Keep Calm and Play Music

Some kids love to practice their instrument, be it voice, violin, guitar or piano.  Getting the most out of practicing can be tricky.

For singers, we don't want to strain and over use our voice.
For musicians, we don't want to rehearse poor posture and technique.

So how do we avoid these pitfalls?

(1) Keep practice sessions short 5- 10 minutes at a time.
(2) Ask yourself if you feel pain, pain is not good. Stop if you have discomfort.
(3) Keep notes of when you feel discomfort and tell your teacher. The discomfort may be due to posture or lack of a shoulder rest in violin etc.
(4) Stretch before and after a practice session to keep your body in alignment.
(5) Relax when you are playing or singing.  Tense muscles create strain, strain leads to pain.
(6) Invent your own practice games and incentives.  


In my next blog I will suggest some games too!

Helping to hit the notes

The great thing about getting lessons for singing is  that a good teacher can help identify little things in your singing voice that may be negatively affecting your over all presentation/performance.

"Hitting all the notes" is key to a great performance. Some people will say "oh yah but Neil Young, he's doesn't hit the notes and he is famous!"  When I listen carefully to Young I can tell he is hitting the notes, he sometimes slides into them but he's still hitting them. His nasal voice may give the impression that he is "pitchy" but he's not.  I think what also makes him so effective is his great phrasing in the delivery of his classic songs. I digress, back to hitting the notes.

Here is a fun exercise I found on youtube.  I have really good pitch so I can help you --  my students -- develop great intonation with exercises like this one. Enjoy!  

Summer time singing

While some kids are taking a break this summer from music lessons, other kids are doing the opposite and enrolling in lessons. Summer is a great time to start learning an instrument because kids have extra time to spend at their instrument rather than being busy with school homework and events. 

I remember as a kid, I was so bored in the summer and my music was the one thing that was fun to do. I would practise singing and playing songs that were pop hits.  Yes, "four strong winds" was one of my favorites LOL! oh and "Sitting on the dock of the bay"... wasting time... was a perfect summer time song.

But, my favorite musical thing to do in the summer was music camp, where we would sing, dance and put a show on at the end of the week.  My brother's music teacher hosted the camp at the church  hall and those music camps bring back great memories. The crazy costumes, the silly theory lesson with  corny music jokes "Beet oven" and all.  Yes it was nerds ville learning the latest disco moves, but fun nonetheless! 

At Errington little music school, I will add a little summer time camp feel to the summer lessons, we can play our  fiddles outside and  put on a pretend show for resident squirrels in the trees!

Singing at Agility

Looking forward to singing Auld Lang Syne with  Dave at the upcoming dog agility trial at the mini award ceremony.

I really like Mairi Campbell's version that has been made famous in the Sex in the City Movie
Here is the youtube video
http://youtu.be/PK-E1f-YKBA

I got to hear Mairi sing this live at The Sunshine Coast School of Celtic Music a few summers ago. She also taught us some fiddle tunes -- she is a wonderful musician.