Lund Music Studio

Let’s face it. Everyone wants instant gratification. That’s why we have cell phones, text messaging, etc…But there is one major difference between adults and children: Adults know how to control this desire and have (ostensibly) developed the patience to wait and the understanding that not all things come immediately. Children have largely not yet reached this understanding. This comes into play with piano more so than with other activities.

Piano is seen as an “activity” much like sports or dance, but it is actually much more akin to learning a language. It takes time, focus, and devotion, and will not happen over night. Whereas in sports, you go to a few practices, then put on a uniform and you ARE an athlete, in piano you must spend months or even years learning the very basics of piano. Pushing notes down on a keyboard like you would push buttons in a video game is not playing music. Playing music comes with a detailed understanding that the notes you push can be combined in many different ways, and there is even a technique to how to push them. Not only that, but music words are in another language. So while a child has to learn the “language” of music (the music alphabet and so forth), and while they are still getting a firm grasp on English, we then ask them to learn and understand words in ITALIAN, too! Again, adults have developed the patience to understand that this will not happen overnight, but children just want to sit down and do it! And woefully, there is SO much to do.

That being said, how do we keep the young student’s interest? Can they actually have a full hour of piano? Definitely. The key to developing this lesson is to vary the activities greatly, and to make the student think that this is a game. (There is serious time, too, but it is interspersed with “fun” activities, and can actually be fun itself if instructed properly.)

You also want to cover a broad range of topics: technique, rhythm, artistry (dynamics and nuances), theory, history, other instruments, etc. Find a fun history book with some activities and a CD of composers’ popular works, and I guarantee the average child will be interested by the stories of composers and their lives. Use technique books that utilize cute and quirky metaphors to describe the exercises. Find not only theory books, but also activities and games. Teach them scales by having them improvise while you keep rhythm. Teach them rhythms that are causing them problems by allowing them to chose from a selection of percussion instruments and making it “hands-on” but away from the keyboard. Have a multimedia aspect of the lesson with computer music games. Teach them songs by memory by having them repeat a song after you, starting with two notes, and adding one until they get “stumped.” Doing these things makes for an interesting and engaging lesson.

All of this will lead to children finding music enjoyable and engaging and hopefully cause them to look forward to lessons. It does, however, require significant time to develop all of these aspects, so the child and parent have to be open to the idea of taking music for an hour. The hope is that what cannot be accomplished in a shorter time period (in which all that can be accomplished is making small strides in technique and lesson books), will be able to be put together in a way that makes students eager to come back. If all that is focused on is technique, and drilling practice, of course young students will have the, “I’m not sure I want to go,” attitude, but if one takes the time to present music as fun and engaging, that is exactly how it will be perceived. This is how we develop a high level of musicianship–not necessarily a concert pianist, but definitely a young person who enjoys and is excited by music.

Chart of Multiple Intelligences

ALL CHILDREN ARE GIFTED AND TALENTED! WE JUST HAVE TO LOOK HARD ENOUGH!!!

Why, in the past, have we assigned labels (”gifted and talented,” “special needs”) to children? It is because we want an easy way out. We want children to be classifiable because it makes our job as teachers easier. Then we can teach the “gifted and talented” kids one thing and the “special needs” another. The problem with this? Intelligence is not black and white There are many areas of intelligence and all people are good at at least one. This means that as teachers we have to spend the time with each child to determine WHICH one. This has made the “Theory of Multiple Intelligences” very popular in the education world right now. I would like to briefly look at what this theory is, how it relates to the arts, and how it can help teachers to better connect with students and students to get more out of their education.

The theory of multiple intelligences divides methods of learning into different categories. Those are “Word Smart,” “Logic Smart,” “Picture Smart,” “Body Smart,” “Music Smart,” “People Smart,” and “Self Smart,” as shown in the chart. I have a few disclaimers to make about this chart. First of all, the theory of multiple intelligences says that different people have strengths in different areas, so everyone’s chart will look different, and have different sections appear larger depending on their individual strengths.

Second, you will notice that “Music Smart” is included in the chart. I do not believe that a child has to be largely music smart to benefit from music. That is the importance of this article. Music teachers should be encouraged by this theory to be attentive and discover each of their students points of greatest intelligence, and then play off of those to create the best possible learning environment. Also, music students should not be led to believe that their music lessons are about obtaining musical perfection. The arts should not be so much about a perfect finished product as they should be about a search for a higher quality of learning and of life through the joy of musicianship.

