While it can be tempting to trade out your busy weekly routines for a summer of no obligations and a free schedule, here is a list of reasons why continued music lessons are crucial over the summer months. 

1. Prevent Skill Atrophy. All year long, your child has been developing and improving their fine motor skills. We have been working on developing good hand shape, refining aural awareness, and making quicker connections from page to piano. After a long summer break and intermittent time at the piano, it can be a pretty frustrating process to get back into the shape you were in at the beginning of the summer, usually taking 4-6 weeks. 

2. Maintaining Good Habits. Regular weekly lessons keep those good practice habits flowing! 

3. Choose a Fun Project. With less academic pressure, the summer is an amazing time to dive into a fun, new project. Seize the opportunity to compose your own piece, play a duet or trio with siblings or a best friend, or dive into a fascinating area of music theory. 

4. Cognitive Benefits and Increased Creativity. Keep those brains active! Keep improving your emotional awareness, memory retention, and opening your minds to new possibilities. Music naturally encourages divergent thinking, allowing students to refine their problem solving skills and getting that boost of confidence when they find their solution and reach their goal. 

5. Continued Progress. A lot of valuable progress can happen in three months. They will be able to easily transition into school year lessons and the fall recital feeling confident, excited, and ready. 

If you haven't done so in awhile, this is your friendly reminder to get your pianos tuned! 

"If you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time." –Zig Ziglar

While it's a bit cliche to think about goal-setting this time of year, it sure is a great opportunity to discuss the topic! Goal-setting is a crucial component to progress, and something I encourage all of my students to think about -- both long-term, as well as for each practice session and performance. Keeping a journal, or having a checklist somewhere you can regularly see it are helpful tools. Don't know where to start? Below are some ideas to get you started. 

Long-Term Goals:

• Perform from memory 
• Play a duet with a friend or family member 
• Learn a challenge piece 
• Be able to play every song in this book 
• Learn a new genre of music 
• Compose my own music
• Play my favorite pop song by ear 
• Participate in a local festival or judged competition
• Play holiday music for my family 

Practice Goals:

• Play a section of music with all correct notes, rhythms, and/or fingering
• Spend time today to learn this difficult passage I've been avoiding
• Play this phrase with an even crescendo 
• Be able to play a measure, phrase, or line 10 times in a row without any mistakes
• Get through this entire section or page without my music
• Sightread a piece from an easier book
• Transpose an easier piece to another key  
• Play the RH/LH only from memory 
• Listen to 2-3 recordings while looking at my music, and find places where I can do more musically 
• Work on clear pedaling and clear sound 

Performance Goals:

• Control my breathing 
• Work on focusing and listening throughout the entire performance 
• Be confident and trust all of the hard work you've put into learning this piece
• Take time and don't rush this section
• Listen for clear pedaling 
• Enjoy! 
• When you are done, write down 3-5 things that went well during your performance. 

One of my most favorite musical sub-genres, character pieces highlight a particular mood, idea, creature, and often inspired by literature, experiences, or geographical locations. During the Romantic Era, particularly in Germany, many composers sought a more individualized musical style that broke free from traditions and forms from the Classical Era. Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849), Franz Liszt (1811- 1886), and Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) were among the most recognized composers of character pieces. Their compositions have been considered a significant milestone in piano literature.

Some examples include Schumann's Kreisleriana, Kinderszenen, or Carnaval. Chopin tended to evoke national images through his polonaises, mazurkas, and Barcarolle. He also favored genres such as ballades and more melancholy nocturnes. Brahms's Rhapsodies, Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words, and many of Liszt's Etudes are also excellent examples. 

Common Characteristics:

• Colorful titles reflecting the mood, idea, or intended character 
• Ternary Form (ABA)
• Shorter in length than sonatas
• Large sets of short pieces, intended to be performed as a single work, was common

Listening: 
Schumann, Kinderszenen (Scenes from Childhood)
Martha Argerich

Chopin, Polonaise in Ab 
Vladimir Horowitz

Liszt, Libestraum No. 3 in Ab (Love's Dream)
Nobuyuki Tsujii

Becoming proficient in an instrument is a long and complex journey. It involves refining fine motor skills, developing listening skills, and being able to adjust in an instant -- and know how to adjust. Performances and recitals are an important component to the learning process. Some students thrive in it, and others dread it. Here are 10 reasons why they are so important. 

1. It's an important milestone in your progress. It's a chance to feel successful, and feel proud of all of your hard work in polishing, perfecting, and memorizing your piece. 

2. Hearing more advanced students is a huge motivator. Enjoy listening to all kinds of pieces that you will get to play in the future. Did you hear a piece that you really want to learn? Make a note in your program and tell your teacher about it at your next lesson. 

3. Hearing younger students is motivating, too! Is someone playing a familiar tune that felt really challenging to you at the time, but now seems easy? In just 1-2 years, you will look back on the piece you are working on right now, and it may seem easy, as well.  

4. Students practice differently. When you know you have a recital approaching, you have a deadline, an end goal, and something tangible to work towards. You'll be more focused on details, polish the tricky spots, and work hard to perfect your music. 

5. It gives parents and extended family a chance to show their support and engagement. Share your hard work with the people you love! It also gives grandparents and aunts and uncles a chance to see all of your progress and let you know how proud they are of you. 

6. It's an opportunity to attend a live concert, and learn concert etiquette. For some students, this may be your very first time attending a live concert. You'll learn when to clap and how to be a polite and attentive audience member. If this is also your first time performing, you'll learn how to bow and show poise onstage. 

7. You'll learn time management, conquering difficulties, and other important life lessons. You know the recital date is approaching, so the time to practice and work hard is now. That line of music that tricks you every time you get to it? Fix it today -- and I promise, it will feel GREAT once you've mastered it :) 

8. You'll gain valuable experience in front of a crowd. Feeling nervous and performing under pressure from time to time is part of being an adult -- and a human being! Recitals are a great opportunity to learn to manage nervousness, and what better place than in front of a warm and accepting audience of family members and friends. Having successful experiences under these conditions builds confidence.

9. Recovery from mistakes. A mistake does not mean a failure. A mistake  during a performance is a very normal thing, and the best thing you can do is find your way through it, and simply move on. 

10. You may learn something about yourself. Trust all of your hard work, trust yourself, and have fun! There's a good chance you'll learn that you're a really good performer, you CAN do it, and you enjoyed the experience more than you thought!