THE PRACTICE DILEMMA
The word practice is often an intimidating word. When students hear this, they immediately think of it as a chore. Others are intimidated by practicing because they never know what to practice. Yet, others don’t practice because they never seem to have the time. These are barriers that prevent students from reaching their fullest potential. While talent exists, mere talent is not sufficient to advance. This music talent must be nurtured with hard work, personal development, practice, and single-minded concentration. These are the ingredients that will transform a musician’s skill level and ability. Practicing should always be looked at as a means of advancement. It is a process where happiness and motivation come as a result of seeing where you were, to where you are, to where you will be. In this resource, we will discuss the different kinds of practices you can do. While it is difficult to find time to get behind your instrument daily, these principles will help you get more done in less time. They will increase your efficiency, effectiveness, and level of time of progression.
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Mental Practice
Mental practice means to know what you are going to practice before you practice. It is having a specific plan before sitting behind your instrument. For instance, if you want to progress with Latin music, immerse yourself in listening and reading Latin music and instructional books. Have in mind exactly what you want to work on before working on it. This will give you specific goals to accomplish and prevent you from playing aimlessly on your instrument only regurgitating what you know. Mental practice requires preparation. You must have a decisive and specific plan of what to work on and how you will progress before sitting down on your instrument. This can entail writing down specific concepts you want to learn, or studying an instructional video and having clear and specific concepts to work on. Mental practice will help you single-mindedly concentrate on one area of your instrument where you will become a master at it. As alluded to above, too many musicians play their instruments casually without having any clear goals on what to accomplish. If you consider yourself a casual musician playing an instrument to release stress, then this doesn’t apply to you. However, if you are a serious learner and want to advance, mental practice will help get you there.
Visualize Practice
Visualize practice means to visualize how you want to look, feel, sound, and play your instrument. It is having a clear picture of yourself playing your instrument. Visualizing can also involve mentally seeing yourself playing something before playing it. For example, if you always wanted to learn crossovers on the drum set, you can picture yourself doing crossovers and how it would look before applying it. Or, if you have always been drawn to showmanship, you can envision yourself doing a stick twirl before physically trying it with the stick. Visual practicing also helps immensely when watching instructional videos and live performances. I have been blessed to have a photo-graphic memory. So much of my learning and progress have come from remembering something I watched on an instructional DVD or online video. Although it is difficult to retain every single aspect taught in that video, there are some drum licks that I immediately programmed into my subconscious mind and was able to execute them on the drum set. Visualizing what someone is doing and how they are doing it are paramount to practice. Lastly, visualizing yourself can help you perform successfully. Many athletes have used this method of seeing themselves perform well before playing. Whether you are performing live, in the studio, in a recital, or in a competition, envision yourself performing well, and this can ultimately help transcend how you play.
​
Singing Practice
In 1926, notable jazz singer, Louis Armstrong sang, “Heebie Jeebies”, which became a national bestseller. While singing the song, he didn’t know all the lyrics and invented a gibberish melody to fill time. This was the inception of scat singing, which means the voice was used in imitation of an instrument. Later, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, and Al Jarreau were key influences of scat singing. Just like scat singing mimicked the sound of an instrument, you can also sing rhythms you want to play. When you can say it, it makes it much easier to play it. There have been many times in my playing where I struggled to play something I created. However, when I sang the phrase out loud, it helped me physically transfer this to the drum set. Singing a rhythm can give you clarity on how to articulate an idea on your instrument. We have the ability to make a variety of sounds with our voices and can use this to our advantage when playing our instrument.
Note Taking Practice
With the vast information technology era we live in, it can get very overwhelming focusing single-mindedly on one concept. Just type in “music lessons”, and you will come across millions and millions of hits! After a long day of work and family obligations, it can be difficult finding time with getting behind your instrument. A good antidote to this is studying an instructional book, DVD, or online class series. For instance, I have made it a goal to methodically work through all my drum DVDs. I have sticks, a pad, and notebook available. I take careful notes on what I am learning and frequently pause the DVD to mimic what I am learning on the drum pad. There are times I can only do this 20 minutes a week and other times a few hours a week. Regardless of the duration, there is always incremental progress. I have now gone through numerous DVDs (and still have many to explore). This “note taking practice” has greatly enhanced my playing level, and it has given me many new teaching insights. When I am able to get behind my drum set, I will review what I learned in my notes, and thus, have brand new material to practice. Note taking practice is a great tool to use when single-mindedly beginning and completing concepts on your instruments. It avoids the common mistake students make, which is jumping all over the place and not knowing what to practice due to excessive amount of information available.
