Music for Young Children Mississauga Blog

Why Online Music Classes and Piano Lessons are Important (adapted from “Capstone Music, 2021)

9/1/2021

“Can’t we just watch a Youtube video to learn to play and instrument? That would be a lot cheaper, more convenient and just as good, right?”
Well, no. There are many reasons why live online music lessons are better in a pandemic than watching a Youtube video. The value you receive in live online music classes and piano lessons will be evident in the learning achieved. Here are just a few reasons to choose live online piano lessons and music classes over watching a recorded Youtube video.

Classes are live
Your teacher will be able to see and hear your progress right away and be able to give you the best instruction as you go.
Instruction is interactive
With your music teacher or piano teacher working directly with you, you will be able to learn a new skill or receive the teacher’s feedback on a song you are playing and immediately respond to it. You will make much quicker progress than if you had no feedback or if comments were delayed by having to submit practice recordings.
Working together
Music itself can boost a person’s mood in a pandemic. Fighting isolation in this situation with piano lessons or music classes with a good music teacher helps keep your mood balanced. Collaborating with a wonderful piano teacher will increase the fun and longevity of piano lessons as opposed to watching a video and mimicking it on your piano.
You’ll grow a relationship
The best way to motivate a young musician to push through the ups and downs and plateaus of musical development is with a respected teacher they can move forward together alongside. A relationship with a good teacher is the best motivator for success.
You’ll avoid unnecessary struggles
“Having a teacher that can tell you when you are doing things right is the best way to improve and keep a positive attitude. Practicing a piece for weeks just to get feedback during a lesson scheduled several weeks down the road can result in bad habits forming. Receiving reinforcement immediately can help a student hold the motivation to keep playing and keep practicing.” (Capstone Music, 2021)
Elizabeth Dettweiler
Hon. B. Music, MYCC
Teacher of Music for Young Children, Mississauga, Ontario
http://www.myc.com

Benefits of Music Classes and Piano Lessons

8/1/2021

Music classes and piano lessons provide many benefits that other children’s activities provide as well as additional benefits unique to music. If you are debating about adding music classes to your weekly schedule, take note of these benefits. Maybe your child will not become the next Mozart but will have an easier time learning math, language, sports, and just about everything as a result of studying music at an early age.
Music Classes and Piano Lessons Improve Academic Skills.
Music and math are highly intertwined. By understanding beat, rhythm, and scales, children are learning how to divide, create fractions, and recognize patterns. It seems that music wires a child's brain to help her better understand other areas of math, says Lynn Kleiner, founder of Music Rhapsody in Redondo Beach, CA. As kids get older, they'll start reciting songs, calling on their short-term memory and eventually their long-term memory. (Angela Kwan, 2014, “6 Benefits of Music Lessons”)
Music Classes and Piano Lessons Develop Physical Skills.
Every instrument helps children develop physical coordination and motor skills. Playing piano and other instruments requires different actions from your right and left hands simultaneously, similar to patting your head while rubbing your belly. Among other benefits to the brain, this skill develops ambidexterity. Eye-hand communication is enhanced through reading music.
Music Classes and Piano Lessons Cultivate Social Skills.
Group classes introduce young children to peer interaction and communication as well as teaching manners and turn-taking and increasing comfort with working with teachers. Playing music in a group requires good listening skills to keep together with the tempo of the music and the dynamics too. It helps children understand how they and their part fit within the context of a larger group or sound. This translates to a greater wholistic understanding of themselves in relation to the world around them.
Learning an instrument is a lesson in delayed gratification and develops perseverance and self- discipline. These qualities are invaluable toward success in every area of life.
Music Classes and Piano Lessons Boost Self-Esteem.
Turning “learning moment” into positive change helps build self-confidence in children. They learn that they are successful, can improve, and can reach significant goals. Group lessons demonstrate to children that, although people are all different, they all have room to improve and can develop greater skill and mastery when they apply effort to the task of music making. Group classes are like mini recitals each week, where students become comfortable with playing in front of an audience. This comfort level helps when it comes time for a formal recital or performance.
Music for Young Children’s annual Composition Festival fosters confidence in each and every student’s creativity and musical expression. Every child gets a prize just for participating and the results are extraordinary!
Music Classes and Piano Lessons Introduce Children to Other Cultures.
Children learn about and play music from a variety of composers from around the world, learning about those composers and their cultures. Children are also encouraged to celebrate their own cultures and the music of their cultures through solos and composing.
It is no wonder that when scientists study the brains of musicians, they show repeatedly and consistently that these brains are stronger and more efficient in many important areas and that there are peak times to develop these benefits. Taking music classes and piano lessons at an early age is very important for optimal brain development.
Elizabeth Dettweiler (https://www.myc.com/members/EDettweiler/)
Hon. B. Music, MYCC
Teacher of Music for Young Children, Mississauga, Ontario
(adapted from “6 Benefits of Music Lessons” by Angela Kwan

