Milton School of Music

💡How to Set Up a Practice Schedule

This week we conclude our series on 3 common questions we receive from parents. Our final question, “How to set a practice schedule?” requires the most effort from the parent and music student. Here are some tips to create a realistic practice schedule for young musicians-in-training.

Make Music Practice a Daily Routine

Routines lower stress by allowing for easier day-to-day planning, efficient time management, and establishing non-negotiable tasks. Without a routine, children will negotiate, on a daily basis, of when, how often, and for how long to practice. A routine allows parents to set the “ground rules” for music practice by creating expectations for when and how long to do daily practice.

The ideal practice time depends on the student and home environment. Students can practice before school, right after school, during dinner preparation, or in the evening. Use two weeks for trial and error and you might discover that your child is more alert before school rather than after dinner. Once you find the perfect time, stay consistent to turn it into a routine.

It is normal for parents to encounter resistance when they first introduce music practice to the daily routine. As long as parents stay consistent with enforcing the routine, the resistance will subside as children eventually understand that music practice is a part of the daily routine.

Length of Practice Time Depends on Age and Music Level

When parents create a practice schedule, they should consider their child’s age and music level. The younger the student, the shorter the practice time due to shorter attention spans. We advise parents of younger students to aim for a minimum of 30 minutes of daily practice. This is the same length of time as their music lessons. If a student cannot practice for 30 minutes, they can start with 10 to 15 minutes of daily practice and build up to 30 minutes. Our philosophy is that a little practice everyday is better than no practice.

As the music student advances, music practice should increase to 1 hour a day. It is common for dedicated students playing at the highest levels to practice more than 1 hour a day, devoting several hours in preparation for an exam or competition. At this stage, music practice is established as part of the daily routine so the transition is smooth.

Motivate Children with Fun Practice Charts
Some children need extra motivation to follow a practice schedule. Practice charts provide immediate positive reinforcement for children who respond well to rewards. Students are awarded stickers to place on the chart after they finish practicing for the day. Selecting a special sticker and placing the sticker on the chart makes the reward more personal and empowers younger students to practice daily. Alternatively, parents can use a colouring chart where a portion of the chart is coloured after practice.

There are a lot of free creative practice charts available online with different themes. Ask your child to help with selecting practice charts and stickers. If your child has an interest in pirates, find a pirate themed practice chart and include sea creature stickers. Your child will be more motivated to complete a pirate practice chart than a dinosaur practice chart. The point is to get your child involved in the process so that they feel empowered to practice.

We recommend placing the practice chart in a visible location and at the student’s eye level. The practice chart visually prompts the student to practice while acknowledging successful completion of past practice sessions.

Minimize Distractions to Reduce Interruptions During Practice

There are two main hurdles when it comes to practice. The first hurdle is getting started. The second is staying focused on practice, especially for younger students. Distractions lead to interruptions which cut into valuable practice time. Once a child is distracted, the parent has the unenviable task of persuading the child back to practice. Here are some tips to avoid distractions altogether.

Parents should be mindful of the practice environment. Look around the practice room. Are there toys, books, or snacks lying around? Is the TV turned on? Is there a tablet or phone nearby? Is there loud music playing throughout the house? Is there a sibling in the room? The goal is to minimize anything that would break your child’s concentration.

The body can also act as a distraction. If your child is prone to bathroom breaks, ask them to use the bathroom before they start practice. If the practice time happens after school, give your child a small snack beforehand. If your child is suffering from a cold, have a box of tissues on hand.

Some younger children do not want to be left on their own. In this case, the parent’s absence is the distraction. There is no way around this but to be present during practice. Luckily, children grow out of this phase. In the meantime, parents can view this as an opportunity to reinforce homework assigned by the teacher.

Parents who create a practice-friendly environment are naturally reinforcing the practice schedule. Minimizing distractions means less interruptions to the practice schedule. Uninterrupted practice within the allotted time, makes it easier to integrate the practice schedule into the daily routine.

Creating and enforcing a realistic practice schedule is a huge step for parents of beginner music students but it is a worthwhile exercise and the gains are worth the initial struggles. One thing to point out is that if parents and students put too much focus on going through the motions of practice instead of practicing with intention, it could reinforce bad habits such as bad posture or poor finger placement.

