Blog | Create More Music Studios

3 Essential Reasons to Keep Music in Public Schools

2/22/2018

Ah, the power of music. We look forward to hearing it every morning in our cars while driving into work. We'll purchase tickets to watch our favorite performers live in concert. In fact, you might even enjoy singing in the shower or playing an instrument during your spare time. There's no doubt that music has a very powerful impact on us in our daily lives, regardless of whether you're a child or an adult. This impact can be quite personal, too.

If you have any say in keeping a music program in a public school, you should absolutely consider doing so. There are tremendous benefits to having students learn music while they attend any school, regardless of whether it's a private or public institution. Here are a few fundamental reasons why keeping music in public schools can benefit students.

Piano or Keyboard: What should I choose?

1/24/2018

Congratulations on choosing to learn the art of the piano! Before you get started, there may be a lingering question quite common to the new musician. What is the better purchase, a keyboard, or a piano? Though it is usually preferred a student develop skill on an acoustic piano, it is not always practical. Also, due to technological advances, there are many keyboards available that can provide a learning experience similar to that of an acoustic piano. Let's learn about both and ultimately find the right choice for you.

Which Type of Guitar is Right for You?

1/5/2018

One of the very first decisions a beginning guitarist must make is what type of guitar he or she wants to learn on initially. Guitars are classified into three basic categories: electric, standard acoustic and classical. The best guitar for you will depend heavily on the type of music you plan to play. Following is brief guide to all three principal guitar categories that will help you decide which one is the right choice for you.

Electric Guitar

Electric guitars are extremely popular for use in rock, metal, modern blues, pop and even some jazz music. Thanks to their ability to be amplified and enhanced with various effects, electric guitars have wide-ranging versatility when it comes to musical styles. These guitars are typically solid-bodied, although some hollow-body models are available on the market. One thing you should be aware of if you're choosing to start out on an electric guitar is the fact that you'll also need a guitar amplifier to accompany it. This increases the initial cost of learning guitar, but also offers you access to a greater range of tones than conventional acoustic guitars are capable of producing.

Healthy Practice Habits

12/1/2017

Music students that wish to excel must develop healthy practice habits that will help them to achieve their goals. To consistently improve here are some habits that can help you to have a successful career in music.

Explore Styles And Practice Early
Good practice habits should start with beginning students who are enthusiastic about learning to play their instrument and will go a long way toward instilling a lifetime love for music. First-year music students should be encouraged to explore various styles of music to find out what appeals to them. At this stage, students should be encouraged but not forced, to practice. If practice sessions can be held early in the day, it becomes a priority. For younger students, 15-minutes of practice a day can make a huge difference in the student's progress. Early practice sessions are ideal for college students before the day is taken up with other obligations. Practicing early in the morning is beneficial when you can focus easier and helps to develop healthy sleep habits.

Is Your Child Ready For Music Lessons?

10/16/2017

In recent years, more and more parents are leaning toward having their kids engage in music lessons. One of the major queries these parents have is when they can know their child will be capable of taking on music lessons and if they require any skills beforehand. Ideally, children should start their music lessons from at least five or six years of age. However, since kids mature differently, you may find that your child could start earlier or have to wait a bit longer. Read on to know what to look out for that would indicate if your child is ready for music lessons or not.

Assess their ability to read

Granted, children are knowledge sponges. They tend to absorb information much faster than adults do. This is why children have an easier time learning a foreign language. Music is also a language and learning music is much easier when you can read the staff and understand the notes. You may be tempted to start music lessons before your child even begins school. Luckily, learning musical notes is much easier than learning the alphabet as the basic notes are only seven of them. And even if your child can’t read yet, don’t worry! Young children learn effectively by rote and memorization. In fact, many traditional teaching methods, including the Suzuki Method, emphasize learning by ear in the initial stages.

Assess their physical capabilities

If you are interested in your child taking up an instrument as part of their music lessons, then it would be pertinent to assess their physical capacities. Some musical instruments are much easier to handle than others are. For example, if your child is small in stature, they would not be able to take on a trombone as their first instrument. However, you would be able to start them off on something smaller such as violin or even a simple flute. Guitars are some of the instruments that come in an assortment of sizes, so this would also be a suitable first instrument for your child. Additionally, the piano is always a great beginner instrument for all children.

Assess their mental growth

Another important aspect to consider before deciding on music lessons for your child is their mental capability. To ensure that the music lessons you are paying for do not go to waste, you need to determine whether your child would be capable of concentrating for the length of the lesson. At the very least, before you start these lessons, your child should be able to pay attention for at least half an hour at a time. Moreover, they would also need the temerity to sit down and practice on their own on a regular basis. If your child is easily distracted, you may want to wait until they learn how to hone in their concentration.

Assess their fine motor skills

Learning an instrument may not be akin to writing, but it does need the learner to have some fine motor skills. Thus, you need to determine if your child would have the dexterity to play an instrument before you sign them up for music lessons. Younger children who have not yet learn how to hold a pencil or use a pair of scissors properly may have a hard time learning how to coordinate their fingers to play an instrument. Additionally, an instrument such as a the guitar or violin, in which the student’s’ hands are performing two opposite movements, may be more challenging than an instrument such as the piano in which the hands perform the same type of movements.

If your child meets the above criteria, then they would be ready to start their musical lessons. You can opt to take them to a formal class with other students or have an instructor carry out personal lessons at your home!