New Beginner Class Schedule for 2021-2022 is available

6/1/2021

Did you know music lesson is the ultimate brain food for your child?

Did you know playing the piano with all 10 fingers are the best fine motor exercise for a child's development?

September Beginner classes for age 3-9 are now open for registration: New Beginner Class Schedule

If you want to find out more about the Music for Young Children program, please feel free to contact the teachers in the schedule and they will be glad to explain to you!

Register your child before spaces run out!

Ms. Esther
https://www.myc.com/members/ENg/

Benefits of Music Education

5/13/2021

Every child should have an education in music because it is part of our culture, our Canadian life. But interestingly enough, data also shows higher earnings are closely related to the mastery of the arts. History, music, drawing and painting and economics give our students an edge.

“Nearly 100% of past winners in the prestigious Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology (for high school students) play one or more musical instruments. This led the Siemens Foundation to host a recital at Carnegie Hall in 2004, featuring some of these young people, after which a panel of experts debated the nature of the apparent science/music link.”, according to the Midland chemist Vol. 42, No. 1, Feb. 2005.

It is clear that skills learned through the discipline of music, transfer to study skills, communication skills and cognitive skills useful in every part of a schools’ curriculum. Students in high-quality school music programs score higher on standard tests with 22% better in English and 20% better in math.

When is the right time to start children in music lessons? Formalized training should start as young as three. Music is like a language and the best time for that window of opportunity is from 3-10. Group lessons are one of the best ways for young children to learn because they are not only learning from the teacher but also from each other.

In group lessons singing and rhythm ensembles are two of the most effective tools. Singing in a group setting makes them less self-conscious and gives them time to develop their voices. Rhythm ensembles are favourite activities of young children. Rhythm instrument ensembles promote rhythmic fluency and reinforce steady pulse and consistency of speed (tempo). This ensemble training starts in children as young as three-years-old in Music for Young Children® (MYC) using such instruments as hand drums, castanets, tambourines, triangles, rhythm sticks and claves.

“The props are awesome. The kids are having fun while they’re learning. I feel the program moves at a good pace and realize as a parent how important it is that we are there to support them and help them at practise time. I’m able to have two kids in the same program which truly is a benefit. I’d like to really stress that the FUN in MYC makes it so enjoyable for my kids. We happen to also have an exceptional teacher. What an awesome concept Music for Young Children is!” Cheryl Beatty

The successful Music for Young Children program, with corporate head office in Kanata, was founded in 1980 by Frances Balodis. The program, taught in small groups with adult and child both participating, includes piano instruction, singing, rhythm ensembles, sight reading, ear training, theory and composition. MYC is taught by independent teachers throughout Canada, the United States, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea with approximately 24,000 students enrolled this year.

For more information visit the website www.myc.com.

Registration for September is currently open. Contact your local MYC teachers for a spot for your child now!

What is Perfect pitch?

3/1/2021

Did you know perfect pitch has a greater chance of retention if the students start music training young?

That's why MYC has singing and solfege as a mandatory part of class.

"... Another scientific study recently found a strong correlation between early musical study and the development of absolute pitch (also called perfect pitch - the ability to identify exact pitches without reference to an instrument). Six hundred musicians were surveyed. Forty percent of the musicians in this study who had begun training at four years of age reported absolute pitch, whereas only three percent of those who had started training at nine years of age did so."

The source:
Baharloo S, Johnston P, Service S, et al. Absolute pitch: An approach for identification of genetic and nongenetic components. American Journal of Human Genetics, 1998; 62:224-231.