Though each person’s “Intelligence Pie” is cut differently, and teachers should recognize and play to a student’s strengths, they should also recognize and work on areas that are not as strong using music as the tool to accomplish this. Music can provide means of strengthening weaker areas, as it aids in higher thinking skills such as independent thought, creativity, analysis, and coordination. So, if you have a student who is not particularly strong in logic but is very creative, you should make sure you exercise BOTH the creativity and the logic. A teacher can also help a creative minded student by presenting logic and facts through story-telling, bringing fun and life to an otherwise dull subject.

My goal within this article is to establish the fact that teachers should be aware of and catering to their students’ areas of intelligence. This means that if you have 3 lessons in a row all with second graders, every lesson, upon observation, would be vastly different. For example, the logical minded student will be a very good listener, and can understand facts very easily. However, the bodily-kinesthetic learner will likely be much better at DOING than LISTENING. Rather than spouting facts at this student, the teacher should find a way for the student to actively participate in the learning, DOING something to learn the same information your first student could have gotten by listening.

In this way, a music teacher should be able to provide varied and interesting lessons for all of their students, featuring a unique and customized teaching style. This is what I hope to achieve for my own studio, and by making this information accessible, it is what I hope to encourage in others.

Teaching music is a business like any other. So those of us that are trying to make a substantial portion of our income from it have to advertise and attract customers. That’s harmless. But, I wanted to take a few moments to address some troubling “gimmick” techniques that I have seen being used around the internet by voice teachers.

1. A promise of guaranteed immediate results. By now, most of us should be wary of any product or service that makes this claim.  The human population of this world is so diverse.  We have people with different levels of intelligence, different emotional states, different amounts of experience… different everything.  As such, when it comes to teaching, a guarantee that the same exact method and presentation will work for everybody is an outright lie.

2. A “money-back” business model. This goes along with the guarantee, right?  Many voice teachers selling products online such as CDs or DVDs charge very high prices, and then promise that if you don’t see results, you will get your money back.  Caveat emptor… buyer beware.

Some of these teachers may be very much on-the-level, but as a cautious consumer, I would be very careful to get specific instructions on how the “money-back” process works before spending.  And, even then, I would be skeptical.

I have seen a couple reviews for products like these on Amazon.com, where the customers don’t trash the product itself, but the return process… and, if a CD package is not for you, you don’t want to be out $200 because their “customer service” department never actually existed.

3. Teaching via CD, DVD, or book. I will start by saying these may be the best way to go for some students with tight budgets or odd schedules.  There are also many quality products of this nature that have been put together by excellent teachers.  Be warned, though, that this is inherently inferior to taking a lesson with the same teacher in-person.

There is no way for you to communicate how effective the exercises are for you, or to ask questions.  Most importantly, there is nobody spotting you — if you do employ a harmful vocal technique, nobody will know.  And you can end up with permanent vocal damage.

Also, these approaches require a great deal of self-discipline.  Rather than having a regular time to meet with your instructor and their encouragement with your practice routine, you are entirely on your own.  It may feel good at first to not have anybody care but you if you put off your vocal exercise, but after some time passes, you may realize you are not accomplishing anything.

4. Teaching via phone or internet. This is similar to #3, but a little better.  In this sort of teaching setup, you will interact with a teacher, but there are still limitations — most importantly, visibility.  The phone teacher can’t see you do anything.  Even if you have lessons with a webcam, it will be harder for your teacher to see certain things, like your breathing technique and posture.

Phone or internet lessons will be helpful — but not as helpful as seeing a teacher live.  So, make sure you’re paying accordingly.  I have seen some teachers actually charge more for a phone or Skype lesson than they do for an in-person lesson.  This may make sense to them, as they have to deal with extra equipment setup for a high-tech lesson… but, as the customer, you will be paying more for a lower-quality service.

5. A “my-way or the highway” claim. I’ve seen a distressing number of voice teacher websites declare that by studying with anybody else, you are wasting your time.  Unless they’ve been the exclusive teacher for every singer that ever was, this isn’t true.  Different teaching styles work for different people, and over time, a number of formal teaching methods have seen a great deal of success.  So, anybody who says their method is the only real way to learn is using a fear tactic on you… and maybe doesn’t want you to find another teacher that may work with you better.

A teacher who uses these tricks isn’t necessarily a bad teacher.  You may get amazing results working with them.  On the other hand, these gimmicks to get customers in the door may be preventing you from studying with another teacher who gets even better results.  My advice — always be mindful of the actual service you are getting from any teacher, and make an independent and educated decision about who gets your money and your time.  Pay for the quality, not the hype.

