Da Capo Music Academy

Some snaps from this afternoon's "Sampung mga Daliri" 10th Annual Student Recital live at Sounds Kradle Inc.'s Kayserburg Recital Hall. Good job, everyone!

It’s our 10th Student Recital! Watch out for more videos of individual performances from our students both here and abroad.😊

It's our 10th Student Recital this coming Sunday for our students here in Manila! And we will be posting individual videos of our international students’ performances as well over the next few days! Stay tuned!

Performing in front of a crowd is no small feat. But when one of her teachers who learned that she plays the piano asked her to play during a school event, Yanru obliged and gave it her best. It’s always a joy to see our students grab every opportunity to share their music.

Brava, Yanru!

2nd Semester online Performance Class. Fantastic job, everyone!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Yesterday's online Performance Class attended by our students from Calgary, Chicago, and California!

Dear Parents, here are some questions to ask our students at home. 🙂

When it comes to learning the piano, we know that regular - ie daily - practice is the way to make progress.

And with 10,050 minutes between each 30 minute piano lesson each week, it sometime baffles teachers how so many excuses are made about lack of practice! After all, teachers have no control about routines at home. Only parents have control of that!

So what should you as a parent be saying to help your child to be supportive?

1. “What did you learn about in your lesson today?”

This is key! Let’s move away from the idea that learning the piano is learning to play particular pieces of music. It’s not! It’s about learning concepts: aspects of technique, landmark notes and reading, phrasing, expression, particular rhythms, etc. Help your child to get WHAT CONCEPTS they are learning clear in their mind to focus their studies.

2. “What do you need for your practice session?”

Make sure you communicate to your child that their practice session is important and valued. Your child might need things to practise: a pencil, blu tac to mark notes, their sight reading cards, pebbles for three-in-a-row practice games. Or it might be that they need the TV to be off for concentration, or even a snack to keep them going! Whatever it is, your support adds weight and priority to practice sessions. That in turn means that they are more likely to be successful.

3. “What problems did you solve in your practice today?”

Support your child to understand that practice is about solving problems and making improvements! So if they are struggling with rhythm, then each day their practice might focus on tapping the rhythm of a section, or saying it in rhythm language or metrical counting. If they are struggling with notes, they might highlight notes they know already on the score, and work others out from there. If they are struggling with fluency, then it’s advisable to start super slowly and progress each day by taking it a fraction faster. But the important thing for your child to realise is that they are creating solutions each day, not just playing through music (that’s the “fun” bit at the end of a practice session!).

Whatever you do, rest assured that the importance that YOU place on practice as a parent has a direct link with your child’s piano progress. It’s proven.

And more consistent progress = a child FAR more likely to continue their piano studies!

Congratulations to all our students who participated in this year's Christmas Tunes! We hope the music helped usher in this wonderful season.🎄

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!🥳