Inspirational Practice
We have all seen amazing acts of talent. Whether on a television show or YouTube, there have been amazing displays of God-given talents from people of all ages. I have seen videos of 14 and 15 year old drummers playing in worship bands at their church who have captivated and inspired me. Inspiration is what fuels desire, motivation, and innovation. We all fall into ruts when playing our instruments, but it is inspiration that propels us out of these times of stagnation. It is important to have various influences at your instrument. Listening, reading, researching, and watching your influences will inspire you to grow and try new things on your instrument. Not only does inspiration serve as a platform to learn new concepts, but it also is a means of daring to move forward. It provides a way to explore the unknown on your instrument, exploring new ideas that may have never been explored. As a musician and full-time business owner, my time is very limited, so I make every effort to make the most of my practice sessions through careful planning and preparation. Sometimes this isn’t enough to help me reach my fullest potential when I practice, so I either listen to the music of my favorite artists on my smartphone Pandora stations or listen to CDs of instructional music books I have while I am driving. This puts me in the mode of practice and provides great inspiration to develop new ideas. Conversely, if I am doing something completely unrelated to drumming and then just transition into practicing, I am much less prone to feeling inspired to generate new ideas. In John C. Maxwell’s book, Becoming a Person of Influence, he states: “When you consistently listen to others, you never suffer for ideas. If you give people opportunities to share their thoughts, and you listen with an open mind, there will always be a flow of new ideas.” Just like listening to others generates ideas you would never think of on your own, listening to your influences will provide new possibilities on your instrument!
In Brian Tracy’s book, Maximum Achievement, he states that: “Whatever thought or action you repeat often enough becomes a new habit.” He goes on to say: “The main reason for so much underachievement and frustration is simply that people do not know how to get the most out of themselves. They don’t know how to apply themselves for maximum performance and happiness.” In other words, hard work, repetition, commitment, planning, and discipline are the means of advancing on your instrument. While it can be difficult spending hours on your instrument every day, these practice principles, if rightly applied, will stir your creativity just like stirring cream begins to permeate in a cup of coffee. Further, putting these principles into practice a little bit every single day will enhance your playing and infuse motivation to keep practicing!
THE PRACTICE DILEMMA
The word practice is often an intimidating word. When students hear this, they immediately think of it as a chore. Others are intimidated by practicing because they never know what to practice. Yet, others don’t practice because they never seem to have the time. These are barriers that prevent students from reaching their fullest potential. While talent exists, mere talent is not sufficient to advance. This music talent must be nurtured with hard work, personal development, practice, and single-minded concentration. These are the ingredients that will transform a musician’s skill level and ability. Practicing should always be looked at as a means of advancement. It is a process where happiness and motivation come as a result of seeing where you were, to where you are, to where you will be. In this resource, we will discuss the different kinds of practices you can do. While it is difficult to find time to get behind your instrument daily, these principles will help you get more done in less time. They will increase your efficiency, effectiveness, and level of time of progression.
​
Mental Practice
Mental practice means to know what you are going to practice before you practice. It is having a specific plan before sitting behind your instrument. For instance, if you want to progress with Latin music, immerse yourself in listening and reading Latin music and instructional books. Have in mind exactly what you want to work on before working on it. This will give you specific goals to accomplish and prevent you from playing aimlessly on your instrument only regurgitating what you know. Mental practice requires preparation. You must have a decisive and specific plan of what to work on and how you will progress before sitting down on your instrument. This can entail writing down specific concepts you want to learn, or studying an instructional video and having clear and specific concepts to work on. Mental practice will help you single-mindedly concentrate on one area of your instrument where you will become a master at it. As alluded to above, too many musicians play their instruments casually without having any clear goals on what to accomplish. If you consider yourself a casual musician playing an instrument to release stress, then this doesn’t apply to you. However, if you are a serious learner and want to advance, mental practice will help get you there.
