Lund Music Studio

Sadly enough, the arts are losing their place in more and more schools lately. My question is, how can we be so glib about letting this happen? It must be that parents, students, and teachers do not realize the full value that classes like music, dance and art can provide. If we recall the “Multiple Intelligences” chart, there is an entire section of “Intelligence” devoted to music. An entire part of our brain is wired to think musically, and will not get the exercise it needs if we pull music from schools. And yet we are not fighting, at least not hard enough, to keep music around in schools.

I would stipulate that music classes are even more important now, in today’s age of information technology. In an age where everything is computer and media driven, children tend to lose the need to be imaginative and creative. They tend to stay in front of TVs computers and video games, and do not exercise the parts of the brain involved in higher thinking skills. Involving a child in the arts cultivates something in them that they may no longer get at home. (Note: I am not saying that all video games are bad, as there are some educational games, and even those that are not can be alright, but largely, sitting in front of a television or game does not provide adequate stimulation.)

Involvement in the arts can do so much for a person that I cannot even adequately elaborate on it, but rather, I have listed below all of the additional benefits of arts education.

-> Increases imagination
-> Improves memory and retention
-> Provides learning through analogy
-> Builds discipline
-> Helps focus on long term goals
-> Develops problem solving skills
-> Increases attention to detail
-> Builds self-confidence
-> Causes students to strive for excellence
-> Cultivates responsibility
-> Develops good work-ethic
-> Helps students apply previously learned information to new scenarios
-> Develops both academic and expressive skills
-> Creates a passion for learning
-> Provides the opportunity to risk-take
-> Develops intuition and insight

Finally, arts competitions and festivals can be so rewarding for children, provide a goal to work toward, and prove to be a rewarding experience for the child no matter the outcome. For even in competition, there is no failure. Children are rewarded and complemented for making the effort not matter whether they have “won” or not. Also, they have gained new skills from their competitive experience, and a teacher would do well to remind them of this.

So we see that music and the other arts provide a vast pool of skills, and should not be neglected. If you are blessed with children, then the next time it is suggested in your child’s school that arts programs be done away with, I urge you to fight this with vigor, and remember some of the benefits that your child would be missing out on.

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.

You have already learned how to break down practice time, giving an order and structure to practice that will yield the best results.  Now, within that time frame, what do you actually DO (or NOT DO, for that matter)?

DO take every assignment seriously.  Trust that your teacher has given you all this work for a reason.  Music teachers realize our time and yours is valuable.  We promise never to give you “busy work!”

DO NOT let your brain go to “autopilot” during warm-ups.  Warm-ups not only prevent injury, they also help you improve technically over time and make you more nimble and capable.  If your scales never improve to the point where you can begin to speed them up with accuracy, do not expect yourself to be able to achieve accuracy in difficult solo passages.  One leads directly to the other!  That being said, DO NOT spend your entire practice trying to perfect your scales and lamenting that you cannot.  With a little daily focused practice, you WILL improve over time!

DO refer to notes from your lesson while practicing.  It is my belief that a teacher should help you through the week by writing down specifically what you should be working on.  If your teacher does provide you with a notebook, REFER to it during practice.  They wrote it down for your benefit!  And remember, what they have written down should require thought and work on your part!  It is not enough to read through your notes right before your lesson and assume you can “think” those things into happening without practicing them.  (Trust me!  I’ve tried!)

DO use a metronome if your teacher has assigned it!  There…I’ve said it!  The dreaded “M” word.  But metronomes are there for a reason during practice.  They help you find and maintain a steady beat.  Your teacher should also help you learn how to use the metronome.  Begin at a low speed.  You must achieve mastery at this speed before you move even one “tick” up on the metronome.  If you cannot do it perfectly at a slower tempo, you cannot expect perfection when you speed up!

DO NOT, under ANY circumstances spend your entire time running through pieces from start to finish.  You may do so once at the beginning of your practice to target weaker areas in a particular piece.  But once you have found those areas, the key to making them stronger is not to practice the whole thing over and over and just expect it to get better.  Break it down.  Target the tiny bit that is giving you trouble.  Slow it down.  Is it the rhythm that is difficult?  Count it out loud, clap it, and then play it until you can do it at least five times in a row perfectly in just that one spot before you begin to put it back in context.  This method of breaking down and targeting small areas until they are better is absolutely, positively 100% guaranteed to work!!!

And last, but not least, DO always remember that if you are trying everything you can during practice and still struggling, ask your teacher!   That is what we are here for.  But practice should come first.  (This follows the old adage, we cannot help you if you have not first tried to help yourself.) It is always easier to answer specific questions once you have given it your all than to answer that general, “But I don’t get it!”

If you follow these guidelines for practice, and practice daily, you will see results, and so will your teacher!  You will feel a sense of confidence in your ability to practice and accomplishment in the work you have achieved, and you will be rewarded with the ability to challenge yourself to new and more difficult heights!

Now, stop reading and go practice!!!  With the confidence that you know how!!!!!

Many aspiring singers find their main obstacle is their lack of confidence in their own voice.  Overcoming a lack of confidence can be harder to learn than other aspects of singing technique, because it is a very personal, very emotional thing.  Like every other part of practicing singing, though, it can be accomplished with practice.  If you need a boost to your singing self-image, here’s some ideas to get you on the right track:

Move around. Resist the temptation to lock up physically while you are singing.  If you want, actively move your body while singing — wiggle your fingers, shake your leg.  Get rid of that tension!  It’s also important to release as much tension as possible before you sing.