Ms. Esther
https://www.myc.com/members/ENg/

Cognitive Benefits/Facts of Music to Children Development

12/2/2020

Everyday listening skills are stronger in musically-trained children than in those without music training (Strait, D.L. and N. Kraus, Biological impact of auditory expertise across the life span: musicians as a model of auditory learning. Hearing Research, 2013.)
Studies have shown that young children who take keyboard lessons have greater abstract reasoning abilities than their peers, and that these abilities improve over time with sustained training in music (Rauscher, F.H. , & Zupan, M., "Classroom keyboard instruction improves kindergarten children's spatial-temporal performance: A field experiment" Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 15 , 215-228.2000).
Children with learning disabilities or dyslexia who tend to lose focus with more noise could benefit greatly from music lessons (Arete Music Academy. "Statistical benefits of music in education." Arete Music Academy. Accessed July 17, 2014).
Young children who take music lessons show different brain development and improved memory over the course of a year, compared to children who do not receive musical training (National Association for Music Education. "The Benefits of the Study of Music." National Association for Music Education. Accessed July 17, 2014).
Musically trained children performed better in a memory test that is correlated with general intelligence skills such as literacy, verbal memory, visiospatial processing, mathematics, and IQ (Dr. Laurel Trainor, Prof. of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behavior at McMaster University, 2006).
Music education sharpens student attentiveness (Arts Education Partnership, 2011). Music education equips students to be creative (Arts Education Partnership, 2011).
According to research published in a 2014 article in Parents magazine, learning how to play percussion instruments helps children develop coordination and motor skills, because they require movement of the hands, arms, and feet (Kwan, A. 2013, “6 Benefits of Music Lessons,” Parents).
Music and math are highly intertwined. By understanding beat, rhythm, and scales, children are learning how to divide, create fractions, and recognize patterns (Lynn Kleiner, founder of Music Rhapsody in Redondo Beach, CA).
In order to fully reap the cognitive benefits of a music class, kids can’t just sit there and let the sound of music wash over them. They have to be actively engaged in the music and participate in the class (Dr. Nina Kraus, director of Northwestern’s Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory).
Exposing children to music during early development helps them learn the sounds and meanings of words. Dancing to music helps children build motor skills while allowing them to practice self-expression. For children and adults, music helps strengthen memory skills (© 2015 Program for Early Parent Support (PEPS), a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization).

Source: NAMM Foundation

MYC Music Group lessons follow a specifically designed curriculum that allow maximum development and growth to happen, to find out more about our curriculum and classes, please visit myc.com

Sincerely,
Ms Helen Chu (https://www.myc.com/members/HChu/)

Social Benefits/Facts of Group Music Lessons

11/2/2020

Children who study a musical instrument are more likely to excel in all of their studies, work better in teams, have enhanced critical thinking skills, stay in school, and pursue further education (Arte Music Academy. "Statistical benefits of music in education." Statistical-Benefits-Of-Music-In-Education. Accessed July 17, 2014).
Music education supports better study habits and self-esteem (Arts Education Partnership, 2011).
Four of the top five benefits teachers see in the potential of music education to help students express themselves (cited by 92 percent of teachers), become more confident (90 percent), and develop better practice habits (89 percent) and more self-discipline (88 percent) (NAMM Foundation and Grunwald Associates LLC, 2015. Striking a Chord: The Public’s Hopes and Beliefs for K–12 Music Education in the United States: 2015).
Majorities of parents whose children are involved in music classes also credit music education for making them happier, more focused, more self-disciplined, stronger academically and more helpful (NAMM Foundation and Grunwald Associates LLC, 2015. Striking a Chord: The Public’s Hopes and Beliefs for K–12 Music Education in the United States: 2015).
Taking music lessons offers a space where kids learn how to accept and give constructive criticism, according to research published in The Wall Street Journal in 2014 (Joanne Lipman, "A Musical Fix for American Schools," The Wall Street Journal, October 10, 2014).
Lessons offer a forum where children can learn to accept and give constructive criticism. Turning negative feedback into positive change helps build self-confidence (Mary Larew, Suzuki violin teacher at the Neighborhood Music School in New Haven, Connecticut. Copyright © 2013 Meredith Corporation).
Group classes require peer interaction and communication, which encourage teamwork, as children must collaborate to create a crescendo or an accelerando (Kristen Regester, Early Childhood Program Manager at Sherwood Community Music School at Columbia College Chicago. Copyright © 2013 Meredith Corporation).
Playing an instrument teaches kids to persevere through hours, months, and sometimes years of practice before they reach specific goals, such as performing with a band or memorizing a solo piece (Mary Larew, Suzuki violin teacher at the Neighborhood Music School in New Haven, Connecticut. Copyright © 2013 Meredith Corporation).
Making music together, children learn to work as a team while they each contribute to the song in their own way. At the same time, music helps children learn that together they can make something larger than the sum of its parts (© 2015 Program for Early Parent Support (PEPS), a 501(C)(3) nonprofit organization).
More benefits of music for children include learning cooperation, sharing, compromise, creativity, and concentration - skills that become invaluable as they enter school, face new challenges, and begin to form new friendships and develop social skills (© 2015 Program for Early Parent )

