trust me. I was a young piano student once, too.

Instead, don’t allow him to go into the pool or watch TV until after the lesson. Use the lessons as a way to reward him later not as a punishment.

2. Keep Music Day as Music Day Only. If his teacher visits once a week, he’ll probably be expected to practice two or three times a week. Don’t schedule music practice the same day as soccer or baseball practice. Keep one activity a day, and that includes practice. After soccer or baseball, he’s going to shower, have dinner, finish his homework…. and practice his instrument? That feels like a lot.

3. Make adequate practice time. Aim for an hour a week for beginners and 90 minutes for more advanced students. This is only 20 to 30 minutes three times a week. This gives the child enough time to get in a good frame of mind, to catch onto patterns in the music, to remember things he learned during lesson. Ten minutes is fine for a 4 year old, but a 7 year old can play much longer.

Help build your child’s confidence.

Being prepared will give him confidence during his lesson. Teachers know if a student has practiced just by the way he approaches the instrument. Help him build that confidence.

4. Ten minutes before the lesson, make sure that he is not sleepy, thristy, hungry, needing to visit the boys’ room, etc. One family that I teach takes 10 minutes to hang out quietly before I arrive. The mom stops all activities, even homework, and sits the child at the breakfast nook, and they talk. Another family has the child sit at the instrument and warm up on his own. He’s already in a learning zone when I show up.

5. Finally, confide in the teacher any apprehensions that your child may have: spelling bees, mathematics tests, school performances, family related stresses. Of course, it really isn’t the teacher’s business, but it does help the teacher understand what’s going on. She may choose to go easy that day to avoid frustration. Teachers know that children are whole persons, not little, music playing robots.

I hope that this article clears a few things up. Nobody likes being upset and annoyed with work that they have to do. It’d be better if we could all read minds, but, alas, we’re just flawed humans.

piano teacher

Mrs Marie Sleppy,
Director of At Home Music.

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