Fall Quarter September 4 - December 3, 2006

Be a Show-Off!

Make your folks and your instructor happy - and yes, you’ll be pleased, too, when you share your talents and hard work with an audience.  Yes, we’re talking about recitals.  Hey, nothing to groan about!  Music Arts recitals are small - usually no more than twelve students, which means a small audience, too. We shoot for a good mix of instruments so it’s more interesting for everyone.  And you don’t fall out  of your chair with boredom, either, because with an average of 12 students, recitals usually last an hour or less. 

A really popular feature is the Intermission Quiz.  If you’ve never been to one, you are missing a big part of studying music. Go on, tell your instructor that you demand to be in the next recital!! 

Still quivering in your boots about performing?  We politely suggest that you be a part of the audience at the next one, just to see what goes on!  It’s free - and you get refreshments - you’ll like it or (smile) we’ll give you your money back!

It’s Time for our Annual Fund Drive!

Please join your friends and neighbors who help make our scholarships and other programs possible! 

The Mary Cox Memorial Scholarship Fund, named after one of our founding members whose dedication helped establish the fund, provides financial help with lessons to students who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford them.

Why not enclose a few extra dollars when you pay your Fall Quarter bill?  We’ll accept any amount, of course, and will be grateful for your support.  Even a few dollars helps.

A donation of $25 will list you as a Sponsor on our recital programs.  Giving $50 to $99 makes you a Benefactor, with Mentor at $100 to $199, and $200 or more puts you on top as a Grantor.

And don’t forget - we’re a government registered nonprofit.  Your donation is fully Tax Deductible!

A timely reminder about your benefits!

If you want to share in the Summer Goodies next year - a big 10% discount on your continuing Summer Quarter lessons  -  be sure to get your payment to us by the 5th of the month, as noted on the bottom of your invoice.  Lots of our students saved a bunch of money this past summer!   Next summer, put those savings in your pocket!
 
An even bigger way to rake in a year-round price break is to refer new students to us!  A number of our students are receiving free lessons because they recommended Music Arts to their friend and neighbors.  It’s easy - for every new student you refer to us, you’ll get one free lesson for every full quarter the new student completes.  And this deal is good for two full years!   That translates into a possible 8 free lessons!   Refer eleven or twelve students, and you’ve pocketed two full years of free lessons!   And each lesson counts equally - if you’re signed up for hour lessons and your referred student(s) are taking only half-hour lessons, you still get that full hour totally free!

For more specifics, check out page 8 in your Music Arts Student Guide, which is also available online under “Activities” at www.MusicArtsSchool.org.

PRACTICE?  Ugh.  But wait!  You also get.... better!

Sometimes practicing can feel like a real pain.  But everyone knows that we don’t get anywhere without it - whether learning to walk, shooting baskets, or - possibly -playing as well as your Music Arts instructor!

Some of our instructors have shared with us their thoughts on various aspects of practicing.  We think you’ll enjoy, and hopefully benefit from, the advice nuggets  given on the second page of this newsletter!

Got kind words about your instructor?

Share them by sending them to our director, and let’s see if they end up on your instructors’ page on our website.  Might even help convince some of your friends to start lessons.  (And maybe we’ll also put your photo there!)

Practice, Practice, Practice!  Where have you heard that before?
...Some representative comments from selected Music Arts instructors

In my experience there are three elements to good practicing.

• Variety: First, establish a routine that covers several bases, such as scales, an etude, and a piece of literature.
• Repetition: Play this routine in the same way every time. This builds good habits.
• Regularity: Finally, the other two don't work unless they are done very regularly. This does not mean every day for six hours, but probably means at least five hours a week.

            Dave Coulter, cello and jazz cello

Practice every day, even if it is only several minutes. The effect is much better than if we practice twice a week for three hours.

• Before we start practicing, it is good to have a goal for that day, week, month.
• Not to practice because we have to, but because we wish to.
• Always know why we play the instrument and what music brings us and other people through us.
• Always play with joy and love - even scales can be played like the most beautiful concerto!

            Lucie Novoveska, violin

Try this: A Practice Abacus is a little homemade contraption designed by one of my former teachers.  It’s made of two metal clips, a large knitting stitch holder clip, and five big gaudy beads. Clip it onto the shelf of your music stand and use it when working with a particularly difficult or otherwise troublesome passage. Each time you make it through the passage, stop and move a bead over, then try again. If you mess up (even once), ALL the beads go back.  The goal is to get the passage played "perfectly" (or to your satisfaction, of course) five times in a row, and when you move all beads over, you're "done" with that passage, for that day, at least!

As simple as it sounds, as a student this gadget helped me tremendously with learning to pace my practice sessions and accomplish my goals. Rather than getting more and more stressed each time I screwed something up, the abacus forced me to physically stop, take a little break to move the beads, and then lift my flute to start again.  The hand and wrist pain that I’d developed as a physical result of my frustration slowly disappeared, and my playing improved almost immediately.

The discipline of following this ritual helped me to calm down and learn that there's a big difference between being able to play a piece a few times at home and being truly 100% prepared to play a piece under pressure in a lesson - or performance!

Don’t want to make a Practice Abacus?  Get out five quarters (or five M&Ms, or whatever - you get the picture) and move them around.  The advantage of M&Ms, of course, is that you can celebrate by eating them when you make it through your practice session!

            Beth Sampsel, flute and piccolo

Do you sail through most of the notes and then stumble on one particular shift, stretch or pitch?  Don’t spin your wheels by practicing the whole piece again! Take the disobedient note and surround it by a couple of notes just before and after it, and slowly grind that out until it’s right.  Then add a few more notes before and after, and gradually get it up to tempo.  Use your valuable time effectively!

            Nancy England, director/cellist

I don’t want to sit and listen to you try to fake it, wasting your time, my time, and your folk’s money. If you’re not practicing, then this is not your passion.  Find what it is you love to do and go do that.

            Doug Farmer, drums and percussion