Hi folks!
I will be providing coffee, tea and juice as well as a cake for our refreshments after the recital.
If you can provide anything, that would greatly be appreciated. Please leave your name and what you are bringing in the comments section below.
Already provided:
Thanks!
Hi everyone!
As mentioned in an earlier newsletter, the recital will be on Sunday April 28th. Here are the details:
What: Our annual spring recital is a time to share music with family and friends. Students gain experience performing for and being a member of an audience. Refreshments will be served after. Please let me know if you would be able to provide any snacks. I will provide cake, tea, coffee and juice.
When: Sunday April 28th, at 2pm (Try to arrive 10 minutes early).
Where: Prince of Wales Manor, 22 Barnstone Drive (directions). The recital will be on the lower level in the Recreation Hall.
Who: For family and friends. There will be plenty of room (or more chairs brought in) for all!
How do I prepare my child to perform?
What to wear: I take a semi-casual approach to performing, especially for first-timers. Your child should dress respectfully, yet still be comfortable. Example: no jeans, but also stay away from tight dress shoes, or constricting buttons/shirts or dresses.
Your sheet music: It is a good idea to have your music copied onto a separate sheet, then backed with a thicker paper or cardboard (like a file folder). This ensures you won’t have to search for pages, or fumble with a large, bendy book.
In practice: If you currently use a digital piano or keyboard most of the time, play your piece fortissimo. The baby grand will feel “harder” to press, so practicing loudly now will make that transition a little easier.
Try to simulate what performance is like in these ways: Play for friends, family, the dog, and grandma over the phone. Have them applaud for you and don’t forget to bow 🙂
On the big day: Make sure your child is fed and well rested. Don’t over practice in the last minute. A practice in the morning should suffice. If you have prepared well in the days and weeks leading up to this, you and your child won’t feel the pressure. Be aware of your own feelings about performing. If you have stage fright, don’t pass that anxiety to your child. Let your child know that you are proud of their effort and it doesn’t matter if a mistake is made. Find the positive in the performance and focus on that! We’re not trying to build mini-Mozarts; we want to foster a sense of accomplishment for hard work being done. Finally, enjoy the show! Be a role model for good audience behaviour.
How can you guarantee you’ll be there, Mrs. Frizell?
The short answer is that I can’t. I will certainly do everything in my power to be present though! But I do have a back up teacher, my colleague who also teaches MYC, Loralee Bishop. She will have the recital program and has held recitals at this venue before (as well as countless others at various venues).
Please contact me if you have any further questions.
-Mairéad
THIS is why rhythm matters:
… Check it out here.
Level 1 classes (classes for beginners) are as follows:
Call me today to book your studio tour: 613-825-0098 or email maireadfrizell@hotmail.com .
My post today is in response to this article blogged on Today’s Parent.com. Reva Seth writes about her experience embarking on home school for her son, much of what she mentions is valuable to reflect upon as parents. It speaks about an “Education Tribe” or “Parent-Led Team.” You can read her full blog here.
We have all heard the phrase “It takes a village to raise a child,” but if you’re anything like me, you’re wondering where that village exists in this day and age? Who are the villagers, and what are their roles?
I can speak directly about music class and the MYC experience being a part of that village. You are probably sending your child to music classes because you want them to learn about music or learn to play an instrument. Perhaps you don’t know too much about music, or you do know a lot about it, but you feel that another adult will get better results out of your child. At any rate, your music class, and my studio community, has many citizens in this village. There are your classmates (parents and children) and there’s me, your teacher, and there are many other children taking MYC in the city. We see them when we attend events such as the Rhythm Festival.
But you can build your network beyond this: perhaps grandma or an uncle plays an instrument? Maybe your child’s teacher at school has shared music instruction with them? Maybe there is a school church choir your child can join? There may be an upcoming talent show your child can audition for.
At any rate, I hope that I can be a helpful member of your “Education Tribe” and a suitable leader for the Music Village your child attends weekly.
Who is part of your child’s village? What leaders are in place to guide them, and in which subjects? Sound off in the comments below.
Musically,
Mairéad
The schedule for Fall 2013 is already being drawn up, with first consideration going to returning students. The registration for them is due May 1st if they want to pay the lower, Early Bird fee. Stay tuned for a newsletter going home in your classes very soon!
New students can contact me any time to schedule a class visit. Come and see what MYC classes are like, and what your child thinks of our busy, engaging, music-packed hour!
-Mairéad
This week I have invited private students, along with Sunbeams 2 and 3 students, to attend a workshop entitled Calming the Practice Monster. And although it sounds silly, the practice monster is real. He is the anxiety you face when you have a new song to work on. He is the nerves you encounter before a performance, or an exam. He’s the resentment toward me, or your mom or dad. He’s getting in the way of one more game on the Wii, or just a little longer (please mom?!) of talking/texting to your friends.
He’s ugly. And we need to address his presence.
Paul Coates has many ideas on how to vanquish the monster. How can we create the fun in music lessons? Isn’t that why we all began playing in the first place? Can we honour an agreement with ourselves? Can we stick to a plan to avoid disappointment on lesson day?
Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much I say or ask something of my students. I’ve forgiven you all before (holidays = a break from practicing, that’s pretty familiar!). It’s nice to see another teacher’s perspective. And other students. If you attend this workshop, you’ll be among peers who really understand the struggles and joy of learning music. And I promise you’ll leave inspired.
If each class of Sunbeams 2 and 3 can attend, I will consider it a lesson and refund you for the cost of the workshop (1 parent & 1 child = $30 to attend). Please register here for the Kanata workshop on February 24, 2012. 2-5pm.
See you there!
Season’s Greetings, young musicians and parents!
As the holidays approach I am excited to bring you a tradition from my family that has become a studio tradition. To wrap up our last week of classes, we will be having a cookie decorating party in each class: Monday Dec. 17- Saturday Dec. 2. At one point I wasn’t sure, as my oven was broken, but went ahead and got a new one before the Boxing week as originally planned 🙂
You need not bring anything. I will not cook with nuts, and the rest of the ingredients basically include flour, sugar and eggs. If I have missed any of these allergies, please email me with details.
Thank you all for a wonderful Fall term! You have all worked very hard and I encourage you to think back to September to see how far you have come at this point.
Musically,
Mrs. Frizell
Rhythm Festival
When: Saturday Nov. 17th, 2012.
Where:OLD LOCATION – The Bridge Church, Kanata. (Directions).
Time:
Expect to be at the church for an hour.
Cost: This is considered a class. There is no additional cost to you. Audience members may choose to make a donation to the Alliance for Canadian New Music Projects.
Saturday classes will not be held in the studio on Nov. 17th as I will be at the church most of the day.
Why: For younger students in particular, there are not many venues to perform in. The Rhythm Festival is perfect, because it provides child friendly adjudication and interaction with peers who also take music lessons. Students will get to practice in class for the performance, so they usually don’t get nervous. Music is meant to be shared, so when I find a positive place for that first performance to happen, I am promising you that you’ll be pleased with the day!
This year, adjudicator Leo Brooks of Treefrog Percussion returns to give insight into playing various percussion instruments, and how to enhance your performance. His positive comments and zest for performance was loved by the audience last year.
Please contact me if you have any further questions about the event.
Musically,
Mairéad
I know we all have a lot of planning to do throughout a school year, so here is the lesson schedule for 2012-2013.
If classes are cancelled by me, there will be a two week range of “Extra” lessons added. After those weeks are used, a refund will be issued for classes canceled by me.
There will be two music events this year:
Click here to download a copy of the schedule.
-Mairéad
Tempo Drive Music Studio 