Parents

Why Take Private Lessons??

Private lessons are the key to developing an outstanding musical organization. Students who study their instruments privately with a professional show rapid improvement in individual musicianship. As these students improve, their excitement towards practicing increases, they continue to improve, and they become a stronger contributor to the overall success of the band. Private instruction has a great impact on the individual student and on our band program both this year and in the future. We will assist you, if needed, in selecting a private instructor. The key to satisfactory results from private instruction is to start as soon as possible.... SO START NOW!

Practice Pointers for Parents

Your child’s success in band will depend a great deal on what is achieved during daily home practice sessions. Learning takes place in school, but proficiency is gained at home. You can use the following guidelines to help your youngster at home.

TIME SCHEDULE: A half hour a day is the minimum amount of practice time recommended for the average student. Practicing at the same time every day is good, but some flexibility should be built into this schedule. Don’t bring the world to a halt at 6:30 pm every evening because it’s practice time – kids need time for fun and relaxation just as adults do. If the situation merits, reschedule the practice session to an earlier or later time. Note: Beginners ONLY need to practice 10-15 minutes per day the first month of school and then gradually build up to 30 minutes per day after that. This is because their facial muscles have not matured enough the first month to handle 30 minutes of a practice routine without forming bad habits.

ENVIRONMENT: Practicing should be done in an area that is free of distractions away from the TV, screens, and family traffic. Good lighting, a straight-backed chair, mirror, metronome, and a music stand are definite assets. Reed players should have several reeds available during the practice session.

ENCOURAGEMENT: Spend some time listening to your student practice. Offer constructive criticisms. You do not need to be a former band member or musician to be able to hear improvement. Encourage them to play assignments and tests for you. Each time the student plays for a friend or relative, it helps them to feel more comfortable with a performance or competitive event.

IS YOUR CHILD PROGRESSING? For the young band student, the field of instrumental music is new for your child. They are learning to use their facial and finger muscles in a different way and their breathing for a different purpose. There is a new language of symbols (notes) that require the use of their mind and body to translate this into musical sounds. All of this takes time! Even parents who have had former instrumental experience have probably forgotten the struggle of producing those first few notes and songs.

Parents can evaluate practice sessions by asking:

1. What is your assignment for today/this week?

2. Am I hearing a distinct difference between warm up and the core practice material? Scales, long tones, and technique exercises are all great warm ups!

3. Am I hearing music that they can already play, or am I hearing attempts at new material?

4. Is the tone quality becoming more characteristic of the instrument, or is the tone harsh, unmusical, and unpleasant?

5. Does the familiar tune or exercise move along steadily with some sort of fluent rhythm, or is it halting and jerky with no steady rhythm?

6. Check your child’s grades on recent playing tests. Should they retake any of these tests?

EXAMPLE OF A STRUCTURED PRACTICE SESSION:

5 min: Warm Up: long tone, scales patterns and slurs, focus on characteristic tone production

15 min: New material: assignments, work to increase range/technical abilities

5 min: Previous material: work to increase speed/efficiency, upcoming performance material

5 min: Personal choice!

Digital Ethics, Best Practices, Video Tips and IPad Recording

For submitting playing tests on Canvas for our band class, here are a few things to think about:

• Technical problems can come up, so record tests at the two practice sessions leading up to the due date, so you always have at least one good recording available to submit.

• Do not edit, splice, or "re-mix" any of your audio or video, only submit your original work (digital ethics!)

• Do not send recordings of yourself playing test material to anyone else, as it could be used in an unethical way.

• Make sure your face/embouchure and hands/instrument can be seen in the video so you can be identified and critiqued accurately.

• Do not place the IPad on your music stand while you practice, as it can fall.

• Keep the IPad a several feet away so the microphone doesn't get overloaded, especially brass instruments and snare drum, it is fine for it to be across the room and then zoom in on the video a little.

• Remove as much "background noise" as possible (use the room in the house with the least amount of "traffic", turn off TV etc), but don't worry if there is a minor sound like a dog barking once in the recording.

• If you enjoying recording yourself as a practice tool, like using the GarageBand App to create music, or just need clean vocals for your other projects, see the YouTube Videos below for budget mics review and instructions on how to hook up a USB style microphone to an IPad.

• If you are uploading recordings to social media or YouTube, be sure to credit any background music you are using.