Saraband's articles from the
Kilcoy - Woodford Community News
Saraband Music regularly writes for the local newspaper, and not everybody gets to read the local news before it's thrown out, so the articles will also appear here. These articles are general, and don't necessarily relate to early music. All articles are copyright, and should not be reproduced elsewhere.
Starting music lessons
Mostly I’ve been a teacher of adults, although back in the dim, dark ages when dinosaurs roamed, I did teach small children the piano for a while. I’ve often been asked when is the right time for a child to begin music lessons, and in the last week, a parent in Kilcoy asked me just that.
Age is not terribly relevant. It could be any time between roughly age four and eight, and it depends entirely on the child. It’s important to get this right. A pushy parent who asks about exams long before junior can read music is a very bad sign, as is the child who continually tells the teacher that they want to be swimming instead.
Music lessons cost money. A good, professional teacher with qualifications will be charging at least $25 for a half hour lesson (and probably much more), and for a child, weekly lessons are mandatory if they’re to have a chance of success.
The things that tell you your child is ready include:
sufficient hand development so that they have the strength to push down a piano key or use a small instrument, and the co-ordination to hold a pencil or crayon. If they can’t do that, then don’t even think of lessons yet.
the ability to count to at least ten. Counting is important in learning music.
enthusiasm. If a child doesn’t want to learn, no music teacher really wants to teach them.
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an attention span that is long enough to cope with a 30 minute lesson.
enough development so that they can follow a list of instructions and achieve them. If you can’t expect your child to go and change into a particular T shirt, put their used clothing in the basket and then come back and see you within five minutes, all without help, then it’s also too early to start formal lessons.
What about the parent? Well, you need to have enough money to pay for lessons, music books and accessories (strings, reeds, etc). For children, most teachers charge for a term of 8-12 weeks. You also need to obtain an instrument, and if you want to inspire your child, then getting the cheapest and nastiest isn’t good. A bad instrument will always sound bad, which means junior will hate it. Waste of money! You also need to be patient and encouraging, as enforcement of practice is another good way to kill a child’s love for their instrument.
Music teachers should have formal qualifications: if not a music degree, at least a recognised diploma or certificate in performance for their instrument and some teaching courses. Never entrust your child to someone who is just one or two lessons ahead of them. Bad habits are SO hard to break.
And if you need any music, Saraband Music is right here to get it in for you!
Patrice Connelly
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Why learn music?
A fortnight ago I wrote about the question of when a child should start music lessons. So, once they’re ready, what’s in it for them?
Rather a lot, really. Music training has many advantages for the student, including better development of the areas of the brain devoted to language and reasoning. Learning music can help to rewire some areas of the left brain to help language processing. Another benefit is in spatial development. This helps the development of mathematical intelligence, pattern recognition and problem solving. In general, learning music through childhood is associated with higher marks and better performance in high school and beyond.
Music comes to us from many countries, and children are exposed to music from other cultures. This helps to encourage tolerance and empathy towards difference without it being threatening.
Fostering excellence is the work of a good teacher. If a note is out of tune, a student has to learn to get it into tune. It has to be in time, and if playing with others, one has to come in at the right time too. All of these things must be learned, which is excellent discipline and helps the child look for and attain excellence, which translates into other areas of life.
Performing with others is part of music education. Whether it’s a symphony orchestra, big band, recorder group, choir or small ensemble, this is teamwork and discipline, as well as being highly enjoyable to most participants. Rewards come from hard work, and self-esteem is enhanced.
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The experience of dealing with music exams, preparation and performance will expose the child to some degree of nervousness, as well as achievement. The ability to cope with these events helps them to cope with other stresses in later life, and know that they can come through them safely.
Music is self-expression and creativity. Through learning an instrument, the child may well foster a talent in composing or other aspects of creative work. Working with others can be rewarding and spiritual, leading to a more well-rounded person.
All of these benefits come from long-term musical training, preferably with a good, professional teacher, an investment in a quality instrument, and lots of positive encouragement from parents and family. Forcing a child to learn when they aren’t interested is a waste of time and money. But if they are interested, even if they don’t have a lot of talent, they can still enjoy themselves and reap rewards.
Patrice Connelly
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Mid-life opportunity
Hands up if you tried to learn music when you were a kid, and gave up after a while. Didn’t like it? Didn’t like having to practise? People said something negative? Too hard? Clashed with footie or basketball? The dog ate your theory homework?
Hands up if you’re older now, perhaps in your 30s, 40s or 50s. You like music, and you wish you could play, even a bit, just for yourself. But you can’t remember how music works. That’s a treble clef, right? What’s that other thing there? I’ll screw up for sure…
Learning music in mid-life is a great thing to do. Most people like music, and even if you only play for yourself when everyone’s out, it’s an achievement. Lots of people get to their 30s and 40s and think something’s missing. Often that thing can be music.
