Piano Notes – Studio Newsletter April 2011

Welcome

The studio welcomes Francesca Johnson to the studio!

Student Accomplishments

‎8 students performed on March 12 at Temecula Valley Music Teachers Association Student Recital – Brennan, Shania, Maggie, Meijke, Katie, Claire, Catherine and John. Recital opportunities are recommended for everyone; the next one is in May (details below).

Congratulations to Catherine Howard for performing at Music Teachers Assocation of California Temecula Valley branch – Certificate of Merit Honors Recital on March 12. Catherine scored top ratings for Certificate of Merit level 5 testing. Well done, Catherine!

April Studio Schedule

There are no private lessons on Friday April 15 (unless you have made different arrangements with the studio). There are five Fridays in April, so there will still be four private lessons for all Friday students.

If anyone will be away during spring break, please notify the studio so your lesson can be rescheduled. Your monthly tuition remains the same.

April Group Classes

Group A (6 and under): April 22, Friday 3:30pm

Group B (7 – 10 year olds): April 23 Saturday 10:30am

Group C (10 – 12 year olds): April 26 Tuesday, 5:45pm

Group D (12 years and above): April 15 Friday, 2:30pm

MTAC Student Musicale Recital

May 14, Temecula Public Library Pauba Road

Registration fee: $5 (include with your April tuition if you are interested to play)

Temecula Valley Spring Music Festival

This is an adjudicated event. High scorers will be invited to play in Honors recital. For details click here. Interested students please fill out registration form and include registration fee with April tuition.

National Piano Guild Auditions

22 students have registered for this year’s National Piano Guild Auditions. There are two sessions, one in May and one in July. Please remind all students to do extra practice at home and encourage them to play in the group classes to gain performance experience.

Practice

Yes, it is quite normal that students do not always love to practice. The initial ‘fun’ of learning something new eventually wears off, and piano study is a difficult pursuit. As the materials become more challenging, students do become acutely aware that they are not usually immediately rewarded by beautiful sounds and inevitably become discouraged. When the students are young, it is the parent’s responsibility to ensure that practice is taking place at home in order to make the most of the lessons. Students who do not practice at home can still benefit from taking lessons, but their progress will be much slower compared to their peers. It is not uncommon that parents may need to put in place some sort of a ‘reward system’ to encourage practice. Students who practice will do well, and when they do well, they will usually be self-motivated to practice more!