Practicing Work-Out!

I got this idea from James Hutchins on the Suzuki Parents as Partners Online conference two years ago.  Since then I've used it a lot with my students and want to have it readily accessible to my students this year so I put it behind the front cover of their practice books this year.

Basically, a "workout" is focused practicing using review pieces.  My "workout" page is just a list of the Suzuki violin pieces in books 1 & 2 in order.  You could make your own "workout" page with your own list of pieces that would be easy enough to practice without thinking about the notes.

I assign a time for the workout.  With my own kids, I like to choose a specific time that is on one of our Cube Timers so that they can just flip it over and practice (so easy!!)  For this specific amount of time my students play through their list focusing on whatever it is I've assigned them.  For some it could be playing with their eyes on the highway, for others, it might be keeping your scroll up.  It could be to help posture points, intonation, or focus.  If the student can play the first piece all the way through with the focus point they can move on to the next piece on the list.  They keep playing through the pieces until the timer dings - then they are done with their workout for the day.  They mark where they stopped and start there for their workout the next day.

I love assigning workouts because it really lets a student focus on one thing for 5 or 7 minutes without the student thinking about the notes or bowings.  For Suzuki students, this is a very efficient way to do their review.

If you are a Suzuki violin student/parent/teacher you may download my workout sheet (I laminate it and write on it with a dry-erase marker so that we can reuse it - and have the student mark their spot with a post-it flag.)  You can also make your own list for different instruments or repertoire.  Let me know what successes you've had with your students using a "workout!"

Composing Music with Music Dice

 This week we've been making practicing fun by using several different kinds of music dice.  My 6-year-old resists practicing more than my other girls so I'm trying to motivate her to enjoy music and that includes writing music.  She absolutely loved this activity which we spend a couple minutes between chunks of our practice time.

I have this great staff paper that is really big and long.  This is great for kids who like to write big.  I bought it at Music in Motion and I'd like to stock some in my store soon.  However, there are plenty of free sites where you can download staff paper with a variety of sizes like this one that has three different sizes.

The first step was teaching her how to make a treble clef.  It's so much fun to draw treble clefs, don't you think!  I love doodling treble clefs.   After she drew a treble clef she would roll a time signature die to determine the time signature of her composition. 

The next step was to use the musical notes die to determine which notes to draw.  Since she's a violinist she used the A Pententonic die.  There are other dice available such as the C Pentatonic die (great for pianists and general musicians) and the G Pentatonic die in the bass clef for cellists.  Basically, all of the pentatonic dice have the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 8th notes of a scale (A, B, C#, E, F#, and A for the A Pentantonic dice.)  These notes generally sound pretty good when arranged in any order.

I let her decide what kind of note (we were only doing quarter and half notes) and she figured out where to put the bar lines.  When her measures were finished she and I would play her composition.  I would play different versions of it as well (different rhythms, different pitches) so she could see that she could develop it into a song.  She got such a kick out of listening to me compose a little piece out of her melody.  I noticed her doing this later on her own.

Here is one such composition (notice the half note is backward.  :)  This has sparked an interest in practicing again...at least this week.

100 Days of Practicing Club

I am so excited because I have finally purchased something I've wanted for a long time...a 100 Days of Practicing Club Plaque.  These are pretty expensive, but I really believe it will be a great motivator to recognize my students who are consistently practicing.  On the plaque are 36 spots for students' names who have practiced 100 days (or more) in a row.  If they do more than 100 days I make them a new nameplate to replace the existing one with their current number of 100 days (200, 300, 400, etc.)  This way they won't feel like they've got their reward after only 100....they can keep going!  I'm also counting any number of consecutive 100-day practices even if they are not all consecutive with each other.  For example, one student might practice 100 days in 2010, than miss some days and decide to start all over again and 2011.  The next 100 days will also count (and I will get a 200-day plate) so they can feel like no matter what they can always try again for another 100 days and get recognized for it. 

For the students who practice for a whole year, I get their own plaque to hang on my wall.  I've left some space at the bottom to add consecutive years if they do more than one year. 

I'm so excited for my students to see their names on my wall.  I already have two more students to add to the 100 days club since I made this and I will definitely make a huge deal out of it!  Practicing consecutively is awesome!