Piano and guitar are common choices. Piano probably because there’s one in the house, or an electronic keyboard kicking around that the teenagers have left behind. Maybe guitar appeals because it’s portable and you can sing along to your favourite songs as you strum.
But there are other good things about learning music later. Science is finding that new neural pathways are stimulated, and for Alzheimer’s prevention, the rule is “use it or lose it”. Learning music is like learning a new language. If you could play when you were a child, then it will come back to you gradually. If you never learned, then there’s a new, exciting world out there.
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There are a wide range of books for piano, guitar and other instruments out there that were written for adults. Adult tutors are available for most instruments, and Saraband Music can get them for you. Another benefit is that if you learn music as a parent of small children, you can act as a role model and get the kids more interested.
Having music as a natural part of your family life and introducing a wide range of sounds and musical genres helps to broaden everyone’s mind and enjoyment.
While I do a small amount of piano teaching, I have taught adults the viola da gamba now since the 1980s, running workshops around Australia. I love teaching adults because there are none of the discipline problems one finds with children, and concepts can be introduced on a more sophisticated level. But teaching children is also rewarding, mostly if they’re keen.
For an adult, the challenge is to find a teacher who is committed to make learning interesting, flexible enough to go with your interests, and who gives positive feedback. You also need to have an instrument worth your while, and be able to afford weekly lessons. Go for it!
Patrice Connelly
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Learning music – the parent’s role
Learning music is a big adventure. There is a new language of sound, words and movement to absorb, the history, the current music scene, concerts to practise for, radio and CDs to listen to, other people to play with. Other performers become role models.
Parents of children who learn music privately have a role too. Sometimes that role can be negative, when the parent is pushy, uses practice as a punishment, forces the child to do exams which don’t interest them, and withholds praise. That’s what NOT to do, but it does sometimes happen.
Good parent involvement is essential to getting the best out of your music lesson dollar. The positive music parent attends music lessons, is encouraging, gives praise when warranted, and gives helpful reminders, and enforces practice discipline, but in a way that the child responds to positively. Practice should be something that the student looks forward to, as a discovery session. Difficult bits of music need to be practised properly, and good attitude rewarded. If there’s a query, the positive parent will contact the teacher and straighten it out, so that bad habits aren’t set in place.
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Another role for the parent is in the audience. Most children who are learning are proud to show off, and parents who tell their child how well they’re doing (but never falsely) will boost self-esteem and morale. If your child isn’t doing well, the parent that helps them to understand what is going wrong gives an essential life lesson.Whether it’s on the sports field, the maths class, music lesson or any other part of life, we all have to learn to deal with failure and achievement.
At present I’m teaching the mother of a potential piano student. She’s reporting that her practice time is a big focus for the children, who are keen to know what she’s doing, and to have a go. She’s a joy to teach, and is doing extremely well. When her son starts lessons, she’ll be able to supervise his practice properly, know what he is going through, and encourage him from her own experience. I just love it!
Patrice Connelly
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Exploring music
There’s a big world out there: past, present and future. So many sounds, so little time to hear them! A friend asked me recently why I started Saraband Music. I replied that Saraband did what other music shops didn’t do. My research speciality has always been early music, that is music from the Middle Ages to the Baroque era, roughly from the 11th to the early 18th centuries.
Why did I get interested in early music? Well, it happened while I was doing my Bachelor of Music at Sydney University. We studied music history, and when you study music, you need to play it, hear it and analyse it. At high school I had learned piano and violin, and when I played Kreutzer studies, I had the feeling that everybody who had learned violin in the last hundred years had played the same study, and better than me. I was following the same, worn pathway as every other violin student, and that didn’t excite me one little bit. Same with piano.
When I got to university, I was exposed to new sounds, new ideas, new people, new instruments. The training was much broader than before.
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I was introduced to the viola da gamba, which I subsequently took up, later dropping violin altogether. With gamba, I was encouraged to transcribe music from old manuscripts (on microfilm), music which hadn’t been heard since the 1600s. I was exploring, and I didn’t want to stop. At the time there were probably only a dozen players of viola da gamba in Sydney.
That sense of discovery, of exploration, and of exhilaration on finding a masterpiece which nobody knew about or hadn’t recorded is still with me decades later. Saraband Music publishes early music and exports it around the world. I also import music from publishers who are doing similar work to me, and sell it to musicians who have the same joy in new discoveries of old music. Early music will always be my speciality because I love it, but my training covered all eras of classical music. Saraband can supply sheet music from any era, classical, pop, rock, folk and more. Everyone finds their own musical passion, and if it’s in print, Saraband will get it for you, and if you can’t read music, I can teach you that too! Patrice Connelly