MYC offers group lessons to children starting from age 3.5. It is a parent-child program what parents can witness and support the social growth of their children while learning music. To find out more about the schedule and curriculum, please visit myc.com and our schedule.
Sincerely,
Ms, Helen Chu
https://www.myc.com/members/HChu/

DEBUSSY: EXPANDING MUSICAL COLOURS THROUGH IMPRESSIONISM

10/1/2020

In the solo piano work Bruyères: Calme, Claude Debussy creates a myriad of tonal colors, consistent with artistic elements of the Impressionist Era. Debussy lived from 1862-1918, and this particular piano piece is part of his Book II of Twelve Preludes, published towards the end of his life on April 19, 1913.(1) Debussy’s artistic style was evident throughout his extensive contribution of musical works, such as: orchestral music, opera and ballet, chamber and choral music, and solo piano music. In this essay I will demonstrate how Debussy expanded the tonal colors of the instruments that he wrote for, in the case of Bruyères: Calme being the piano, related to Impressionist painters of the day. Machlis and Forney write about how Impressionist painters expanded their canvases through mixing colors directly on canvas, as opposed to on their palettes, developing artistic interpretation of the viewer(2). I will connect this idea of how Debussy achieved a similar sort of tonal blend through his use of large chords being mixed by the piano pedals in this piece of music. In Bruyères: Calme, I will demonstrate how Debussy expanded previous possibilities of the piano established by Classical and Romantic Era composers, such as the exploration of very high and very low registers introducing new tonal colors of ranges that had yet to be fully expanded. In this essay I will explore how Debussy’s contributions to music history inspired future composers to further expand capabilities of existing instruments, and of the musicians who performed works of the Modern Era through invention of new aural vibrations.

Part Two: The Impressionist Era
Impressionism first originated in Paris in the 1860’s, expanding into other parts of Europe, and eventually to the Americas(3). According to Margaret Samu (2000), the Impressionist Movement first got its name in 1874, when an art critic named Louis Leroy attended Claude Monet’s Impression, Sunrise art exhibition. Leroy wrote that Monet’s work was unfinished, or simply an “impression”(4). Samu further explains that French Impressionism was born when Paris was being rebuilt under Emperor Napoleon III. This was due to parts of the city being destroyed under the Siege of Paris, of the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. The Impressionist Movement represents a moment in time (there is no specified ending of Impressionism) of artistic output that is difficult to define or label by art history scholars. This movement transitioned at the turn of the 21st century into the period of art history known as the Modern Era(5).

Machlis and Forney (1999: 481) write about Impressionist painters of this period trying to encapsulate their “first impressions” of the Parisian landscape, a landscape under a state of transformation due to the effects of war. The authors identify key visual artists of this period as: Monet, Pissaro, Manet, Degas, and Renoir. These Impressionist artists would experiment with lighting, by painting identical Parisian scenes or landscapes, but at different times of day. These lighting experiments shifted away from the previous emphasis on the human form of the Romantic era. These experiments looked towards a focus on the effects of lighting, and how light impacted the color blending on canvases achieved by Impressionist painters.

Impressionist painters influenced the musical works of composers, who exhibited a preference towards shorter musical forms that captured first impressions, such as: preludes (introductory music), nocturnes (night music), and arabesques (of ballet). Titles of Impressionist musical works were often inspired by paintings, as Debussy’s famous piece Clair de Lune demonstrates (6). Machlis and Forney (1999:496) write about Maurice Ravel as an important Impressionist who composed the famous ballet Bolero, as well as Igor Stravinsky who composed the famous ballet The Rite of Spring. According to Gergely Fazekas (2008: 321), the first piece of music composed in 1907 that paid direct homage to Claude Debussy, was Kodaly’s piano piece, Meditation sur un motif de Claude Debussy.