A Little is More Than Nothing

I have a confession!  I have been the WORST at practicing with my 6-year-old.  The holidays really threw us off, then she got the flu for a week, and now it's super hard to get back into the routine!  She resists every single day with huge tears.  It's hard enough for me to find the time between her school schedule and my teaching schedule - not to mention I have to cook dinner and tend to my other four kids' needs.  When she throws such a fuss, sometimes I'm not even motivated to start the process.  We've been known to only get a couple days of practicing in a week.  THIS IS NOT ENOUGH!!!  I tell my students every week they need to practice AT LEAST 5 days a week.  We have a 100-day practicing challenge going on right now.  And here I am slacking with my own children!  So, I've made a new goal to practice with her EVERY DAY!....even if it's just a little because a little is more than nothing and right now I'm really close to doing nothing.  This girl has so much ability and I can't hinder her by not practicing with her!!!

With everything she's assigned each week she could easily practice 45-60 minutes per day.  Her attention span is just not that long so I'm assigning her 30-45 minutes per day.  On days we don't have even that amount of time we will do less.  This is how we are practicing this week:

I write down everything she needs to do on this whiteboard.  I also write the end time because that is very important to her.  Some things like "Book 2 Skills" is a bunch of warm-ups and technique exercises.  It probably takes 15 minutes to complete this job.  Others are just one piece like "Galop" and "Simple Gifts."  I have broken up the review into three different jobs: the last 3 pieces, Book 2 Review (3 other book 2 pieces), and Book 1 review (3 pieces.)  This week for Book 1 review we are doing the Book 1 review Bingo and she gets a treat for every Bingo.  This really makes her excited to review Book 1.

Each time she finishes a job she erases it.  With the shortened amount of time we are practicing we don't get everything done each day, but I write the next day's assignments in a different color.  We make sure we finish everything every two days.  Some things (like her current piece) need to be done each day.

We are always surprised by how fast time goes once we get started.  The whiteboard provides a visual for her to know what the practice and we can manage our time more efficiently.  Each day of practice is different and I've noticed that once we get started she actually enjoys her playing and practicing.  That's why I'm doing this - so she'll enjoy playing!  So, I'm happy with our practice progress this week!

Brain Noodles

I sold these Brain Noodles (aka GIANT pipe cleaners) at institute last year the first question that came from everyone was, "What do I do with these?"  Without a plan I would just look back with a blank face, "Uhhhhhhh - anything you want, I guess."  (not a good salesperson, I know.)  My darling husband was much better at coming up with ideas and decorated my darling daughter's bow.  A cello teacher bought a bunch and taught an entire group class without talking just using the Brain Noodle.  Another teacher bought a bunch to take to another institute, but how she was using I'm not sure.  Since last summer I've used these a lot with my teaching.  I only have two left and they've been well-used.  This is one of the reasons I like these so much - they can be shaped and reshaped and reshaped again, and they are still useful!

Today my darling daughter didn't want to practice today so I had her be my model and demonstrate the different ways I've used Brain Noodles over the past year.  It was fun for her - and we got quite a lot of practicing done.

The Violin Cast

To kinesthetically feel the "slippery slide" and "mouse hole" with the left hand.

Royal Crown

Keep that head up high and don't let it fall over!

Blind Fold

Keep those eyes closed and listen to your tone (or intonation.)

Soft Bow Hold

Feel the wire with your thumb and pinky.  Let the fuzz slip through all your other fingers.  

Bow Hand Cast

Keep the fingers round and open

Highway Barriers

Don't hit the barriers on the highway!  Stay straight and keep your eyes on your bow.

Antennae or Goal Posts

I will transmit your playing to the President of the United States with these antennae.  OR  Keep the scroll up so you can make a touchdown with your eyes (I might make them squarish if I'm saying this.)

Thinking Cap

Let's put on that thinking cap so you can really think about your playing.

Pointer

I can safely point and touch different areas of the violin playing to attract attention to problem posture points.

I just love that these are so soft and malleable.  I don't sell them online, but I've seen a generic version of them for sale at my craft store.  I'm sure you can google "Brain Noodles" and get some online stores as well. I hope this gave you some fun new ideas for practicing or teaching!

Practicing Lots of Pieces

We've been in need of fun practicing ideas at our household this week.  The holidays are here and my kids don't want to practice.  My darling 6-year-old has SO MUCH to practice each day, but her attention span is only good for about 35-45 minutes.  So, we get done what we can in that amount of time.  She's learning to read clocks at school so I tell her where the hand will be and she can be done.  I don't always make my kids practice for a set amount of time - in fact, most of the time we just practice until we're done.  Lately, looking at the clock works for us.

One of the many things she needs to practice at this time of year is CHRISTMAS MUSIC!!  She needs to practice 15 Christmas songs and instead of droning through the list, we made this chart together.  I've assigned each of her pieces a number and she randomly picks a number on the chart and plays the song assigned to that number.  We then put a sticker on the number.  I've offered her a piece of candy when she's finished (hopefully by the end of the week).  Just as simple as that and she's happy to practice her Christmas music again.

