Probably the most popular question from students is “why do we need to practice regularly?” And from parents it’s “how/how often should my child practice?” To get better and as much as you can is the simple answer that doesn’t really seem to answer anything. The long and helpful answer is that the how and why are intertwined.

At our studio we split the class into three sections and ask students to practice the same way – technique, theory, and songs.

1) Technique:  Practicing technique has several goals: to strengthen muscles; increase hand-eye coordination; and create muscle memory. Practicing technique gives you an isolated time to focus on minutia, so that your fingers will do what you want them to in a live situation. Technique practice often involves drill-like exercises specific to each instrument such as scales. The great thing about practicing scales is that it not only isolates note patterns specific to the instrument and builds strength and accuracy, but serves as a basis for an understanding theory and harmony.   

2) Theory:  The ultimate goal of music theory is learning to read and speak the language of music. For beginners, theory is  best taught through graded method books which focus on learning notation, rhythm, chords and basic song structure. For more advanced students a more nuanced knowledge of theory as well as music history is needed. Digging into the past of a specific style of music and learning its idioms is invaluable for technique, theory, and having a real understanding of the music.

3) Songs:  Learning a specific song encapsulates all three parameters – technique, theory and history. In addition, it involves  training our ears to listen and imitate.It is important to listen to a recording of the song over and over, and envision your hands playing the piece in your “mind’s eye.” 

As for the “how” of practicing, a basic breakdown would be: 

1. STRETCH!! Playing and practicing can be compared to sports, and warming up can be a life saver! 
2. Next, practice basic techniques which can include scales and other exercises. 
3. Move onto your method book to review the assigned work for the week.

Practice whatever song you’re working on. Isolate trouble spots in the song (don’t just play through it many times), see if you can play the song without looking at the page (“get it off the page”), and plan a performance night where you play through all of the songs you’ve learned so far.

For the amount of time one should practice, we find that students under 7 need an adult to help with understanding and for motivation. 10-20 minutes a day, 3-4 times a week is fine. Between ages 7-10, an adult should just be there to check that they are practicing the proper material with 15-30 minutes a day, 4-5 times a week. Ideally, students 12 years and up don’t require much supervision and should practice 30 minutes and up and day, and 5 days a week. 

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It’s a magical moment when you realize that your child is beginning to form their own tastes in music. As much as we would have loved to pass on our passion of chamber music and heavy metal to our son, it just wasn’t meant to be. Nevertheless, anytime he makes a request for a song we make a point of having a huge singalong or head to our studio and jam it out as a family. At the randuthmusicstudio, we have much the same philosophy. If a student wants to learn the latest Kid Laroi song we will take the time to learn it ourselves. We prepare the lesson carefully with more nuanced details than just playing the notes. Things like structure, harmony, and texture can be found in any of these pop or rock songs and are the perfect vehicle for teaching the more complex side of theory and music.

When thinking about taking up a new instrument, an interest or passion should be the starting point for any student. Listen to as much of the repertoire as possible in all styles to hone and develop your own unique style and individual thoughts on the instrument. Dig deep! Who influenced your favorite musicians? where did this style originate from? follow the bread crumbs and enjoy the journey as it is never ending! Having an opinion about the music you love and being able to formulate it is essential when learning an instrument. This applies to students of all ages.

Learning music doesn’t begin and end with technique and theory, passion is the forerunner because it pushes us to dig deeper and refining our sonic identity. It is this philosophy that helped create the tag line for our studio ‘where learning music is serious fun!’

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In today’s world, children and parents are bombarded with choices for extra-curricular activities. Among these options music is often the choice – but why? 

As many critics and philosophers have attempted to elucidate – music is not only an engaging art form, but one that transgresses boundaries between the senses. It is spiritual, physical, and psychological. For the student or performer, it’s even more.

What are the benefits of learning music?

Below we have listed several of the physiological, psychological, and spiritual reasons why music is a great choice for you or your child to learn. 

• Brain Growth – the act of playing an instrument, singing, and listening to music can stimulate and improve the brain structure and create new neural connections.

• Language skills – Music lessons impact linguistic skills, studies show improved speech development and greater ease of reading. Music develops the left side of the brain – assisting with sound recognition, rhythm and rhyming. Songs have also been used traditionally to assist in memory games. 

• Math skills – studying rhythm and its structure in music helps children to learn basic fractions, patterns and problem solving. It has also been proven that music improves spatial intelligence and the ability to form more advanced/abstract mental pictures of objects – all leading to skills used in more advanced mathematics. 

• Memory, attention and concentration –  Learning Music aids the  brain in the retention and memorization of mental arithmetic and reading comprehension. Learning music also requires high levels of concentration which trains the brain to focus for longer periods of time.

• Increased Coordination – Similar to playing sports  – playing music instruments and dancing helps to improve gross and fine motor skills. Playing music instruments forces us to coordinate our eyes and ears with our fingers, hands and feet – helping the body and mind to work together.

• Achievement and Discipline – Learning music is a goal oriented discipline requiring multiple hours of practice to master a piece of music. Setting aside time to perfect a piece requires commitment and patience – but when the song is complete nothing compares to the sense of pride the student attains. 

• Social Skills – There is no doubt that music is a team effort – especially in choirs,  ensembles, and bands (all are offered at the RDMS). Researchers have shown that when we learn to play music together – we are able to tune into other people’s emotions and to learn collaboration. 

Music is not just an arts discipline that requires “hand-eye” coordination, it requires your ability to use your entire self – language, mathematics, memory and focus, discipline, communication and social skills. It is within this self-collaboration of the body, mind, and spirit that music gives us the ability to express ourselves, release our creativity, and the space to assert our independence. Learning what kind of  music resonates the strongest with you helps you to know yourself better and what you love. 

At Randuth Music Studio, professional music instructors offer music lessons in guitar, piano, drums, singing, ukulele, music theory, and composition for students of all ages. Our music teachers provide classes at home, online & at our Hamilton studio.  

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