Music Monsters: Sutton Coldfield

These are crotchets. A one beat note, these are the first notes we teach our students at Music Monsters. You can explore them together by tapping steadily together. Ask your child to clap 5 crotchets. Can they keep them steady as they do so? Clap or play some crotchets - can your little one count them, copy them back, and draw how many they heard?

So easy to forget in this world of working and testing, but we believe with all our heart that play really is the best way!

Children are so OPEN to learning when they are having fun. All the resistance fades away, and they can immerse themselves completely in what they are doing. They enter into ‘flow stage’, which is the most amazing place for our minds to learn!

Learn-through-play the Music Monsters way, and you’ll never look back!

🎶 SPIDER WEB 🎶

Learning to read music isn’t a linear process. Just like learning to read letters, there are so many steps, so many hurdles and so many ways to do it.

The Music Monster way is to play our way to learning. Within the first 2 years of lessons, there are dozens and dozens of games and ways to secretly practise our note-reading. The spider web is one of our favourites!! Using the notes we have learnt, we give the children words to spell:

🕷 Bag
🕷 Cab
🕷 Bed
🕷 Fade
🕷 Cage
🕷 Baggage

How many more can they think of?

🎶 Confidence in Children 🎶

Want to see your children carefully building their confidence? Want to see them beaming with pride, eager to share what they can do? Want to help them through wobbles and anxieties?

We are so lucky in our work, to see so many children gaining more and more confidence in their abilities every single week. A gentle, nurturing environment, and a safe space to explore and make mistakes with judgment - these are all things that help children to feel at ease as they learn.

Swipe to find 3 other ideas, that you can build into your week

So….exams!!

We use ABRSM exams - that’s the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music. They are a world renowned examining body, widely respected, and their later exams even carry UCAS points!

They start at Prep Test level - an entry level exam. This is a lovely introduction to exams, and the children can’t actually fail it! They get a certificate, a constructive report, and the experience needed to carry them forward. This is the exam that we work towards during Stages 7-12 of Piano Monsters: Pros 😊🎶

Following this, children work through grades 1-8. These are more formal exams. Children are expected to play scales from memory, learn 3 pieces of music, be tested on their sight reading skills, and their aural skills. In order to progress to Grade 6, youngsters must first pass their Grade 5 theory exam - a written exam! Grades 6, 7 and 8 then carry UCAS points.

Exam sessions take place 3 times per year - at the end of each of the school terms.

Has your child ever sat a music exam?

Children’s Mental Health Week

This is something that is so close to our hearts, and a big motivation behind the work we do at Music Monsters.

Music, drama, art…these all play a part in supporting the mental well-being in people, young and old. For many, these subjects are an absolute life line. An opportunity to express themselves, a safe space in which they can work through some of the challenges they are facing.

We need to protect the mental well-being of our youngsters above all else right now.

This week, we’ve been diving into these gorgeous Ballet Stories by . Many ballets are based on stories that may already be known to you and your children - Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Hansel and Gretal. However, these tales are told very differently to the way we are used to hearing them! They are told as the ballet runs - with beautiful imagery, depictions of dancing, and lovely scenes set. They are quite unusual in their narrative and take a little getting used to. BUT - put on the ballet soundtracks as you read, and watch them come to life before your eyes. Stories and music - the perfect snuggly combination for a frosty January afternoon!!

What have you been reading this week?

We have so many students wanting to progress, wanting to make time to practise, but struggling to fit it all in! Check out these three foolproof wins, and see how much you can fit in this week.

Music Monsters are seeking new franchisees to open branches across the UK.

We help passionate music teachers go from under-appreciated and sick-of-the-system to rocking their own inspiring g and impactful piano teaching business! If this sounds like you, or someone you know, follow the link below to find out more 😍🎶

Increasing Playing Time

It’s a real challenge to juggle all the plates and fit it all in - we know this all too well! How do you manage to squeeze in time to practise your instrument as well?

Try these simple tips to start you off:
⭐️ Challenge yourself to add 1 minute of playing every day! Start with 5 mins on Monday, set a timer, and off you go. Increase to 6 mins on Tuesday, 7 mins on Wednesday etc.
⭐️ Don’t break the chain! Use a practise chart (we have a free one if you’d like it), and mark off every day that you play. The more those ticks build up, the more you won’t want to break the chain!!
⭐️ Make it easy to play! Have your instrument set up somewhere appealing and easy to access, and make it a fixed part of your routine - before breakfast, after homework etc - something simple and memorable.

If you’re struggling for inspiration, grab yourself a copy of ‘50 Inspiring Practice For Kids’. Suitable for beginners and more advanced students, this is packed with dozens of ideas! https://www.musicmonsters.co.uk/shop/