Treat Challenge and a Couple of Other Things

This Sunday, the 30th, I will be on Music and the Spoken Word with the Bells on Temple Square.  It airs on KSL and BYUTV (not kbyu) at 9:30.  If you aren't able to catch it there, you can watch it all day on http://www.byutv.org/watch/livetv . If the kids can tell me the names of the 3 songs that the Bells play, I will have a treat for them.

Notes on practicing: Please look over your child's notebook after each lesson so you know what you should be listening for while s/he practices.  S/he will generally have 3-5 songs to learn each week.  Each song should be played at least 3 times a day, sometimes more.  If you are only hearing a song played one time through, than s/he is not practicing correctly.  Repetition is the key to solidifying each new concept. Also, at this point s/he should be practicing at least 20 minutes a day, 4-5 days a week.  It's better to have several shorter practice sessions than to have one mega session at the end of the week.

Payments: Remember that payment is due the first week of the month.  If it is late, please include the $10 late fee. If you'd like a reminder text, please let me know.

Christmas Recital:  I've started assigning songs for the Christmas recital.  Right now I have it scheduled for Tuesday, December 1.  If that date won't work for you, let me know.  There is still plenty of time to pick a different date.  This year, I would really like each student to have their recital pieces memorized. Any help you can give them with that would be great, even if it is just making sure they are working hard on learning the songs throughout the week.

Note Naming:  Several of my students are struggling with reading music. Reading music is hard!  It takes lots and lots of extra practice at home.  It's something that really just has to be memorized. Think of it like memorizing your multiplication tables. Flash cards work great, there are several apps on phones or tablets, and  www.teoria.com is also a good resource.

Very often I will ask them to name the notes WHILE they play.  If they do this every time they practice they will be able to memorize the notes.  It is so so important that they memorize the notes. If they can't read music, it makes starting a new song nearly impossible. There is only so much I can do with them during the lesson to learn the notes.

Thanks all!!