Music students who put in the effort to focus on areas of improvement and do the homework assigned by the music teacher will see improvement faster than someone who rushes through practice. Practicing with intention on a consistent practice schedule is undeniably the most efficient way to build up music skills.

🎶This week we continue our series on 3 common questions we receive from parents at our music school. Last week we answered, “How to tell if my child is ready for music lessons?” This week we tackle, “What qualities should I look for in a music teacher?”🎹

If you know your child is ready for music lessons, the next step is to find a music teacher that will nurture your child’s newfound interest.

💡What Qualities Should I Look For in a Music Teacher?

Parents have a wide range of choices when it comes to music teachers. Here is a list of qualities that parents should focus on for their search for a music teacher.

Highly Qualified

All music teachers would describe themselves as qualified but to what extent are they qualified? It is similar to someone saying they are fluent in a language. You need to ask direct questions to assess if the music teacher has the technical proficiency to teach music.

A simple way to determine technical expertise is to find out if the teacher has a degree related to music. Another indication that the music teacher is technically proficient is if they have earned an ARCT or LRCM Diploma from the Royal Conservatory of Music, which is a globally recognized curriculum for music education. If you are after a music teacher who focuses on performance, look for someone with performance experience or has participated in, or judged, provincial or international music competitions.

Music education goes beyond reading music notation. It includes interpreting and bringing to life the composer’s intent for the piece. Music teachers introduce students to proper posture, music theory, musical expression, and more. If you want your child to develop musical fluency at the highest level, the music teacher must be a technical expert.

Teaching Experience

One can be a highly qualified musician and lack the skills necessary to teach. Many of us have sat in a lecture hall listening to a professor known to be brilliant in their field but lacking in teaching skills. In contrast, great music teachers know their subject matter AND their audience. This is reflected by how they explain complex ideas using simple language and concepts to young students.

Experienced music teachers know that children progress differently. There is no “one-size-fits-all” lesson plan. Music teachers need to make adjustments to their lessons once they identify problems and assign practice homework targeted to each student. A seasoned music teacher sets goals with realistic timelines, ensuring that students aren’t held against unrealistic expectations.

As teaching experience grows, music teachers develop the tools to motivate and encourage students, especially when students feel like they are dealing with a particularly difficult piece. With more teaching experience, there is a greater chance that the music teacher has dealt with similar challenges and coached students through these obstacles.

Strong Communicator

Music lessons for children involve three parties: the music student, music teacher, and the parent. Earlier we touched on teachers being able to convey ideas in a student-friendly manner. It is also important for the music teacher to keep the parent updated with verbal progress reports, goal-setting, and weekly practice assignments. If you are interviewing music teachers, ask them if they do follow-up with parents, and if the answer is “yes”, ask how frequently they follow-up and what kind of information is communicated.

We believe that parents should focus on strong qualifications, teaching experience, and solid communication skills when looking for a music teacher. From there, parents can narrow their choices by teaching style and temperament. With a bit of research, we are positive you will find a great music teacher to guide your child’s music education.

Next week, we will answer the question, “How to set a practice schedule that works?”

💡How to tell if my child is ready for music lessons 🎶?

A common question parents like to ask is, “How do I know if my child is ready for music lessons?” Here are some guidelines that we provide to parents to help them determine whether their child is ready for music lessons.

Does your child show an affinity for music?

Affinity for music is defined as having a natural attraction towards music. If your child is mesmerized by musical performers at a festival, your child enjoys music. Maybe you’ve noticed toe tapping, head bobbing, humming, or singing along to music. These are signs that your child is responsive to the music.

I read an article about a nine-year old boy who exclaimed “Wow!” after a performance of Mozart at Boston’s Symphony Hall. If your child has an emotional response to music like the one above, or they can’t stop talking about a performer or a music piece, they are showing that they have a natural attraction to music.

Some children show their interest in music through musical play. They stage an enthusiastic performance on the air guitar, play with a toy ukulele, fabricate a homemade violin, or experiment with the piano. Your child is likely interested in learning to play an instrument.

