Thank you to everyone who came to the party! So many beautiful things happened the night of December 6! The music was great, the food was yummy, and most importantly from my perspective: families sang and danced together! For the children who were old enough that the experience will stay in their conscious minds...what a beautiful memory they will have to cherish! For the children who won't consciously remember the event, the precious experience of listening to live music and participating in music-making with their loved ones will certainly contribute to their overall consciousness of the part that music can play in their family and community and celebration rituals. I was left with such a warm fuzzy feeling after the whole thing was over! While I'm absolutely thrilled that we raised over $160 for the scholarship fund, I think the most valuable outcome of the experience is the fun that we all had!
I must give a huge thank you to Music Together Mamas Pamela Yeater and Molly Coffey, who volunteered their time to coordinate food, decorations, and RSVPs. And of course, thank you to all the wonderful folks who contributed food, decorations, time, or some combination of those!
If you were there, I have a couple of requests:
1) Unfortunately, I didn't have a chance to take any photos during the party, and I didn't arrange for a committed photographer. Please share photos with me if you can! Even if the photos were just of your own family members. I won't use them for publicity without permission--I'd just love to have the photos for my own personal enjoyment and reflection.
I am taking notes about this year's event to refer to when planning next year's party, and I'd love to get your feedback! If you have any suggestions for aspects that should remain the same or ideas about how to make the event better, please let me know.
Lastly, as a way of thanking the musicians and of giving you more information about the folks who worked hard to make the party a musical success, I've included some information and web links for the musicians.
Jordan Arnold, percussionist, member of Eroteme and funk band Jazz the Ripper (which has a couple of Orange Peel gigs coming up!)
Jazz the Ripper myspace: http://www.myspace.com/jazztheripper
Brad Hebert, percussionist, guitarist, bass player, accordionist, and lots of other "ists." Works at B-clip Productions.
Brad's myspace page: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewProfile&friendID=35607115
Matthew Richmond, percussionist, UNCA Percussion Instructor, teaches private lessons at the Asheville Music School, member of percussion ensemble Eroteme and piano/percussion duo Spies Among Us. Often plays with local pop band Stephanie's Id. Kari's husband!
Matthew's myspace: http://www.myspace.com/matthewrichmondmusic
Matthew's website: http://www.matthewrichmond.net/
Karl Ruch, Music Together dad, singer/songwriter, percussionist, guitarist. Karl has two CDs out!
Karl's website: http://www.karlruch.com/
Karl's myspace: http://www.myspace.com/karlruch
Aimee Sullivan, Music Together mom, saxophone player, sax and woodwinds teacher at Asheville Music School. Regularly performs with Bill Gerhardt and Mike Holstein of the Jazz Composers Forum.
http://www.callthatjazz.com/sullivan.html
Eroteme: Four of the musicians (Matthew, Brad, Jordan, Kari) are members of percussion ensemble Eroteme.
myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/erotememusic
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Private Lessons for Preschoolers?
A parent wrote to me asking about whether it was appropriate to get her preschooler involved in private lessons and whether I knew anything about the Suzuki method. Here's my response, which I thought would interest many parents of preschoolers...
Unfortunately, I don't know a ton about Suzuki. My first reaction to it when I heard about it in college was distrust. I learned to read music at the same time that I learned to play piano when I was 7 years old, and I do think there's a bit of limitation in allowing a child to learn solely by rote. However, I have been told that children DO learn to read music through the Suzuki method...just not right at the beginning. And after my Music Together training and a couple of years of teaching experience, I do see the wisdom in having children be able to make music right from the beginning and not have to depend on being able to interpret odd marks on a piece of paper at first. That's too much pressure for lots of kids! Developmentally, it's really not appropriate to expect a child to do something as intellectual abstract as *reading music* until they're ready to read words. My own experience was also limited in that I was dependent on written music for a very long time, because I was not given the opportunity or encouragement to create my own music or improvise with accompaniment until college.
I think the most important issue is that parents not get so worried about giving their children a head start on their musical learning that they push kids into a formal lesson environment too early. As long as music is FUN for the child, they will learn. Going into a formal sit-down-and-pay-attention-this-is-work-not-fun kind of a situation can really squelch a child's desire to take lessons ever again. The fear, the pressure...those are things we DON'T wanted associated with music-making!
Making music a part of your daily routine, singing at home, attending live music concerts, doing some community singing (fun music classes or church or community events), and giving your child the opportunity to explore various instruments, is going to provide all the stimulation and experimentation opportunities your child needs until he is school-aged and gets used to sitting still and listening. OR, until you find a private music teacher who is able to "keep the fun" in the lesson setting. Look for someone with early childhood musical training and experience.
Unfortunately, I don't know a ton about Suzuki. My first reaction to it when I heard about it in college was distrust. I learned to read music at the same time that I learned to play piano when I was 7 years old, and I do think there's a bit of limitation in allowing a child to learn solely by rote. However, I have been told that children DO learn to read music through the Suzuki method...just not right at the beginning. And after my Music Together training and a couple of years of teaching experience, I do see the wisdom in having children be able to make music right from the beginning and not have to depend on being able to interpret odd marks on a piece of paper at first. That's too much pressure for lots of kids! Developmentally, it's really not appropriate to expect a child to do something as intellectual abstract as *reading music* until they're ready to read words. My own experience was also limited in that I was dependent on written music for a very long time, because I was not given the opportunity or encouragement to create my own music or improvise with accompaniment until college.
I think the most important issue is that parents not get so worried about giving their children a head start on their musical learning that they push kids into a formal lesson environment too early. As long as music is FUN for the child, they will learn. Going into a formal sit-down-and-pay-attention-this-is-work-not-fun kind of a situation can really squelch a child's desire to take lessons ever again. The fear, the pressure...those are things we DON'T wanted associated with music-making!
Making music a part of your daily routine, singing at home, attending live music concerts, doing some community singing (fun music classes or church or community events), and giving your child the opportunity to explore various instruments, is going to provide all the stimulation and experimentation opportunities your child needs until he is school-aged and gets used to sitting still and listening. OR, until you find a private music teacher who is able to "keep the fun" in the lesson setting. Look for someone with early childhood musical training and experience.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
As is often the case, I was just sent a link to a beautiful, short article about music and the brain. Please take a moment to read renowned neurologist Oliver Sacks' article about how a man with Alzheimer's Disease retains his dignity and joy through music:
http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200812_omag_sound/1
http://www.oprah.com/article/omagazine/200812_omag_sound/1
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