You can assign your own pieces 1-15 and play this with your children.  This would be a great way to review!  I also made one for a list of 10.

Find these charts here and here.

Enjoy!

Halloween Bingo

Halloween is almost here and perhaps I'm posting this a little late, but this may be helpful for future Halloweens.  Bingo seems to be part of every class Halloween party and I decided to incorporate it into my most recent group class.  I printed out a blank Halloween bingo card for each of my students and cut out all the pieces we needed to go over during the lesson (which ironically was all Christmas music.)  I glued them on randomly before group class and had another set of pieces in my witch's cauldron.  The kids took turns picking the pieces - then we'd mark the chart - then work on the piece.  The kids really enjoyed the game part of the class between the playing part.  Anyone who got BINGO got Halloween candy.  Everyone got bingo at least once before the end of the lesson.

I'm going to be doing this week with my daughter practicing as well.  We have TONS of Christmas music to review in addition to all the other stuff we need to practice.  Bingo is a great practicing game with there is lots and lots to practice.

Hope you enjoy.  You can download it on The Practice Shoppe HERE.

What time do you practice?

At the beginning of each school year, I give a paper to my students with a student plan that asks them to list three goals they have for the year.  I also ask the question, "What time will you practice this year?"  I really think it is important to schedule practice time because life gets in the way and it will always be put off if it's not part of the schedule.

I've practiced with my kids at all times including 8:00 p.m. (which was terrible.)  Now that I have two kids in grade school that need to practice I've told them that their practice time is in the morning before school (6:15 & 7:00.)  So far...so good!

The first day of school was great because the kids were excited about school.  The second day we were all tired and it was hard.  I'll admit tears were shed that morning.  But after school that day the girls enjoyed reading, playing on the computer, and painting.  As they were painting and laughing I mentioned how nice it was that they could enjoy their afternoon instead of being tied down to practicing.  They both admitted that it was nice.  Each morning has been good ever since.  Work first, play later is our motto each morning.

Music in Practice

I recently discovered a great website www.musicinpractice.com.  This is by a teacher who has really put some thought into some of her products and ideas.  She has great motivational articles - some of which I really want to use in some of the SAU publications.

You can receive this free set of practicing games by e-mail if you visit her website.  Here I have printed everything out, laminated it, and cut it.  Now I have a lovely set of practicing cards that I can use in many different ways.  Half of them have different things a child can do or say that just break up practicing and make it fun.

There are some blank cards where you can write in different practicing pieces or points with a dry-erase or wet-erase marker.

Some of the blank ones have stars.  When playing this game at my group lesson the one with a star had to be a solo by the person who picked it.

Some of the blank ones have a treasure chest.  Perhaps there could be some sort of surprise if the child gets a treasure chest.  In my group class, I was giving out Bach Bucks to people who chose a card with a treasure chest.

Sue, the author of the website and creator of these great cards, has six different practice suggestions on how to use these cards.  This is how I used them in group lessons for my Book 1 students, but this could easily be adapted to private practice or lessons as well.  I put the cards in a circle, face down.  We started with the first one and played that piece.

    

The kids then took turns rolling the dice and moving our little Panda around the board and turning over a card.  We did this for half of the group lesson and the kids loved taking turns rolling the die, playing the songs, and doing the activities.  It was a fun group lesson and would be a fun practice idea as well!

Practicing Cards

I use practicing cards a lot with my own children as well as my students during their lessons and group lessons. Basically, the practicing cards are cards with the names of all the stuff you're practicing on them. I love to use these adorable cards from Meredith Strings for the Suzuki pieces, but I've also found that I need to make my own set of cards that include the Suzuki pieces, extra pieces, and scales, exercises, etc. I just make them on index cards and get an index card box to store them in. The Meredith Strings cards fit well in a Really Useful Box (really, that's the name) found at any office supply shop.

There are lots of ways to use these cards during practice.