If you are a parent of a young child, you may be wondering how early is too early to start music lessons.  In my Teachers page, I say I accept piano students starting at 3 years.  My belief is, if you can enroll them in preschool, you can enroll them in music.  All that is required is that they can sit relatively still for about 30 minutes (more on that later!) But will they benefit from this early exposure to music?  Really?

The answer to that?  More than you can probably imagine!

I feel that personally, speaking from experience, my early years in piano (I started at age 4) were invaluable to my life as a musician.  I learned to love music from an early age, and it was something that my mother and I did together that I still remember as special!  Also, having begun at such a young age, and working in the way that I did, I became a much stronger musician in adulthood in the area of ear training and aural development.

What will your little one learn at this age?  Well, because we cannot rely heavily on the ability to read, we must find ways to teach around these obstacles.  You have to remember that a piece of piano music is a complicated, with every single symbol on the page standing for a different thing!  So don’t expect them to be “reading” music within a couple of months.  Chances are they do not even know their complete alphabet yet!  Learning music is like learning a whole separate language.

That being said, significant advances can be made quickly in the areas of aural development (recognizing sounds).  This is why it is easier to learn another language as a young child than as an adult.  Your brain is very receptive to recognizing, repeating and remembering new sounds at this young age.

With my young students, I typically incorporate lots of singing into a lesson.  I believe that pitch matching (being able to sing a pitch and hear it on the piano, and hold down the note all at the same time) is essential part of learning music at a young age.  If, when they are 3, they learn to sing the letter “C” while holding down middle C on the piano, then when they are 20, they will still be able to instantly recognize and identify that pitch.  It gives an instant advantage in listening to and creating music, and cannot be taught later in life with the same ease or accuracy.

Aside from ear training, which is a fabulous skill for those destined for ultimate musical greatness, there are other benefits relating to general education and growth.  I work very hard in these lessons on comparing and contrasting, on establishing concepts such as low and high and loud and soft.  Also, recognizing moods, themes and emotions in music (happy, sad, angry, spooky, sunny, rainy, like a mouse, like a bear, etc…)  If at 3, they can tell me how they feel when they hear something, they are establishing strong analytical skills that will help them identify and describe with more ease as they enter their school years.

Music is also very heavily math based.  So we spend lots of time counting, attributing numbers to our fingers (Thumbkin is finger number 1…).  We learn the difference between right and left, and work heavily on sequencing and patterning.  So while in preschool, they may learn a basic ABAB pattern, in piano lessons, they will learn an AABA pattern and an ABC pattern, and then be able to sequence, order and repeat those patterns, AND associate them mentally with sounds and motions.

Your child will also learn how to focus, sit still, and listen for longer periods of time, and will be developing small muscles in the hands a little bit every day.  All this to say that beginning piano at an early age not only gives them fun connections with music from an early age, it helps them develop small motor and muscle control, eye-hand coordination, and cognitive and reasoning skills.

If you are interested in piano lessons for your child, but do not think they are quite ready for a 30 minute lesson, please remember that the teacher you contact should be flexible to your needs and the needs of your child.  I will always try a 30 minute lesson first, and if we don’t quite make it to 30 minutes, I will suggest a slightly shorter lesson length, and work up to 30 minutes, as the child grows in maturity and we work together more often.  The more I can learn an individual child’s personality, the more I can connect with them and help them focus on music!  Even if I am not your teacher of choice, your teacher should be this flexible in their methods!  I highly encourage you to consider music lessons for your young child as an enriching and rewarding experience that will be with them for the rest of their lives!

A question that I frequently hear from students, both current and potential, is: “How long does it take?”  We live in an impatient society, and people want to know when they will be able to stop taking lessons and be the accomplished and perfect singer they want to be.

The short answer — forever.

Now here’s the long answer.

Singing is a skill, and it is an art.  You can always find something to learn, or some new, better way to express yourself.  There’s not a set curriculum that you can follow and then be done learning.  This is a hard pill to swallow in today’s culture, but there it is.

Even if you do have an upper limit for how much you want to learn, it’s incredibly difficult to put a timeframe around when you will have accomplished your goal.  This is because everybody works a little differently — physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Also, your experience is a huge factor in how quickly you will pick things up as a singer, and it’s incredibly hard to gauge what your experience is.  Activities that you don’t think of as related to singing at all may have already done wonders for your breath control and volume projection, but, then again, you may have picked up some bad habits singing in the shower as loud as you can.