Enjoyment of music is demonstrated in many different ways so we like to tell parents to keep their eyes and ears open. It is definitely easier for a child to practice if they demonstrate an interest in music.

Is your child developmentally ready for music lessons?

You need to determine if your child is physically capable of playing the instrument. Physical constraints include fingers or arms that are not long enough for a particular instrument or lungs that have not developed enough to master a wind instrument. Although this is a challenge, music teachers can recommend suitable alternative instruments for students to learn while they wait for their body to catch up.

Another factor to consider is whether your child is mentally ready to learn. Can your child sit still and follow instructions? Can your child concentrate? Ideally, music students are attentive and interested. Mental readiness is crucial to determine if your child is ready to learn in a one-on-one setting and just as importantly, practice at home.

It is for these reasons our music lessons are offered for ages 5 and older. As an aside, we also offer preschool music lessons for ages 4 and up. This is perfect for children who show an interest in music but are not physically ready to play an instrument.

Still unsure of whether your child is ready for music lessons? We like to do a meet and greet with parents of potential students to determine their child’s readiness.

Next week, we will answer the question, “What qualities should I look for in a music teacher?”

🎶Welcome Back to another school year of making beautiful music together!!!🎹

Top Tips for Parents of Music Students 🎶

Parents play a crucial role in their child’s musical development. Parents who are involved in their child’s music education have a noticeable impact on how quickly a music student learns new musical skills and achieves their music goals.

Here are 4 ways parents can be involved in their child’s music education:

Be present at the end of music lessons
Prioritize daily practice
Understand the importance of music lessons
Trust the teacher’s guidance

Be Present at the End of Music Lessons

Our most successful music students have parents who are present a few minutes before the end of every lesson. Teachers use this time to provide guidance to the parents on the skills that need attention and emphasize which playing exercises will facilitate the greatest improvement.

This is also a great time for parents to provide feedback to the music teachers. Music teachers only hear the student play for 30 to 60 minutes per week, whereas parents have the opportunity to hear the student play throughout the week. Perhaps the student has an affinity for certain composers or music periods. Or they notice their child struggling with a particular section of a piece. This is a great time to compare notes with the music teacher and allows the music teacher to shape music lessons accordingly.

Prioritize Daily Practice

Parents of stellar music students recognize the importance of practice. They understand that music students have to persist through countless hours of practice in order to deliver a 5-minute piece, performed with great technical skill, for a performance.

Practice, at its core, is essentially the homework that a music teacher has assigned and there is an expectation that the homework will be completed daily. The important word to emphasize is “daily”. Parents who prioritize daily practice know that the hours of practice quickly add up and will affect how quickly a student builds muscle memory, masters technical skills, anticipates and memorizes portions of music, and develops musicianship skills. Let’s do some quick math:

A 6-year old who practices 20 minutes a day, daily, accumulates 7300 minutes of practice or 122 hours of practice per year.

A 6-year old who practices 20 minutes a day for 209 days a year (4 days a week) accumulates 4180 minutes or 70 hours of practice per year.

A 6-year old who practices 20 minutes a day for 104 days a year (2 days a week) accumulates 2080 minutes or 35 hours of practice per year.

The contrast in the numbers become more pronounced as the length of practice time increases to an hour of practice per day.

Understand the Importance of Music Lessons

Our best music students rarely miss a lesson. If they miss a lesson, parents work with the teacher to reschedule the missed lesson, whether it is online or in-person, so that students do not lose momentum. By placing a high value on music lessons, parents set the same expectations as they would for attending class at school..

To get the most out of the music teacher’s time, lessons should start and end on time. If students consistently arrive 5 minutes late, a significant amount of valuable teaching time is lost.

Trust the Teacher’s Guidance

We love parents who work closely with our music teachers and who trust the teacher’s instruction. A music teacher’s guidance is especially important in determining a student’s readiness for:

Taking the The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) exam
Performing in a recital
Competing in a music competition
Learning a challenging new piece of music.

