January 2020
NOTES FROM MELIA & JUSTIN
Happy New Year and New Decade from Yellow Door Music Studio! Our Winter semester is off to a great start. Students had their first lessons last week, and so many of them kept up good practice habits over break!
We're excited for the next few months at the studio. Melia's students are completing a January Notespeed challenge, and Justin's students are continuing to journal their weekly practice time. We hope our studio events, group lessons, and fun practice materials will help keep any winter blues at bay. Stay warm, friends!
Melia & Justin
"HOW CAN I HELP?" PARENTS AND PRACTICING
A common question I get from piano parents is, "How can I help my student practice if I don't know how to play the piano? Haven't played in a long time? Don't consider myself musical?" In reality, you can do so much as a parent to help support your students in practice without knowing a thing about the piano yourself! Up until the age of 10 (and even beyond!), students truly benefit from a helpful and supportive parent during home practice. Here are a few ways you can help your student while they practice away from lessons:
When student, parent, and teacher work as a team, amazing things happen at the piano!
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Read their notebooks/lesson records to make sure they know what their practice goals are!
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Set up a good environment for practicing: try to have your piano in an area away from noise, televisions, or other distractions.
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Help create a practice routine by picking a good time to sit at the piano every day, even if it's only for five minutes.
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Allow your student to "teach" you their lesson material or a new theory concept. (They love the opportunity to be an expert!)
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Ask questions: Can you play that softer, faster, sillier, etc?
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Encourage, encourage, encourage! Let them know that you enjoy hearing them play and that they bring joy to others through all their hard work.
January's Practice Tip
Feeling distracted? Turn your practice into a race against time! Set a timer for anywhere from 2-10 minutes and see if you can reach your goal before the timer goes off!
UPDATED CALENDAR
We've slightly adjusted our calendar to accommodate Winter Break (February 17-21). These lessons will be made up the week before Spring Break (March 30-April 3). An adjusted calendar can be seen and downloaded here, and copies will go home with students next week!
INCLEMENT WEATHER
In these winter months, our policy is to continue lessons even if school is cancelled that day as they weather often clears by the afternoon. That being said, always choose safety first! If you feel unsafe driving to lessons, contact Justin or Melia as necessary.
*SSMS students: if a snow day occurs on lesson day (Tuesday), plan for the lesson to be made up on Friday of that same week.
PIANO IN THE NEWS
Who knew piano practice was also a parietal lobe workout? Check out this infographic of your brain on piano (click on it to enlarge)!
STUDIO UPDATES
Find us on Facebook!
Follow us for news about the studio; you may even see your own student’s skills on display!
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
Check out Eliza's performance of "Away in a Manger" at her school Christmas program!
CHECK OUT OUR CHRISTMAS PLAYLIST ON SPOTIFY!
Online Review Incentive
Help others connect with Yellow Door by reviewing us online, and get a $20 tuition discount! Here's how it works:
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Submit a review of Yellow Door on Google, Facebook, and Thumbtack.
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Once you’ve posted your review in all 3 locations, we’ll apply a $20 one-time discount to your monthly tuition (one discount per family).
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In your review, be sure to include: your teacher’s name, what you appreciate about Yellow Door, and how your Music Maker has grown since beginning their studies with us.