So, my advice to anyone preoccupied with how long it will take to become a singer — put that focus aside.  You’re already a singer.  You just want to be a better one.  Embrace the practice and experiences that are required, because if you truly love singing, then those tedious exercises and all that time spent are really labors of love.

Choosing the right teacher to work with is the important first step in improving your technique.  To ensure a good decision, first do your homework and know what to look for.

Find out your own priorities. Ask yourself what you want from lessons.  Think both your singing technique, as well as whether you want to sing professionally or as a hobby.  Do you want to increase your range to nail an audition?  Or do you want to get over your stage fright so you can enjoy karaoke?  Think about what sort of singer you want to become.

Once you’ve got your priorities sorted out, talk to any potential teachers you interview.  Tell them what you want out of lessons, and make sure they can help you.  Ask if they’ve had students with similar goals before, and ask what the teacher’s philosophy was to help them reach those goals.

Give potential teachers an audition. As an interested student, you should be prepared to be evaluated and critiqued as a singer.  Don’t be afraid to turn this around on potential teachers, though… ask any teacher you talk with if you can have a “trial lesson” before making a commitment.

Be wary of any teachers who insist that the very first thing you do together will be committing to a block of lessons at a fixed price.  This attitude communicates to you that they value their time more than yours, and your money more than your happiness.  Do you want to commit to a situation like that?

Compare teachers. If possible, find a couple of teachers and tell yourself that either one of them is equally likely to be the one you work with.  Compare attitude, experience, and price.  Just because a teacher is the first one in the phone book doesn’t mean that they’re the best.

If you have more questions about finding a teacher, drop me an e-mail.  You should never be afraid to ask for help, but whether you do or not, make sure that you make an educated and informed decision about who will be getting your money and your time as you learn about singing!

Ever wonder what you can get out of studying music, besides just learning the notes on the page? Whether it offers anything besides the ability perform a skill that allows the musician to bask in public acclaim? The benefits to musical study are actually numerous, and relate more to life in general than the mastery of a specific instrument. The study of music not only allows us to express ourselves in a new way, to obtain a sense of personal satisfaction, or even to entertain and impress our friends. Serious musical study also provides lessons in building character and a stronger total self. Some of these lessons are obvious, but most undercut the entirety of any music study program without being readily apparent to the casual observer.

Throughout life, you will find yourself in situations where pressure is heaped on you until you feel like you will just explode under the force of it all! Maybe you’re in school, and it’s the ever-present TAKS test (or other statewide standardized test, for those of us not in Texas), that looming paper, the SAT, or a really tough final exam, or maybe you have moved on from school to job interviews, work projects, and deadlines, deadlines, deadlines!!! Whatever the case, you may start thinking, “How am I ever going to cope with this?” Sound familiar? I know it does to me.

How does this tie in to music lessons, though? First, we need to understand what pressure really is. It just means caring deeply about a situation in which the outcome is entirely up to you. Taken by itself, pressure is not a bad thing. It only becomes “bad”, or overwhelming, when we realize that we never learned how to deal with these situations in the first place.

My suggestion? Try some music lessons. You quickly realize that as a musician, you have to confront these same conditions day after day. But in music lessons, you have someone there to guide and assist you in making these situations easier to deal with. And the younger you, start, the younger you learn to harness your feelings, master your nerves, and rise up to whatever challenge you may be faced with (though, as with anything, it is never too late to learn).

Still not convinced? Have you ever gone to a music competition? If you did, you would be able to watch, with your own two eyes, children as young as six and seven walk confidently into a room FULL of adults, perform a complicated piece of music (from memory, no less), and then stand up, bow and walk out just as confidently, no matter how they actually performed! This is because, during lessons, good music teachers not only teach notes and rhythms, they also provide students with tactics for overcoming nerves, seeming calm even when they are scared, and maintaining confidence through any slight mistakes or stumbles. A good teacher will coach not only the piece of music itself, but the entire performance process, from entry to exit, and everything in between. In this way, the student will learn to be prepared for anything, from the small studio recital to the concert in Carnegie Hall. Specific coping strategies for high-stress situations are instilled in any music student through a combination of regular study and preparation and positive reinforcement from the teacher.

If you were to study music for even just a few years, the rewards to your confidence and composure would be huge. When the time came, you would already know how to enter a job interview, maintain composure throughout, and exit the interview in a way that made you seem positive you were the very best person for the job. Having regularly dealt with the pressures of music performance would cause all of this to become second nature. Sure, you may still be nervous, but you could remind yourself that you already know how to deal with those nerves.