Music teachers may suggest longer lessons, especially when it comes to the advanced RCM levels where pieces can be greater than 7 minutes long. They might recommend extra lessons in preparation for a music program audition, RCM exam or music competition.

Parents need to keep in mind that the role of a music teacher isn’t simply to guide a student so that they would pass an exam, but rather teach a music student to deliver a high quality performance and to truly embody the words “musician”. This is why our music school’s students have won awards at numerous regional music competitions and our RCM exam average is consistently higher than the national average across all instruments and levels.

In summary, we love it when parents actively participate in their child’s music education. There is nothing stronger than when a parent, teacher, and student work together as one unit to attain a common goal. Communicating regularly with the music teacher, setting expectations of daily practice, valuing and prioritizing music lessons, and trusting the teacher’s guidance are great ways for a parent to engage in their child’s music education. Just as a gardener encourages faster and more abundant plant growth by nurturing plants with pruning, watering, and nutrients, a supportive parent helps enrich and produce a more fruitful experience - resulting in a student maximizing their full musical potential.

🎶 Free Music For Piano, Guitar and Other Instruments From the Mississauga Library📖

The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) provides the gold standard of music education books with a focus on Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and contemporary style periods. Growing up, I also wanted to challenge myself to learn new songs that were playing on popular radio. This would be my reward for completing the required homework from my piano lessons. My only outlet was my measly collection of sheet music which consisted of Bryan Adams’ power ballad (Everything I Do) I Do It for You, Walking on Broken Glass by Annie Lennox, and Vanessa Williams’ romantic ballad Save The Best for Last.

Did you know that you can borrow music books from the Mississauga Library? As residents of Mississauga, we are fortunate to have a FREE resource that would have provided my younger self with a steady stream of Top Songs From the 90s songbooks. The Mississauga Library has an amazing selection of over 400 music books that range in skill level from easy to advanced. A quick search shows songbooks for the guitar, piano, vocal, trumpet, harmonica, keyboard, organ, and so much more. This is a wonderful resource if you want to improve your sight reading skills. Afterall, sight reading is one of the components of RCM exams.

Here’s a look at what I found after a quick search:

For kids who don’t feel inspired by Mozart:
Disney Movie Favorites
The Lion King Songbook
Children’s Songs: guitar chords
Frozen: music from the motion picture soundtrack: vocal selections

For the teen who prefers popular music over Pachelbel:
25: piano, guitar, vocal by Adele
Made in the A.M.: piano, vocal, guitar by One Direction
Coldplay for Classical Piano
Music by the likes of Beyonce, Beck, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, U2...etc.

For the adult learner who takes guitar lessons or piano lessons but wants to play rock songs for enjoyment:
Grateful Dead: Guitar Anthology
Indie Rock Sheet Music for piano, vocal, guitar
25 Top Classic Rock Songs
A large collection of The Rolling Stones and The Beatles

For people who love musicals:
West Side Story - an easy piano play-along
The Phantom of the Opera
The Sound of Music

For Hollywood music lovers:
Romantic Film Music for Piano Solo
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides
25 Songs from TV

For those who love classical music:
The Best of Beethoven (there are a lot of similarly titled collections for the other great composers)
Piano Masterworks: Intermediate Level
French Suites by Bach

If you are ready to do a deep dive and you want to ignite your piano practice, follow these steps:

Go to https://www.mississauga.ca/library/
Type ‘hal leonard’ in the search bar where it shows ‘Search library’. Make sure you’ve selected Catalogue. On a side note, I chose Hal Leonard as the search phrase because Hal Leonard is the largest sheet music publisher in the world.
Click on the magnifying glass.

Alternatively, the sheet music can be found under section 782, 786, 787, 788 of the Adult Non-Fiction section. Courtneypark Library holds the largest bank of sheet music out of all the Mississauga Public Library branches. Happy hunting!

“Don’t only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets, for it and knowledge can raise men to the divine.” -Beethoven

Dear Students, Parents & Teachers, Congratulations on your high standing at the start of the The Royal Conservatory Exam 2022 & Music Festival Season. What an inspirational display of diligence and determination! Bravo!! 🎹🎶

Opera? What’s Love Got To Do With It? ❤️

Operas are by nature dramatic and many of today’s most recognizable operas are centered around themes of love: everlasting love, betrayal, lost love, and love and sacrifice. Given that it is the month of February, this is the perfect time to explore a few operas that touch on the theme of love (and romance).