Visualize Practice
Visualize practice means to visualize how you want to look, feel, sound, and play your instrument. It is having a clear picture of yourself playing your instrument. Visualizing can also involve mentally seeing yourself playing something before playing it. For example, if you always wanted to learn crossovers on the drum set, you can picture yourself doing crossovers and how it would look before applying it. Or, if you have always been drawn to showmanship, you can envision yourself doing a stick twirl before physically trying it with the stick. Visual practicing also helps immensely when watching instructional videos and live performances. I have been blessed to have a photo-graphic memory. So much of my learning and progress have come from remembering something I watched on an instructional DVD or online video. Although it is difficult to retain every single aspect taught in that video, there are some drum licks that I immediately programmed into my subconscious mind and was able to execute them on the drum set. Visualizing what someone is doing and how they are doing it are paramount to practice. Lastly, visualizing yourself can help you perform successfully. Many athletes have used this method of seeing themselves perform well before playing. Whether you are performing live, in the studio, in a recital, or in a competition, envision yourself performing well, and this can ultimately help transcend how you play.
​
Singing Practice
In 1926, notable jazz singer, Louis Armstrong sang, “Heebie Jeebies”, which became a national bestseller. While singing the song, he didn’t know all the lyrics and invented a gibberish melody to fill time. This was the inception of scat singing, which means the voice was used in imitation of an instrument. Later, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, and Al Jarreau were key influences of scat singing. Just like scat singing mimicked the sound of an instrument, you can also sing rhythms you want to play. When you can say it, it makes it much easier to play it. There have been many times in my playing where I struggled to play something I created. However, when I sang the phrase out loud, it helped me physically transfer this to the drum set. Singing a rhythm can give you clarity on how to articulate an idea on your instrument. We have the ability to make a variety of sounds with our voices and can use this to our advantage when playing our instrument.
Note Taking Practice
With the vast information technology era we live in, it can get very overwhelming focusing single-mindedly on one concept. Just type in “music lessons”, and you will come across millions and millions of hits! After a long day of work and family obligations, it can be difficult finding time with getting behind your instrument. A good antidote to this is studying an instructional book, DVD, or online class series. For instance, I have made it a goal to methodically work through all my drum DVDs. I have sticks, a pad, and notebook available. I take careful notes on what I am learning and frequently pause the DVD to mimic what I am learning on the drum pad. There are times I can only do this 20 minutes a week and other times a few hours a week. Regardless of the duration, there is always incremental progress. I have now gone through numerous DVDs (and still have many to explore). This “note taking practice” has greatly enhanced my playing level, and it has given me many new teaching insights. When I am able to get behind my drum set, I will review what I learned in my notes, and thus, have brand new material to practice. Note taking practice is a great tool to use when single-mindedly beginning and completing concepts on your instruments. It avoids the common mistake students make, which is jumping all over the place and not knowing what to practice due to excessive amount of information available.
Inspirational Practice
We have all seen amazing acts of talent. Whether on a television show or YouTube, there have been amazing displays of God-given talents from people of all ages. I have seen videos of 14 and 15 year old drummers playing in worship bands at their church who have captivated and inspired me. Inspiration is what fuels desire, motivation, and innovation. We all fall into ruts when playing our instruments, but it is inspiration that propels us out of these times of stagnation. It is important to have various influences at your instrument. Listening, reading, researching, and watching your influences will inspire you to grow and try new things on your instrument. Not only does inspiration serve as a platform to learn new concepts, but it also is a means of daring to move forward. It provides a way to explore the unknown on your instrument, exploring new ideas that may have never been explored. As a musician and full-time business owner, my time is very limited, so I make every effort to make the most of my practice sessions through careful planning and preparation. Sometimes this isn’t enough to help me reach my fullest potential when I practice, so I either listen to the music of my favorite artists on my smartphone Pandora stations or listen to CDs of instructional music books I have while I am driving. This puts me in the mode of practice and provides great inspiration to develop new ideas. Conversely, if I am doing something completely unrelated to drumming and then just transition into practicing, I am much less prone to feeling inspired to generate new ideas. In John C. Maxwell’s book, Becoming a Person of Influence, he states: “When you consistently listen to others, you never suffer for ideas. If you give people opportunities to share their thoughts, and you listen with an open mind, there will always be a flow of new ideas.” Just like listening to others generates ideas you would never think of on your own, listening to your influences will provide new possibilities on your instrument!