Benefits of Performing & Participating in Recitals and Showcases

7/26/2017

A recital is a great time for family and friends to enjoy performances, and of course, it’s a great photo opportunity to show off your child’s hard work on your social media. Beyond the music and the photos, however, performing in a recital or showcase has real benefits to your child’s development. Learn more about the four major ways a recital helps music students.

1. Setting Goals
It can be hard to practice the same song and scales over and over for months. Practice often takes place alone, at home, and may not feel exciting or rewarding. When students know there is a performance associated with their practice, they have a deadline to work toward. Many students look forward to showing off all that hard work and are more motivated to put time into focused practice. Adults who haven’t had lessons in years can often remember a song they played at a recital, as the muscle memory from those motivated practice sessions remains. A bonus benefit is that often this new practice routine persists even after the performance!

2. Overcome anxiety
Over 70% of Americans report feeling stage fright at some point in their lives. Students who get experience performing in recitals at a young age build confidence in their ability to be the center of attention on stage. It’s not obvious to the audience, but performance actually engages a whole different set of skills from musical skills needed to complete a song. Controlling your breath and posture under stress, being comfortable with your body on stage, and having resilience when you make a mistake are skills that will serve you well in both future performances and beyond.

3. See the Future
Especially for students who spend most of their time practicing alone, the recital is a great opportunity to engage with the social aspect of music. Younger children naturally look up to older kids, and when beginning musicians perform with others who are more advanced, they see what can happen with dedication and practice. Over the years, they will gain a sense of what is coming next for them in their lessons and skills, and the progress they want to achieve becomes a concrete goal to work for in between performances.

4. Sense of Accomplishment
Of all the benefits to playing music, this is the most rewarding. Preparing a song for performance takes a lot of time and focus. The performance requires bravery, stamina, and professionalism. All that hard work pays off when they’re taking their final bow to a round of applause. That magic moment sticks with children as they internalize the pride in their hard work and build their self-esteem.

No matter what their skill level is, a recital gives every child a chance to be a musical star for one afternoon. Not only does preparing for performance build musical skills, but the lessons and rewards of the recital build character and self-esteem that will enrich your child’s life on and off the stage.

Music, Math, and Science: What's the Connection?

6/16/2017

Around the entire world and within thousands of different cultures, music is an integral part of many lives. The intense emotional connection that human beings experience with music is a force difficult to explain even with science. However, at its core, music is essentially art combined with science and mathematics. Human emotion and intellect are able to express creativity through music, and that music takes the form of sound waves with varying frequencies registering as different notes to our ears. This combination of art, mathematics, and science creates a universal language that transcends all cultures and languages and allows us to connect with every human being on a fundamental level.

How To Pick the Right Instrument for You

5/15/2017

Believe it or not, finding the right instrument for you to play is not as difficult as you would think. Look and watch over your favorite bands to see which instrument struck out the most to you. Did you enjoy the incredible guitar solos from one of your most favorite song by your favorite artist? Did you happen to enjoy the bass and its subtitles, despite how much it truly brought to the song? Here is a comprehensive list on what instrument might best speak to your soul

The Many Benefits of Music Education and Learning Music

5/2/2017

Many of Us Want to Learn.
A lot of us want to play an instrument—or, even several instruments—at least once in our lifetime. After all, our music idols play out-of-this-world masterpieces and sing like it's been in their blood for ages, which is very inspirational for many of us. Music is, without a doubt, a very exciting and creative hobby that can assist you with your self-esteem and to help you to build exciting new relationships in an artistic way. It can help you to discover yourself and can be of assistance to you when you need to relax. It's also been known to increase your hand-eye coordination as well as intelligence, especially if you wish to write your own songs. Truthfully, nothing bad can happen from learning music: on the contrary, it expresses who you are and gives you the greatest and most satisfying feeling of all time; especially after you've learned that song you have been dreaming of by completing it in full perfection.

Tips for Practicing Music

6/15/2015

“Repetition of the same thought or physical action develops into a habit which, repeated frequently enough, becomes an automatic reflex. “ – Norman Vincent Peale

It’s essential for students to develop effective practice methods. Here are some tips we’ve gathered from some of our teachers:

1.     The metronome is your best friend. Make the metronome your practice buddy and pretend it’s a simple percussionist that you’re making music with. Also, try having the clicks only sound on beats 2 and 4 in common time, or on beats 1 and 3 in triple meter. Playing with a metronome can be challenging in the beginning but it will actually decrease the time it takes you to learn a song or passage, it will help you develop an even sense in time, and it will prepare you to play with others.

2.     Practice makes permanent. Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect. That means to make sure you’re not only playing the correct notes, but that you’re using the correct fingerings, correct techniques, and that you’re not making unnecessary movements. For example, using your 2nd finger for a note when it would make more sense to use your 3rd finger, or vice versa.

3.     Minimum Motion. Making huge gestures and motions can be fun and have some benefits in playing expressively, but be mindful of having your fingers, hands, and/or arms, take the shortest path from one note to another. Are your hands making any unnecessary shifts? Could your fingers move more accurately or closer to the instrument? Minimum motion is about playing with accuracy, speed, and precision.

4.     The tortoise wins the race. We all want results immediately and seek instant gratification.   Everyone wants to shred to the greatest guitar solos. However, learning at a steady pace and mastering each concept before trying to move on will benefit you in the long race and before you know it, you’ll be rocking out to your favorite songs.

5.     Play with your ears not your eyes. Music is sound. More often than not, we worry about doing things the ‘right’ way with the ‘right’ technique. Although, good technique is vital in playing music, at the end of the day we learn to play music because we want to make sound. Listen to yourself. Enjoy each sound you make. Be mindful of every note and note duration.