April 2023 "Mus"Letter

 

Congratulations to Alexis for finishing Book #17 of 30 !!!

This book is so meaningful to me because it has total of 5 big round stickers, it means five generations of piano students are using the same book !!! They are two families of cousins, total five kids in my studio since 4/17/2012 !!! I want to give thanks to dedicated parents and these five children that has so much grit to be persistent in your beliefs ! THANK YOU SO MUCH !! (picture being post with permission of parents)

Why Do We Practice?
Article taken from Piano Explorer November 2017, page 11

Knowledge and Skill

Sometimes students think that they don't need to practice very much because they simply know what to do and how to do it. Have you ever gone to a lesson thinking that only to discover that everything falls apart when you play it for your teacher? This can happen when your brain knows how the music sounds, but your body has not yet learned all the movements. 

Just knowing the way something is supposed to sound is not enough. Most of the time it takes lots of repetition for the body to learn to do what you are asking it to do. This is why practice is essential. The more you practice, the more chances you have to really master the material. 

This is true in anything you do. Think about how long it took you to learn to read. When you first learned to read simple words, you probably had to sound them out for a while when they showed up in a story. After a while, you just recognized them right away. In math, a teacher might explain a formula or way of solving a problem. It makes perfect sense in class, but when you try to solve a problem on you homework and find it is much harder than you thought. You need time to practice using the idea in different problems to really understand how to do it. Then the idea becomes something that is part of you and that you really can do. Music is the same way. 

The best way to really know something is to repeat it many times. Each repetition gets a little easier. However, it is not enough to just repeat something, you have to think about what you are doing. Make sure your brain controls your hands and not the other way around. Practice is also most effective if you do it over many days. You will not learn something well if you try to do everything in one long practice session right before a lesson (or a test at school)

Don't Get Frustrated

When something does not come easily, it is easy to get discouraged. This is a normal part of figuring out how to do things. Try to change your mindset and look at it as a great opportunity to learn how to grow and cope with difficulties. Instead of giving up, try thinking "I don't know this yet, but with practice, I will know it soon!" This is called a growth mindset. Simply put, this means that you realize that even if you don't know how to do something right now, you know that if you work at it a bit more, you will get it eventually. Some things are harder and may need more work, but you always have a chance to get there. People who think this way can achieve great things !!

"Knowledge is not skill. Knowledge plus 10,000 times is skill."
Dr. Shinichi Suzuki
a famous music teacher

Summer is coming soon and I am starting to receive rescheduling request for summer time. Please let me know by texting to 949-328-1924. My schedule usually very fluid and change every day, that is why cooperation from parents for early cancellations will make more opening space for all parents to reschedule it online at mypianotime.com. It NEED a real teamwork to make this work !! Of course always communicate with me to find a time slot that is good for your family if your summer schedule is not the same as when schools in sessions. 

Thank you for reading !!!!