Les Pêcheurs de Perles (The Pearl Fishers) by Georges Bizet

The story takes place on the island of Ceylon (or Sri Lanka) and explores the friendship between two pearl fishermen and their mutual love for a priestess.

The opera introduces Zurga, the elected village leader of the pearl fishermen. Zurda is reunited with his long-lost friend, Nadir. The old friends reminisce about falling in love with the same woman, a mysterious priestess, at a temple in the city of Kandy. This rivalry nearly destroyed their friendship so they both agreed to renounce their love for the stranger for the sake of their friendship. Having reunited, Zurga and Nadir reaffirm their friendship and promise to stay true to their friendship and to cherish one another as brothers.

Unfortunately for these men, the mysterious priestess, Leila, arrives on the beach. She has been chosen to perform rituals to protect the local fishermen from the dangers at sea. At first, Zurga and Nadir do not realize that the veiled priestess is the mysterious woman from Kandy, though she recognizes Nadir. Later that evening, Nadir realizes who Leila is and they renew their passion for each other. It turns out Nadir never stopped loving Leila and he returned to his village upon hearing a rumor that Leila might be found there.

Although we see the men torn between their loyalty to one another and their love for the same woman, Leila also has a conflict of her own: duty versus love. As a woman, she loves Nadir. However, as the priestess, she took an oath to perform the sacred rituals, and breaking the oath is punishable by death.

We won’t reveal the ending but we will say that it is an opera that has a love triangle, forbidden love, unrequited love, and a test of loyalty and brotherhood.

Tristan und Isolde (Tristan and Isolde) by Richard Wagner

This opera is based on the chivalric romance from the 12th-century legend of Cornish knight Tristan and Irish princess Iseult (Isolde). Princess Isolde is promised to King Marke of Cornwall in marriage, and Tristan who happens to be King Marke’s nephew is tasked with escorting Isolde and her handmaid by ship to meet her future husband.

We learn that Isolde and Tristan have a complicated backstory. Isolde once stumbled upon a mortally wounded stranger and used her healing powers to help him narrowly avoid death. After he recovered, Isolde discovered that the wounded stranger is Tristan and that he was responsible for killing Isolde’s previous fiance. Her intention was to kill Tristan and avenge her fiance’s death but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Instead, She let Tristan live as long as he promised never to return. That brings us to the ship where they meet again and Isolde is furious because Tristan broke his promise.

Isolde shares with her handmaid her intention of inviting Tristan to have a drink and to use that opportunity to poison him. Isolde announces that she refuses to meet King Marke unless Tristan agrees to meet with her and have a “drink of atonement”, after all, she saved his life and he broke his promise to her. He is aware that it might be poisoned but still takes the drink. Isolde also ingests the “poison”. Unbeknownst to them, the handmaid switched out the poison with a love potion which incites their passion for one another.

If you are wondering about the fate of these lovers, look no further than the final aria Liebestod (which means “love death” in German), and is sung by Isolde. Here is another hint: Liebestod was used at the end of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet.

I’m not convinced that Tristian and Isolde were “in love”. Their actions were committed under the power of a love potion. However, I included this opera in this list because people have classified this story as romantic for more than 900 years.

La Bohème by Giacomo Puccini

La Bohème is set in Paris where we are introduced to a group of bohemians (people who are artistic and don’t follow societal norms), one of which is Rodolfo, the poet. The friends are struggling to pay rent but are fond of going out to the Latin Quarter for the evening. Rodolfo stays behind and is interrupted by Mimi, a seamstress who lives in the same building, who asks Rodolfo if he could light her candle since she does not have any matches. He lights her candle but Mimi loses her key and both their candles go out. They search for the key in the dark and Rodolfo finds the key but is eager to spend more time with Mimi so he pockets the key. He uses that opportunity to shares about his life as a struggling poet and they fall in love.