In Brian Tracy’s book, Maximum Achievement, he states that: “Whatever thought or action you repeat often enough becomes a new habit.” He goes on to say: “The main reason for so much underachievement and frustration is simply that people do not know how to get the most out of themselves. They don’t know how to apply themselves for maximum performance and happiness.” In other words, hard work, repetition, commitment, planning, and discipline are the means of advancing on your instrument. While it can be difficult spending hours on your instrument every day, these practice principles, if rightly applied, will stir your creativity just like stirring cream begins to permeate in a cup of coffee. Further, putting these principles into practice a little bit every single day will enhance your playing and infuse motivation to keep practicing!
THE PRACTICE DILEMMA
The word practice is often an intimidating word. When students hear this, they immediately think of it as a chore. Others are intimidated by practicing because they never know what to practice. Yet, others don’t practice because they never seem to have the time. These are barriers that prevent students from reaching their fullest potential. While talent exists, mere talent is not sufficient to advance. This music talent must be nurtured with hard work, personal development, practice, and single-minded concentration. These are the ingredients that will transform a musician’s skill level and ability. Practicing should always be looked at as a means of advancement. It is a process where happiness and motivation come as a result of seeing where you were, to where you are, to where you will be. In this resource, we will discuss the different kinds of practices you can do. While it is difficult to find time to get behind your instrument daily, these principles will help you get more done in less time. They will increase your efficiency, effectiveness, and level of time of progression.
​
Mental Practice
Mental practice means to know what you are going to practice before you practice. It is having a specific plan before sitting behind your instrument. For instance, if you want to progress with Latin music, immerse yourself in listening and reading Latin music and instructional books. Have in mind exactly what you want to work on before working on it. This will give you specific goals to accomplish and prevent you from playing aimlessly on your instrument only regurgitating what you know. Mental practice requires preparation. You must have a decisive and specific plan of what to work on and how you will progress before sitting down on your instrument. This can entail writing down specific concepts you want to learn, or studying an instructional video and having clear and specific concepts to work on. Mental practice will help you single-mindedly concentrate on one area of your instrument where you will become a master at it. As alluded to above, too many musicians play their instruments casually without having any clear goals on what to accomplish. If you consider yourself a casual musician playing an instrument to release stress, then this doesn’t apply to you. However, if you are a serious learner and want to advance, mental practice will help get you there.
Visualize Practice
Visualize practice means to visualize how you want to look, feel, sound, and play your instrument. It is having a clear picture of yourself playing your instrument. Visualizing can also involve mentally seeing yourself playing something before playing it. For example, if you always wanted to learn crossovers on the drum set, you can picture yourself doing crossovers and how it would look before applying it. Or, if you have always been drawn to showmanship, you can envision yourself doing a stick twirl before physically trying it with the stick. Visual practicing also helps immensely when watching instructional videos and live performances. I have been blessed to have a photo-graphic memory. So much of my learning and progress have come from remembering something I watched on an instructional DVD or online video. Although it is difficult to retain every single aspect taught in that video, there are some drum licks that I immediately programmed into my subconscious mind and was able to execute them on the drum set. Visualizing what someone is doing and how they are doing it are paramount to practice. Lastly, visualizing yourself can help you perform successfully. Many athletes have used this method of seeing themselves perform well before playing. Whether you are performing live, in the studio, in a recital, or in a competition, envision yourself performing well, and this can ultimately help transcend how you play.
​
Singing Practice
In 1926, notable jazz singer, Louis Armstrong sang, “Heebie Jeebies”, which became a national bestseller. While singing the song, he didn’t know all the lyrics and invented a gibberish melody to fill time. This was the inception of scat singing, which means the voice was used in imitation of an instrument. Later, Ella Fitzgerald, Cab Calloway, and Al Jarreau were key influences of scat singing. Just like scat singing mimicked the sound of an instrument, you can also sing rhythms you want to play. When you can say it, it makes it much easier to play it. There have been many times in my playing where I struggled to play something I created. However, when I sang the phrase out loud, it helped me physically transfer this to the drum set. Singing a rhythm can give you clarity on how to articulate an idea on your instrument. We have the ability to make a variety of sounds with our voices and can use this to our advantage when playing our instrument.