What sort of musical features are prominent in Impressionist music? Machlis and Forney (1999: 484) write about Impressionist composers creating music centered in “dissonance”, described as “momentary disturbance”. This technique exposes listeners to new tonal colors, consistent with painters of the time, who introduced viewers to new visual colors in nature through light experimentation. The authors explain that in orchestral music, Impressionist composers experimented with ranges of instruments not previously explored, such as lower ranges of flutes and clarinets, as well as an expanded percussion section. Composers of this era were looking for contrasting musical influences to the well-established “major-minor” tonality, which were developed throughout the preceding Classical and Romantic eras. Impressionist music often features a very different tonal quality that can be based on the use of the whole tone scale(7). Some of the “floating” rhythms characteristic of the Impressionist era will be explored later in the analysis of Debussy’s Prelude, Bruyères: Calme.

Part Three: Debussy and his Compositional Style

Claude Debussy was born in 1862 near Paris, France, in the St. Germain-en-laye area(8). According to Joseph Machlis and Kristine Forney (1999: 488), he died in March 1918 during the bombardment of Paris, eight months before France celebrated victory over the Germans in World War I. Debussy’s funeral procession was conducted on deserted streets as German gunfire destroyed the city of Paris. Jann Pasler (2012: 200) writes about how Debussy as a composer is beloved by art history scholars, identified of critical importance to French culture, even more so after his death. In Debussy’s own words: “French music”, he declared, “is clearness, elegance, simple and natural declamation. French music aims first of all to give pleasure”(9).

Debussy’s first formal education was entering the Paris Conservatory at age 11, where Stanley Sadie (2004: 347) described him as a “rule breaker”: Debussy created his own musical harmonies and dissonances against the advice of his teachers. It was through this spirit of transcendence over norms established in the preceding Classical and Romantic eras, that Debussy composed a piece of music called The Prodigal Son at age 22, winning him the Prix de Rome(10). It was the floating rhythms and varied instrumental colors of his famous poem Prélude à “L’après-midi d’un faune”, resulting in his first masterpiece, considered “thesymphonic first piece of twentieth-century music”(11). Debussy 's opera Pelleas and Melisande premiered April 30, 1902, after nearly 10 years to complete (12). The 1890 's were considered Debussy's most productive period of his career, with this resulting opera providing his first international success.

According to Gergely Fazekas (2008: 329), Debussy’s use of dissonance opened a whole new tonal world of “colouristic effects” in his orchestral compositions. These unusual colors also found in his string quartets, featured short melodies compared to the prose of Nietzcshe. The author writes about the disappointment of some audiences toward Debussy’s unique compositional style: “Instead of volcanic explosions and musical battle scenes he brought only faint pastels” (13). These musical pastels are consistent with Impressionism, where Debussy’s tonal blending of instruments is difficult to isolate the origin of sounds, and the harmonies create “shimmering” effects(14). Debussy’s two pieces for piano and orchestra, Images, and Reflets dans l’eau, have been compared to paintings by Monet and Seurat: “they capture effects of light on water or bells through rustling leaves with washes or rapid ‘dots’ of sound” (15).

Pasler (2012:204) writes about the importance of studying Debussy's train sketches to better understand the problem-solving approaches in his compositional style, evident in elements of continuity and closure. Closure in the Classical and Romantic eras were often represented by chord progressions that end on the tonic chord, signaling the “end” of the piece to the listener. Debussy’s compositions often trail off, as though an unfinished thought, with a musical ellipsis at the end. The abstract qualities of Debussy’s musical works have been compared to Picasso by the writer Zagon, who writes about the air of mystery, considered distorted by some viewers or listeners (as cited in Fazekas, 2008: 333). Debussy’s use of large open chords, expanded ranges of the piano, and tonal blending through the use of piano pedals will be further explored in the musical analysis of his piano piece Prelude, Bruyères: Calme of the next section.