A few months later, Mimi contracts tuberculosis. Rodolfo is too poor to provide for Mimi so Rodolfo, out of love for her, treats her unkindly in the hopes that she will abandon him to find a wealthy suitor who can take care of her needs. She discovers his plan and agrees to amicably part from him.

We will leave the story right there, just in case you don’t want to know the ending. I should mention though that La Bohème influenced the Broadway musical Rent.

Larger-than-life storytelling paired with passionate and emotive singing, supported by elaborate costumes and backed by an expertly conducted orchestra, makes opera one of the best art forms for expressing love and romance. We hope this post inspires you to listen to a few of our favourite arias and duets and we wish you a “Happy Valentine’s Day”.

12 Do’s and Don’ts for Beginner Piano 🎹

Here is a cheeky list of do’s and don’ts for our students who have just started their piano lessons:

1. Do keep your nails trimmed.
Focus on the elegant sounds coming from the keys that you touch on the piano. Back up percussion from tapping fingernails is not needed. It is also difficult to achieve the curved hand positioning if the student has long fingernails. Their fingers will fall flat.

2. Do practice the piano daily.
Building finger muscle, finger control, and dexterity do not happen overnight. The daily practice of scales and pieces also forces a beginner to review and remember the piano teacher’s instructions and tips on how to improve. Teachers remember the tips they gave to their students and are hopeful that their students show progress week to week. There should be a noticeable difference between how you play at the 2-month mark versus the 6-month mark.

3. Do sit facing forward with feet flat on the floor (if possible).
Dangling feet is a distraction for many younger students and investing in a footrest or stool could be worthwhile. Do not cross the legs or ankles. Feet should be facing the same direction as your body.

4. Do play with curved fingers.
If you play with your fingers as straight as sticks, you introduce tension to those fingers and it will be difficult to manipulate your fingers to quickly play a series of neighbouring notes. It is easier to cross fingers one over the other if the fingers are curved and not flat.

5. Do follow the finger placement numbers printed in your piano books.
Those numbers printed above the notes or written in by your piano teacher show the ideal finger configuration to ensure smooth playing and transitions.

6. Do hold the last note of the piece for the whole count as written by the composer.
Don’t immediately lift your hands away from the keyboard unless that final note is followed by a rest. An abrupt end is akin to having someone press “stop” while watching a movie, leaving a feeling of unfinished business.

7. Don’t get discouraged.
It takes time to teach your body how to move. There will be times when your brain says to do one thing and your fingers don’t listen because you do not possess enough manual dexterity and muscle control yet. It takes time to train the brain and the body to work as one when it comes to piano.

8. Do sign up for recitals.
Recitals are a great way to motivate new piano students to practice. They also give new students the opportunity to show off their newly developed skills.

9. Do use the washroom before your piano lesson.
You have a limited amount of time with your piano teacher so it is best used sitting on a wooden piano bench instead of on a porcelain throne.

10. Don’t forget good posture.
Maintaining a good posture while playing piano will ensure that you can play for longer periods of time while minimizing injury. We touched on the legs and feet (see #3). The wrists should be loose, shoulders relaxed, no slouching, with arms bent at the elbows at around keyboard level. Elbows should be beside the ribcage without touching the ribcage.

11. Do practice counting.
Learning to play the piano is not only about playing the right notes. It is also about learning to read music. Beginners who practice counting won’t be intimidated when they encounter a piece with eighth and sixteenth notes, and different rests. Counting also teaches patience and to respect the composition.

12. Do learn to read the music. Don’t just play by ear.
This is related to #11. As a new student, you might be eager to rush through a piece, especially if you are good at identifying which notes to play. However, you will be missing out on playing as the composer intended. - Unlike American Idol where the judge exclaims, “I love how you made that song your own”, learning to perform the piece as written, is part of the learning process . As a beginner, focus on learning the basics first and building up a solid foundation. As you advance in your studies, then you can explore playing with different interpretations that still respect the spirit of the piece.

This is not a comprehensive list, as your piano teacher has more to add to the list. Use this as a starting point on your journey to learning the piano. We hope that these tips will not only assist you in achieving your piano playing goals, but will also increase your enjoyment of the instrument.