Note Taking Practice
With the vast information technology era we live in, it can get very overwhelming focusing single-mindedly on one concept. Just type in “music lessons”, and you will come across millions and millions of hits! After a long day of work and family obligations, it can be difficult finding time with getting behind your instrument. A good antidote to this is studying an instructional book, DVD, or online class series. For instance, I have made it a goal to methodically work through all my drum DVDs. I have sticks, a pad, and notebook available. I take careful notes on what I am learning and frequently pause the DVD to mimic what I am learning on the drum pad. There are times I can only do this 20 minutes a week and other times a few hours a week. Regardless of the duration, there is always incremental progress. I have now gone through numerous DVDs (and still have many to explore). This “note taking practice” has greatly enhanced my playing level, and it has given me many new teaching insights. When I am able to get behind my drum set, I will review what I learned in my notes, and thus, have brand new material to practice. Note taking practice is a great tool to use when single-mindedly beginning and completing concepts on your instruments. It avoids the common mistake students make, which is jumping all over the place and not knowing what to practice due to excessive amount of information available.
Inspirational Practice
We have all seen amazing acts of talent. Whether on a television show or YouTube, there have been amazing displays of God-given talents from people of all ages. I have seen videos of 14 and 15 year old drummers playing in worship bands at their church who have captivated and inspired me. Inspiration is what fuels desire, motivation, and innovation. We all fall into ruts when playing our instruments, but it is inspiration that propels us out of these times of stagnation. It is important to have various influences at your instrument. Listening, reading, researching, and watching your influences will inspire you to grow and try new things on your instrument. Not only does inspiration serve as a platform to learn new concepts, but it also is a means of daring to move forward. It provides a way to explore the unknown on your instrument, exploring new ideas that may have never been explored. As a musician and full-time business owner, my time is very limited, so I make every effort to make the most of my practice sessions through careful planning and preparation. Sometimes this isn’t enough to help me reach my fullest potential when I practice, so I either listen to the music of my favorite artists on my smartphone Pandora stations or listen to CDs of instructional music books I have while I am driving. This puts me in the mode of practice and provides great inspiration to develop new ideas. Conversely, if I am doing something completely unrelated to drumming and then just transition into practicing, I am much less prone to feeling inspired to generate new ideas. In John C. Maxwell’s book, Becoming a Person of Influence, he states: “When you consistently listen to others, you never suffer for ideas. If you give people opportunities to share their thoughts, and you listen with an open mind, there will always be a flow of new ideas.” Just like listening to others generates ideas you would never think of on your own, listening to your influences will provide new possibilities on your instrument!
In Brian Tracy’s book, Maximum Achievement, he states that: “Whatever thought or action you repeat often enough becomes a new habit.” He goes on to say: “The main reason for so much underachievement and frustration is simply that people do not know how to get the most out of themselves. They don’t know how to apply themselves for maximum performance and happiness.” In other words, hard work, repetition, commitment, planning, and discipline are the means of advancing on your instrument. While it can be difficult spending hours on your instrument every day, these practice principles, if rightly applied, will stir your creativity just like stirring cream begins to permeate in a cup of coffee. Further, putting these principles into practice a little bit every single day will enhance your playing and infuse motivation to keep practicing!
FAQS
Question: How are your music lessons set up?
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Answer: Students have three options to choose from: First, students can have individual lessons every week for thirty minutes. Second, students can have individual lessons for every other week for one hour. Third, students can be placed in group lessons of 2 – 4 students in each class. Lastly, we can customize the frequency and duration of lessons that best fit your needs. For example, you can choose a forty-five minute lesson every week in addition to a thirty minute lesson every week.
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Question: I appreciate the free evaluation lesson and feel my son is interested in lessons. However, I am not certain I want to commit as lessons are an investment and time commitment. Plus, I am not sure how much interest my son will maintain. Do you have any suggestions?
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Answer: Yes we do. First, we understand that lessons can be a time commitment, sacrifice, and can be costly, considering the cost of regular lessons and purchase of an instrument. It is a common concern to have since children nowadays tend to be active in many activities. If you want to try this, but are not certain of a long-term commitment, we suggest trying out a package of 5 – 20 lessons. Your son can try out 5 lessons before investing in any instrument. If he is progressing and maintains an interest and enthusiasm, we can either look to extend the package to 5 – 15 lessons or purchase an instrument. If your son's interest is dwindling after the initial five lessons, you have the choice to stop taking lessons entirely. The bottom-line is that we want to give you plenty of time to make the right decision taking lessons without feeling the pressure of buying an instrument or investing in a long-term commitment.