Part Four: Musical Analysis of Debussy’s Prelude Bruyères: Calme I will focus my musical analysis on the use of sustain pedal in Debussy’s solo piano piece Prelude Bruyères: Calme. Acoustic and grand pianos typically have three pedals to be controlled by the foot: the left pedal is the una corda (one string); the middle pedal is the sostenuto; and the pedal on the right is the damper or sustain pedal (Banowetz, 1985: ix). Joseph Banowetz writes on the use of the sustain pedal: “to prolong and connect tones that cannot be held by the fingers alone and to color them."(16) Both purpose are crucial in communicating Debussy's artistic intent of the piece. Banowetz comments about to pedalling according to the Impressionist era: “The pianist must think of the total impression of the piece and strive to hear those sound".(17)

Ira Braus (2000:363) writes about musical phrases as comparable to prose sentences, with an understanding of the pattern of musical notes critical to express musical thought. The floating rhythms of the melody (across staves in some cases) further indicate which harmonies to connect with pedal, and when to separate. One example is bar 34, starting on the second treble clef stave of beat 3, and carried until beat 3 of bar 36 on the first treble clef stave. Bruyères: Calme begins with an opening melodic phrase in bars 1-2. This opening texture is thinnest of the entire piece, played as individual notes by the right hand only. This theme is restated near the end, played one octave higher in bars 44-46, with added harmonies coloring the sound.(18)

The opening theme has an unspecific pedaling indication “con pedale” (with pedal), giving the pianist artistic liberties controlling the damper pedal throughout. The pianist is challenged to blend sounds simultaneously across four octaves of the piano in the same beat of music in places like bars 8-14 (also found in bars: 29, 38, and 44-46). The pianist must depress the pedal before the B-flat grace notes of the bass clef in bar 10(19). These grace notes must be immediately released to free the left hand to move into the treble clef to layer the harmonies. The pianist continues to play melody notes in the right hand above these layered chord tones, until the end of the phrase on beat 2 of bar 14. Debussy revisits this exact phrase again in bars 40-43. The complexity of this musical challenge is evident in Debussy writing for two and three staves interchangeably throughout (piano music is typically written for bass and treble clef only).

The pedaling technique in this piece changes significantly in places such as bars 19-22 and 46-51, where the style instructions and dynamic indicators signal to play very soft, light, and with gentle support(200. In bars 19-22, Debussy has written a harmony range of only 2.5 octaves of the piano, with the lowest tone captured by the pedal as A-flat below middle C. Pedaling for low bass notes of the piano where the strings on a grand piano reverberate at a very different length and frequency than treble notes creates contrasting tonal colors, with the sustain pedal depressed and released according to desired blending.
Throughout this essay, I have demonstrated how color mixing directly on the canvas of Impressionist painters is comparable to the pianist blending colors with the use of piano pedals in Bruyères: Calme. In particular, the phrasing of bars 19-22 and 46-51 are consistent with Impressionism, with Debussy employing ‘lighter pastels’ through color blending of the pedal. Furthermore, Debussy used contrasting registers and widely spaced chords throughout the piece, colored by dynamic, and style indicators consistent with Impressionist music. Bruyères: Calme is an excellent example of Debussy’s contribution to music history, containing compositional elements that inspired Modern Era composers that followed.

1 Nichols, Roger. Preludes II, L131. 2014. https://www.hyperion- records.co.uk/dw.asp?dc=W7744_67920 (accessed May 13, 2019).
2 Machlis, Joseph and Forney, Kristine. “The Enjoyment of Music, Eighth Edition”. New York, USA: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 1999.
3 Machlis and Forney, 1999, 481. 4 Samu, 2000, para 2.
5 Machlis and Forney, 1999, 494.
6 Sadie, 2004, 347: Clair de Lune translates to “Moonlight”.
7 Machlis and Forney, 1999, 484: “The whole tone scale is based on whole-tone intervals.”
8 Machlis and Forney, 1999: 487.
9 Machlis and Forney, 1999: 488.
10 Machlis and Forney, 1999: 487.
11 Sadie, 2004, 349: Prelude to “The Afternoon of a Faun”.
12 Machlis and Forney, 1999: 487.
13 Fazekas, 2008: 335.
14 Sadie, 2004, 389: the “shimmering” effects were often repeated notes or a string tremolando.
15 Sadie, 2004, 348: “Images” and “Reflections in the Water”.
16 Banowetz, 1985: 11.
17 Banowetz, 1985: 230.
18 Machlis and Forney, 1999, 13: the interval of an octave is distance between pitches 1-8.
19 Machlis and Forney, 1999, A-11: “Grace note: Ornamental note, often printed in small type and not performed rhythmically.”
20 Linguee French-English Dictionary, 2019: “doux et léger” means soft and light; “Doucement soutenu” means gentle support.