• The parent or teacher lays out the things that need to be accomplished during a practice session so that the child can see everything and take turns choosing what to do and then take that card away. When the cards are gone - practicing is done! I like to take turns because if the child chooses all the time the hard stuff will be left to the end when they are getting restless. If I had to choose all the time the child might think it's not fair or fun.
• Today I practiced with my daughter by pulling out the things she absolutely needed to do, which were her new piece, last three songs, and scale. I put the rest of the cards in a stack and told her to separate them into two piles. One stack today, one stack tomorrow. I shuffled all the cards up and she picked the top one up and did it. This way it was a mystery to both of us what she would play next, but everything got done.
• In a group lesson setting, I put all the cards that I'm willing to play in the group, but since there is no way I will get to them all I let the kids take turns choosing the cards and we play those pieces.
• Combine these cards with other practicing cards that may have a posture point or a particular way to play. Cards could include Keeping Eyes on the Highway, Straight Bow, Bent Thumb, and Straight Head. It could also include fun things such as Standing on One Foot, Bow Upside Down, and Play with Eyes Closed. Pick a piece card and an action card and combine the two. This would be most effective with review in a practice or group lesson setting.

What are some other ways you can think of to use these practice cards?

Report on 2-a-day Practices

I have been doing 2-a-day practices for the past two weeks with my two daughters. Here is my report...

SUCCESS!!!

This is definitely going to be our new practice routine - especially next school year. My kid's school is early enough that they don't have time to do all of their practicing in the morning, but I am a believer that morning practices are the best. I have broken up my children's practice list by morning and afternoon. They practice their new material in the morning when their mind is fresh. They practice review in the afternoon when they can just play for fun. It's been amazing at the practice quality from my 8-year-old in Book 5. She's diligently working on her new stuff and has rapidly progressed. However, the review has not gone by the wayside. She's done more review these past few weeks and has even polished her Seitz concertos once again. Here is a picture of the practice list I tape to the wall next to her music stand.

My 4-year-old Book 1 daughter is doing very well also. In our first practice session she plays her 3 newest pieces plus her new finger exercise (this week it was blue finger pattern 10 times.) This takes about 10-15 minutes. By then she's happy to take a break. In the second practice session of the day, we use this chart and she puts magnets on the pieces she's played. When the chart is filled she's finished. Awesome practicing this week!

Day 1 of Two-a-days

Success!!! My 8 year old practiced her new pieces and scales before school. She was surprised that it didn't take her as long as she thought (she's so used to a long practice.) Since she had no violin lesson today and I didn't teach, her second practice session was before dinner. Again, she did everything on her list for afternoon - basically review and note reading - and this time I was surprised that it didn't last forever. It felt so good to know she did a full days practice today without it taking the whole evening.

I also tried this with my 4 year old. It's more common to have two-a-days with younger children because their attention span is shorter. But this time was more productive to me than it has in the past because the first practice session worked on her newest piece, scale, and the two pieces she's performing on a recital on Wednesday. We were finished before we knew it! The second practice was after dinner and it was a fun practice where she played every other piece in Book One.

Two great practices in one day! Hooray for me!

Two Practices per Day

My lovely 8 year old is waiting until the last minute of each day to practice.  It's getting on my nerves because the practices are anything but productive when she's rushing through each piece to get done before story time.  I've tried to instigate the after school practice, but she's so exhausted from the day at school and I believe she needs down time.  Unfortunately for us - after her down time is when I start to teach and I'm not there to monitor any sort of practicing.  I've been reading the Maurer's String Book and they mention practicing twice per day.  This is my project this week....to get her to practice twice: before school, and after dinner.

Morning:
Tonalization
Scales
Technique
New Piece
Previous Two Pieces

Evening:
Tonalization
Etudes/Note Reading
Review


I'll let you know how it turns out...

House Tour

Yesterday I waited until the 5:30 on Saturday evening to practice with my kids. What a terrible time to practice! They had just had a fun day, the weather was perfect and they wanted to play outside, it was the weekend so they wanted to watch a movie. Something they didn't want to do: PRACTICE! So, I had to shake it up a bit. I told my 4 year old that we would work on one song in every room in our house and when we had no more rooms we were done! In addition, I let her stand on the furniture to practice. We ended up having a great practice!

Practicitis

One of my favorite articles in the SAA is "The Official Medical Guide to Practicitis." My daughter has had a bad case of practicitis this week. She particularly has a problem with Physical Avoidance Syndrome. "The major sign is a request to use the bathroom." EVERY practice, EVERY lesson! Another sign of her practicitis is Acute Spontaneous Juvenile Pain Syndrome. "Symptoms range from something like toe aches and headaches to whole limbs being sore and unable to move." It doesn't matter what it is - it's magnified 100 times when practicing. She also seemed to have a certain amount of sadness or fatigue whenever she had to perform. However, as soon as she was off the stage - she was all smiles again. One way I got over this little problem was a bit of bribery. "If you play your violin happily at the concert tonight you can have some ice cream after!" "Okay!!!" At our last concert, she was all smiles - too much. She was giggling, waving to me and my parents (10 times), and whispering to the girl next to her the whole time! Well, I suppose it was more amusing for concertgoers to see this side of her personality than the crying/tired side. It's all part of the journey...