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Question: I am not sure where to start when I'm ready to purchase my instrument. Can you give me suggestions on brand names, store recommendations, and any other information?
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Answer: Absolutely! We have established relationships with local music stores and vendors who can help you get a quality instrument at an affordable price. We can also assist you while you research on your instrument. For instance, you can e-mail information you find and we can provide you feedback on that instrument so you are well informed and have peace of mind on your purchase.
Question: What set up do you best recommend?
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Answer: It depends on the type of student. For instance, it is generally recommended for adults to take every other week lessons as their schedules are generally busier than younger students. Plus, their sense of urgency of learning is generally not as high as a younger student. It is recommended for younger students to take weekly lessons. This will keep them focused on the material, and it will help maintain their momentum during the week. Some students enjoy the element of competition, accountability, and team work. They prefer learning with other people present. In this case, it is recommended to do group lessons. Some students want fast progression and have a goal and vision in a competition. Lessons more than once a week would be recommended for this type of student.
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Question: Does my son or daughter require any experience?
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Answer: Absolutely not. We give lessons to students of all ages and playing levels. Beginner level students with no experience will start off with the fundamental concepts and rudiments prior to progressing to more advanced concepts. We will start you with everything you need to know on your instrument before progressing. Additionally, we have helpful resources that will help you get started where you are at.
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Question: I have been playing the drums for three years and took lessons from another instructor. How will you differentiate my lessons to make sure I feel challenged and learn new things?
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Answer: At our evaluation lesson, you will play your instrument to the best of your ability. After the instructor hears you play, we will use your best playing as a starting point. From this point forward, the instructor will devise a comprehensive, long-term format to see where skills are currently at and where you want to be. We will also incorporate material the student wants to learn. Lastly, the student will be required to fill out a questionnaire. This will help obtain basic information such as the best learning method for the student as well as their personality type.
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Question: My daughter has attention deficit disorder and can get bored very easy. Do you deal with students with special needs?
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Answer: Yes. We teach students of all abilities. We work on individualizing and differentiating each lesson to best fit the needs of that student. For example, if someone is a hands-on learner, instruction will be conducted through a hands-on approach. Conversely, if a student is a visual learner, many musical concepts will be video taped and typed out so the student can see everything. Students who have ADD or any other disability, we divide up our time by doing fun musical activities and taking small breaks during the instruction. It can be difficult to engage someone with ADD for a long period of time, so we find it to be effective to divide up our time with activities and small breaks, as well as finding a learning approach that works best for them.
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Question: Do I need to bring anything to the lessons? How about purchasing anything?
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Answer: A student may bring their instrument to the lessons. For example, a guitarist can bring his/her guitar, and a drummer can bring a pair of drum sticks. If a student has not purchased anything prior to the evaluation lesson, they will be informed about what to buy. We also have a music shop in our school where the student can purchase the requirements they need (e.g., metronome, drum sticks, books, etc.). Additionally, we furnish all students with a Breaking Grounds in Music folder, a writing utensil, and a lesson planner so they can stay organized for every lesson. Finally, students are also welcome to bring a video camera or recording device to the lessons. A lot of material goes into great detail. Thus, a recording device will help the student retain the information that was taught.
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Question: My son loves music. He always listens to it and has aspirations to play in a band. Will he learn songs?
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Answer: Yes! As students progress with the lesson material, they will also learn various songs. The songs they learn will contain different styles of music selected by the teacher and songs that students would like to learn. Also, students will learn how to play along with music in three different ways: 1. Students will play along with songs without sheet music to develop the basic skills of timing and a sense of rhythm. 2. Students will play along with songs listening to the song while reading the notes to enhance their reading skills. 3. Students will also be given an option to make up their own rhythm over a piece of music. For example, drum students will be given a CD with guitar tracks. The student will have to create his/her own beat that fits the tempo and style of the guitar track. This will help their ability to improvise music. While learning a song is fun, it is also important, because it gives the student a chance to apply what they learned from the lesson and incorporate it into the song.
