Practice Makes Perfect....Or Does It?

by Rebecca Closson, Director of our music school, Pulling Strings Academy.

I often ask my students the question, “Why do we practice?” Without hesitation, the overwhelming response is “Because I want to get better!” I appreciate the desire in each of my students to achieve bigger and better things through their private lessons and hard work, but I want to challenge the idea about what purpose practice is actually meant to serve.

Violinist, Suzuki teacher trainer, author, and psychotherapist Edmund Sprunger once shared with my Suzuki training class that practice does not make perfect, but rather “practice makes EASY!” It was a revelation not only in my teaching, but in my own study of the violin. I was often discouraged when my time spent practicing only seemed to yield more frustration than resolution. My fingers could fly through difficult passages one day only to stumble in frustration the next. I couldn’t see past all of the things that I was unable to do and perfection seemed to be a dangling carrot that kept me running toward a goal that I was sure I would never reach.

Once I refocused my practice on one challenge at a time, problem-solving what I needed to do to make that challenge easier, and repeating the solution until I was able to perform the task successfully more times than I had performed it unsuccessfully, I had discovered a formula for success. Figuring out how to break down your practice into small, attainable challenges instead of tackling one large overwhelming expectation of perfection is a huge advantage for any student. Practicing then becomes centered on positive activities like creative thinking, linking together ideas, and application of previously attained skills.

A young student may rely more heavily on the teacher, parent or practice helper to guide them through the process of successful problem-solving practice, but beware helpers – there are challenges for you too! When practicing, make a special effort to focus on just one task at a time and let the others wait. If a student is working on a difficult passage for the left hand, allow the student to finish successfully before bringing to his or her attention the need to address an issue with the right hand. Also, finding a solution to a practice challenge may be the first step to success, but repetition and time spent is a necessary second, third and fourth step! Long term positive results can only be achieved through consistent time practicing the instrument more so than the sheer amount of time spent practicing the instrument. You cannot cram for a lesson like you would for a test. The skills that you are working on outside of the lesson each week are building blocks that need to have the strength to support new skills.

Most importantly, teachers do not expect practice helpers and parents to be perfect either! Weekly lessons are really special practice opportunities that give you and your student a chance to hone your problem solving skills with an expert advisor. You are working with the student an overwhelming proportion of the time each week and your instructor relies on you to present concerns or frustrations from the student perspective. The only true way to disappoint your teacher is to not have tried at all. Music works best in community and there is no better way to encourage success than to do the heavy lifting together!

Teaching Your Child to Sing

by Kathy Morrison, Director of Kathy's Music, LLC

Singing is for fun and much more! Research indicates that focusing on singing can be beneficial in both cognitive development (abstract conceptual thinking, verbal abilities, originality) and motor development (particularly coordination). Singing, which may be present from the earliest stages of life, evolves through several development stages: babbling, repeating words and fragments, and finally adding rhythmic features and pitch components.

“Singing ability is related to the ability to control speech fluctuations, and speech activities appear to help develop tuneful singing skills.” (McDonald, Dorothy and Gene M. Simons.)

The ability to sing and the ability to converse with expressive speech are closely related. Early Childhood music classes will nurture your child’s speaking and singing voice by playing with rhythmic speech (poems and rhymes) as well as introducing and modeling simple tonal melodies with a limited range. While your child is happily singing, she is stimulating all developmental domains: physical, emotional, language, and cognitive. Particularly significant is the reinforcement singing provides in abilities relating to sequences, patterns, memory, and language.

However, timing is important. Evidence suggest that children ages 1.5 to 3 years are at a critical stage for learning to sing accurately (matching pitch). In “Teaching the Elementary School Chorus” by Linda Swears, we learn that many children are not singing accurately:

“Of primary importance in this developmental scheme [learning to sing] is the approximation of singing stage usually occurring between the ages of about eighteen months and three years. At this time a repertoire of tonal patterns is being developed and tonal memory is being shaped. Unfortunately, the heavy emphasis on language development at this time may result in inattention to the development of the child’s singing voice. For whatever reason, if singing is neglected at this stage, the result may be children and even adults who fail to achieve singing accuracy without remedial help.”

There are many things you can do at home (or in the car) to nurture your child’s developing singing voice.

- Encourage your child to sing by singing to and with her! You can be a marvelous example. Love and enjoyment of singing is contagious and contributes to the development of the child.

- Introduce songs from your childhood, such as folk songs and nursery rhymes. These childhood classics are comprised of rhyming words, repetitive phrases, and simple melodic patterns making them easy to learn and remember. Children want to sing them!

- Because children learn to sing best without accompaniment, try singing without a CD after you’ve learned the songs together.

- To encourage your child to sing in a light voice, which is easier for matching pitch, play with siren sounds, downward and upward “whoo” types of sounds, using a “sliding” voice. These glissando or sliding sounds will also help increase the child’s vocal range for both his speaking and singing voice.

- Sing in the ideal range for your child’s voice. For those parents with a musical background, we recommend from around “d” to “g” above middle C for children ages 3-5 years of age. Here’s the good news: One expert says that with many singing experiences, some children will be able to sing accurately from middle C to an octave above middle C by the age of four or five.

- Play with “humming” a favorite song from class, such as “Row, Row, Row your boat”. Humming will increase the strength of your voice.

The ability to sing is based on many factors, including environment, opportunities for vocal play, a child’s physical/emotional development, and natural ability. However, encouragement and guidance from adults who value singing can have an immense impact on a child’s ability to sing. So, sing, sing together, merrily, merrily sing!