Smile. Smiling is always a good idea, as a smile subtly shapes your throat to a vessel that is capable of putting forth a lot of sound.  Try a happy smile, too — happiness = confidence.

Use a mantra. Pump yourself up a bit before any time you’re nervous about singing.  Come up with a phrase that will help you get in the right mindset emotionally.  Try something like, “I am awesome!” or “I have a beautiful singing voice, and it gets better every time I sing” or “What’s the worst that could happen?”

Make a fool of yourself. Sometimes, it pays to actively try to embarrass yourself.  This will help you to realize that it’s really not that bad.  A big part of singing with confidence is being willing to take chances in front of others.  It’s good to pay particular attention to “no-risk” settings; for example, a good voice teacher will never judge you for having a less-than-perfect sound.  Make mistakes with pride, because you learn from every one.

Karaoke. I admit that karaoke is pretty typically and correctly associated with bars, and that’s not everyone’s cup of tea.  But, if you’re into that scene, by all means grab the microphone.  Bring a friend or loved one, get up on stage, and take command!

Show your emotions. Sometimes, your nervousness can work to your advantage.  Singing is a very emotional art; don’t be afraid to let your emotions come out in your singing.  Focus on the fear you’re feeling, and think about how you can channel it into a positive place.

Practice music you already know. It’s always easier to work on your vocal technique when you’re singing stuff you already know.  Part of developing as a singer is learning new repertoire, but why confuse your mind with learning new notes and rhythms when you are trying to focus on your nervousness?  Chances are, you’ve sung something at some point in your life.  Sing “Happy Birthday” or “Jesus Loves Me”, and allow yourself to realize how comfortable you feel singing.

Sing in front of an audience. This is more for advanced learners, but good advice all around.  You naturally feel more comfortable singing by yourself than you do singing in front of others, but if you’re studying singing, you probably want to be able to do both.  So, practice.  Just like singing, “stage fright” can be improved with time — every time you sing in front of others, you are gaining positive experience.

Perform with a group. If you ever get an opportunity to perform with a group, do it.  Singing with your peers will be a great help, as many of your fellow musicians struggle with the same issues you do.  Here are some good ways to get a group to sing with — join the church choir, or go out to a karaoke bar with your buddies (if you can, go to choir practice and then go sing karaoke with some of your fellow choristers).

Use your eyes to avoid “stage fright”. It’s a horrible thing to get into the bad habit of closing your eyes when you sing.  But that doesn’t mean you have to stare right at the people who are watching you — in fact, that’s also frowned upon as a performer.  Focus your eyes on a neutral point above someone’s head or on the wall straight in front of you.  This will let you focus more on you and your singing than what anybody may think of you.

Confidence doesn’t happen overnight, but it’s important to start working on it as soon as possible.  You are unique, so be proud of the sound that you are making as a singer — for better or worse, nobody else can duplicate it.  And the fact that you’re working to improve probably means you’re way better than half the people who might see you practicing and make you nervous.

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.

Often, when I tell people what I do for a living, or when I try to coax somebody into joining my church choir, I am met with the classic line: “I can’t sing.”  In fact, my favourite students are the ones who start out with a bit of doubt, saying, “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to, but what the heck.”  I love proving them wrong.  Here are some easy things you can do to start singing today:

Realize that you’re already singing.

This is an important first step for a lot of people!  Many folks will sing in the shower, sing in the car, sing hymns at church, or sing “Happy Birthday” and then flat-out tell people they can’t sing at all.  Not true!

Really listen to yourself talking.

At some point while you are talking, take a moment and really listen to the sound you are creating.  Truly, the only difference between talking and singing is that, when you talk, you’re not holding a definite pitch.  The exact same muscles in your body are being exercised to allow you to speak that will allow you to sing.

Happy confidence!

“Happy confidence” is a term I use a lot with singers in my church choir.  To sing well, it’s imperative that you have confidence in yourself.  But, it’s not as if somebody can say, “Be confident!” and – poof! – it happens.  True confidence comes from a very happy place inside your brain when you realize you are truly an amazing and talented person.

And, trust me, you really are.  If you’re able to read this website, you’re better at reading than more than 20% of the entire world.  And I bet there are things about yourself that you’re way more proud of than your ability to read.  So take a few moments every day to remind yourself how great you really are.

Play with pitch.

Again, definite pitch.  The only difference between talking and singing.  So play around with it some!  You don’t have to be a professional singer to “talk high” or “talk low”.

Try imitating animal noises – my wife always explains pitch to her students as “elephant noises” and “mouse noises”.  If you can make an elephant noise and then a mouse noise, you’ll be able to make low notes and high notes.

Recognize the difference between hard work and natural talent.

A lot of people assume that to be a singer of any skill whatsoever, you have to be born with this God-given “talent” that normal people like them just don’t have.

Like those folks, you may listen to a favourite singer (let’s use Mariah Carey) and say to yourself, “I could never do that.”  News flash.  Thirty-five years ago, Mariah couldn’t either.  But she probably never said, “I can’t do it” but instead said, “I’m going to learn to do it.”  There’s definitely something to be said for natural talent, but it’s not as magical as you may think.

Have I made my point?  You can sing!  You just don’t yet.  And, the sooner you come to terms with that, the sooner you can make the leap from “I don’t sing” to “I do sing”.  And, with hard work and time, you can impress your friends and neighbors with your beautiful and practiced singing voice.

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.