Music Lessons’ 10 COVID COMMANDMENTS

9/8/2020

During this very different situation we are in currently, I hope these 10 tips will encourage you both personally and in your role as a parent. Music lessons are a very important part of child development and our children deserve the opportunity to develop music through an excellent program such as Music for Young Children. In MYC, they can learn to play the piano and so much more. In MYC, you and your child will explore music through playing piano, singing, composing, music theory, music history, ear training, moving and so much more.

So, remember these 10 “Commandments”:

Do not let your child fall behind in learning. There are key times in early child brain development when the maximum benefits from music classes and piano lessons will last the longest. Don’t miss those years between 4 and 7 to develop your child’s music skills through Music for Young Children classes.
Do sign up for the best in music classes with Music for Young Children lessons. Your child will learn to play the piano, keyboard, get singing lessons, learn to read music, do theory and enjoy music through movement and composition.
Do not settle for less than the best. Music for Young Children is a top notch way to introduce your child to the joys of music lessons. It is so much more than piano lessons. In MYC, music lessons include singing, theory, history, composition, movement and of course fun with friends.
Do search for an excellent music teacher in your area on the Music for Young Children website at myc.com, or on the mycmississauga.com blog. All MYC teachers are well trained in teaching piano lessons, sight-singing, ear training, theory, education methods, composition and how to make learning fun for kids.
Do not abandon your child to their own devices. In this COVID time, we parents may feel overwhelmed by the changes and demands on us. Do resist the temptation to let music lessons, piano lessons or piano practice slide by the wayside. Daily piano practice ensures success in piano lessons. At Music for Young Children, we have ways to make practicing fun and rewarding throughout the year.
Do be present with your child in their music practice between piano lessons and at music classes too. Parent involvement is very much valued at MYC. The teacher, parent and child together make a triangle which nurtures love for music in children. As the saying goes, “a 3 stranded cord is not easily broken”. Music for Young Children classes are a great way to spend quality time with your child. Teachers also help parents know how to help with practice at home.
Do not burn out as a parent. Ask for help and tips from your Music for Young Children teacher on how to fit piano practice into a busy day or how to motivate a distracted child or how to make keep practicing fun.
Do take care of your physical, emotional and social needs, including connecting with your MYC parent friends from last year or new ones this year. We can draw strength, perseverance and wisdom from these wonderful parents who sincerely want the best music education for their children. Find these motivating peers at Music for Young Children classes.
Do not put off till next year what you can do this year. Delaying music lessons may cause you to miss a critical time in your child’s brain development when maximum life-long benefits are gained.
Do sign up now for Music for Young Children music lessons in Mississauga. The learning and brain development will last a life-time!

By Elizabeth Dettweiler, MYCC, Hon.B.Music
www.myc.com/members/edettweiler/

“GEARING” UP FOR PIANO LESSONS

8/1/2020

Music lessons are so fun and important to child brain development that we want to do our best for our children in this area. We want to set up our children for a lifetime of fulfillment musically. We carefully research a well-crafted curriculum like Music for Young Children; we find a Music for Young Children teacher in our area, whose schedule meets our needs, with the help of the myc.com website or the mycmississauga.com blog; we register our children in music classes with that teacher and wait till September when they begin. Good work!!! Now here are a few of the more practical things we can think about, the “gear” to help get piano lessons off to a good start.

Piano/Keyboard. For Music for Young Children classes, the minimum requirement students must have at home is a keyboard with 60 full-sized keys. The keyboard can be an electric keyboard, or a digital piano, or an acoustic piano but should have 60 full-sized keys for the early levels. For the later years of the program, a larger keyboard or piano is helpful, like one with 88 full-sized keys.
Bench: While sitting at the piano or keyboard on either a bench or a chair, the student’s forearms should be parallel to the floor when his/her hands are on the keys. For comfortable hand movement, wrists should not be below the keyboard, but also should not be raised too high. They should be in line with the forearm and fingers. If your piano bench or chair is not adjustable, just place foam blocks under the legs to raise your child to the proper height until there is a straight line from your child’s hands to elbows and that line is parallel to the floor.
Feet: If your child’s legs are not long enough to comfortably rest with them flat on the floor, place a small step stool under them so that her legs are bent at a 90-degree angle. This will help her keep a good height and distance from the piano.

All these tips will help set you and your child up for a successful year of piano lessons in our wonderful Music for Young Children group music classes. Now get ready to have fun because September is not far away!

By Elizabeth Dettweiler (adapted from teachpianotoday.com)
https://www.myc.com/members/edettweiler/

Music for Young Children Mississauga