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Question: My daughter just joined percussion in symphonic band. She is expected to read music. Do you teach how to read music? If so, do you have material, or are we required to buy anything?
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Answer: Yes, all students will learn how to read music, regardless of the instrument. Reading music is an important skill to develop as a musician, and we are committed to teaching this. It helps in areas academically, as well as enhances a student's skill and playing ability. Students will work with some excellent books we recommend. They have the option to buy a book, or we can make a copy of the sheet music for them to take home. We have also created music and will provide it during the lessons. Students are also welcome to bring in a piece of music they are required to learn for an audition or for a school performance. They can also bring in a song or solo they would like to learn. Our reading focuses in three major areas: Learning fundamentals, songs, and versatility. These are areas in music that are essential to one's growth in music.
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Question: I am involved in soccer and baseball traveling teams. I am required to attend every practice so I can play in the games. Do you offer make-up lessons?
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Answer: Yes, we offer make-up lessons. The student is required to allow at least 24 hr. notification of a lesson cancellation. Students are required to pay for a lesson they miss without notification. A student must also pay for a lesson if they notify the teacher of a cancellation the day of their lesson. We have some exceptions to this policy. If a student cancels a lesson the day of because of sickness, they will not be charged for that lesson. Students will also not be charged if there is inclement weather or a family emergency. We will provide a lesson cancellation policy the day of the first lesson.
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Question: How often should my son practice?
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Answer: This is a very common question that is asked. Practicing is necessary and expected from the student if he/she wants to progress. Practicing is the fuel and motivation that helps shape and develop a student. It is important to maintain a steady practice schedule. It is not about how long a student practices for, but rather, what they do with the time they have. It is far more important for a student to practice for fifteen minutes each day as opposed to practicing for two hours for one day and nothing for the next three days. We provide students with a practice sheet for each lesson. Although it is not necessary to fill out, it is highly recommended to complete. It will keep the student on track with their material to practice, and help maintain a strong level of momentum to play. It is also a great way to build self-discipline and hold yourself accountable each day to this commitment.
Lastly, students should first spend time on the assignment the instructor gave for that lesson so they are prepared and ready to progress to the next lesson. It is then recommended to spend time improvising so they can develop their own style of music. This will make their practice experience fun and refreshing.
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Question: What if we prepaid for a lesson but have to make it up? Can we reschedule that lesson?
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Answer: You can reschedule a lesson if there is at least 24 hour notification given. The instructor will offer the students time options to make up that lesson. If the instructor needs to cancel a lesson and the lesson is paid for, the lesson will either be made up, or the payment will be rolled over. We have a fair policy that accommodates the students needs. Our main request is for students to give us advanced notification of a cancellation.
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Question: I am a senior vice president at a firm in the downtown area. I often put in 12 hour work days. At this point in my career, I am just looking to do something fun and stress free. Do your lessons offer this?
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Answer: Learning how to play a musical instrument is a great way to broaden a person's horizons. Regardless of the student's age, music lessons are for all ages. Furthermore, an athlete can play a sport such as football, soccer, or basketball at a high intensity level up to a certain point in their life. Conversely, a musician can play and enjoy his/her music instrument for many years. In fact, some of the great jazz legend drummers such as Joe Morello and Louie Bellson played well into their 80s! Whether you are looking to play an instrument to be in a band, reduce stress, or just have fun, our lesson program can be tailored to best fit your needs, regardless of your age, ability, or what stage of life you are at.
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Question: Is there any other information you would like to share?
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Answer: We expect our students to be committed to the lessons. This will ensure progression for the student as well as longevity in the teacher/student relationship. It is important for the student to have good attendance. While other commitments conflict, we request for the student to give us advanced notification for cancellation of a lesson.
Our mission is to help students reach their musical and life goals through providing exceptional music education along with important life lessons. The benefits of taking music lessons with us is that we tailor all our lessons to best fit the needs and demands of each student. We also understand the importance of values, work ethic, integrity, and personal skills. One of our goals is to be mentors in our students' lives by integrating vital life lessons such as honesty, quality character, and leadership, to name a few. We have many helpful resources available in these areas of life that students will be given. We are all about music and life!
Contact us today to set up your FREE evaluation lesson!