A SMART way to practice

My ambitious, excited 4-year-old wasn't so excited to practice this week. The first day after her lesson we started practicing and we only got three things done and my daughter sighed, "Mom, I'm running out of gas! I'll finish later." Well, after this was said there was no use. I tried to be upbeat, but I started to get irritated so I just quit practicing. And, because of my busy life - it didn't get done later either.

So, the next day I pulled out some treats from my studio. Smarties to be specific. There are 15 little Smartie treats inside a Smartie package and I told my sweet daughter that she could have one little treat every time we did something for practice. So, we bowed and said "Good Afternoon" and she got a treat. We did a bow exercise and she got a treat. It turns out that A LOT of practicing can get done with 15 little Smartie treats. Aside from the first day - this has been the best week of practicing.

{other things we practiced: Up Like a Rocket, Stirring the Witches Brew, chin holds, Tuca on E string, Tuca on A string, elbow stick, Pop Goes the Weasel, clapping rhythms, and everything all over again.}

How to Practice with a Twinkler

It's been three weeks of practicing with my 4-year-old daughter and I'm reminded of some essential steps to practicing with a small twinkler. 

1. Make it short - most 3, 4, and 5 year olds are not used to standing still for very long. The time will gradually lengthen during practicing, but at the beginning make it short and consistent so they have a good experience with practicing. If it's drudgery from the beginning you will not succeed.

 

2. Make it fun - There is no problem with using fun practice charts, toys, and treats with practicing. My daughter gets so excited for her 1 candy corn after practice. So far her teacher has given her some simple chart to X off each day. This week we have a 25 chart to complete for her new song, Pop Goes the Weasil. Wands, toys, animals, etc. all make practicing fun for a little child. Think of their preschool class...they aren't sitting in desks all day learning their colors and shapes - they're learning in a fun environment. Make that fun environment at home.

 

3. Do it over and over and over and over and over again - If your practicing is short you can do it a lot of times throughout the day. The first week my daughter just had to bow, clap the rhythms, make a simple fox with her bow hand, and hold her violin up with her chin. All together that took about 5 minutes. We'd do it all over after she did everything once. If she was still focused we'd do it all over a third time. Then later that day we'd show dad what she was practicing and do it again once or twice. That's practicing everything FIVE times each day. What a great way to start getting geared up for repetitions - which any person learning an instrument will have to do A LOT of!

Repetition is Key!

Am I tooting my own horn by telling you {again} how awesome these bead counters are!  Probably!  I've had a bead counter off and on for my 7-year-old.  These last two weeks have been awesome practicing weeks for her because of this bead counter.  She has started the Bach Double and we have been listening to it over and over for at least a month in the car on the way to school.  Each week her teacher assigns her four or five HARD spots in this piece.  I help her the first few times and she is on her own.  Every day she has me flip the bead counter and does every section ten times.  I'm telling you - this little girl will learn Bach Double in lightning speed.  I bet she'll have it memorized before she turns eight (seriously - $100 bucks right now.)

I think she is so successful at learning the violin so fast because we have been doing repetitions on every piece since she started the violin.  I took her teacher very seriously from the start when she said play a spot 50 times per day.  I'll tell you - we did it 50 TIMES every day.  It probably wasn't until the end of Book 3 when we had SO much to practice that I would be a little lenient on the overs-and-overs.  But I believe that she now has a brain that can do overs-and-overs so easily.

So, if you want a tad of advice.  DO THE REPETITIONS!  It's hard at first but then it becomes habit.  It's the only way to really learn a piece well.  Professionals do it!  Nobody is ever too good to play the hard spots over and over!

Review Magnets

I was at a Suzuki Leadership Retreat and a friend of mine gave me a box of practice helps that she sold at institute years ago.  Inside were these little review magnets.  It's just a list of all the songs in Suzuki Book 1.  I put them on my magnet board and have my daughter move one over each time she plays one.  She's in Book 4 so reviewing Book 1 isn't happening like it was two years ago, but she still needs to go over them.  The best part is that she's playing these pieces just beautifully!  She adds dynamics or phrasing where she thinks it would sound good.  Her vibrato is ringing through all the pieces.  I'm amazed at the quality of sound that is coming out of these easy pieces.  THIS IS WHY REVIEW IS SO IMPORTANT!  She is learning to become expressive and dynamic with her playing on these beautifully easy pieces.