Tag: Suzan’s Cents

When I first started thinking about doing Treblemakers Day Camp, I was excited about the cool projects and in depth experience I could give students that I don’t normally have enough time to delve into during one-on-one lessons. I love using my imagination to come up with exciting ways to learn and create.

When I was little, I used to say I was going to have a LOT of kids. When I grew up, I realised that I couldn’t do that and still have time to do all the other things I wanted. I wanted to spend my life being creative and immersed in music. In Day Camp, I get to be creative, musical and have ten kids. I LOVE spending all day with these guys and always feel a little teary at the end of the session but also COMPLETELY exhausted!

We are now in our ninth year of Treblemakers Day Camp and I have gotten to do so many amazing projects. We’ve done Garageband, composing for music box, music videos, group performances, singing in harmony and even written music for a puppet show. We’ve created origami, designed t-shirts, made shrinky dinks and felt creations. We’ve played four square, whiffle ball, kickball and dodgeball. One constant has been defying expectations in the quality of work that kids are capable of.

Students come out of camp having learning a tremendous amount yet raving about how fun it was. We have many return campers every year and always some beginners. We have regular Treblemakers students and students from other teachers that come to add group playing to their experience. Camp is a great way light or reignite the spark for learning music. Not only does it get students excited about learning it also gives them a serious boost in progress. We play music every day for two weeks and drill on music foundation skills through fun activities such as computer games or game show.

Through all of this we bond together as a group whether we’re playing in the park together, creating music or battling it out in game show. The beauty of it all is that they get to see firsthand and be a part of what we can do together as humans. None of it is possible or quite as spectacular all alone. When all the music parts come together and they are singing all out, it is pure magic. I love getting to orchestrate that happening.

The reason method books fail to build strong reading skills is a two part problem.

Part One: Most popular series are old and don’t integrate any of the advances we’ve made in understanding the brain, memory and learning. The most popular piano method series have been around for decades, some even as old as from the 1940’s. People are invested in using these old books even though they are not effective in teaching reading or exciting students. Newer series tend to be written following the same formula as the old ones. They may try to be more fun but they’re no more effective at teaching reading.You may wonder how have people learned to read if these books are so bad at teaching it? That comes to the second part of the problem:

Part Two: The way that students learn has changed. You can get away with using non-optimal systems if students are immersed in constant repetition over a long period of time. The problem is that today’s students are often overcommitted, don’t practice everyday and have a choice on whether to take lessons or quit. The old system could work for some but it often drove the joy out of learning and didn’t work for the majority of people.

What doesn’t work with method books:

1. Too much information is introduced at once. Three to four things (or notes) is optimal for the working memory to hold and use effortlessly. This allows students to use information to play music on the spot. The most effective learning involves not only drilling but also using information in a real world situation. Introducing too much information at a time takes much longer to master and bogs down the working memory causing mental fatigue.
2. Not enough repetition on information before adding more and moving on. The few books that start with only three notes (which is a good number), immediately add new notes after one song. Students quickly memorize songs and are no longer practicing reading.
3. Systems that avoid reading, such as notes written in, finger numbers, or learning by rote don’t allow students to build or practice reading skills. Never use a system that will have to be replaced later. Learning involves forming habits. It is much more work to undo habits than to build the right ones from the beginning. Systems that can be built on not replaced are more effective and less frustrating.
4. Using acronyms to learn note names. In order to read and play music in real time, information retrieval needs to be lightening fast. Acronyms quickly become a crutch and take too many steps to bring up the information.

What strategies work? Small Amounts of information (3-4 notes) should be introduced, drilled on and used till mastered before adding more. Plenty of fresh material needs to be provided on each note range to allow students the repetition needed to commit the information to long term memory. Information needs to be revisited at regular intervals over time to cement learning.

This is what motivated me to write Treblemakers Piano Method Series. When you use learning strategies that are more effective everyone does better. The majority of students that would normally quit within the first year actually learn how to read and get past the hardest part which is building a foundation. They can gain skills easily without feeling frustrated or overwhelmed and then are often more motivated to practice because they also get to a level where what they can do feels satisfying. It’s hard to keep slogging away at something if you don’t feel like you’re getting good at it. And of course the students that are diligent, do amazing. Ironically, those with the most aptitude often struggle the most with reading when it isn’t approached in a smart way. Their playing ability grows so fast that their reading level feels too far away from their playing level making it seem too difficult to tackle.

Hundreds of students have learned with Treblemakers Piano Method since I first wrote it in 2009. Without a doubt, they’ve gained strong reading skills without the struggle that my students before encountered. As teachers we should be striving to make the learning experience more successful for more people. I know that  the writers of the method books that came before were striving to do better for their students and were innovators in their time. It is our responsibility as educators to BUILD on what those who came before contributed not just pass along unchanging traditions.

I’m excited to announce the supplemental learning content I’ve created for Piano on Quizlet! I have created 43 sets so far and will be continuing to add more content for piano and also will create sets to supplement other instrument learning.

In case you are not familiar with Quizlet, it is a flashcard platform online and through mobile apps for students to learn and study information. It has study sets on all kinds of subjects for teachers and students to use.

Teachers can create ‘classes’ on Quizlet where they put ‘study sets’ for the students in their class to use. For each study set that a teacher creates, Quizlet plugs the information (terms, definitions, images and audio) into flash cards and games that students can use to learn and drill.

Students can start with untimed multiple choice ‘tests’, ‘write’ or ‘flash cards’ to learn information and then move on to timed games, like ‘match’ or ‘gravity’ (‘gravity’ is only on the computer version) to get information lightening fast. Complete mastery of note-recognition and other musical information is what allows musicians to read and play new music in real time. This is a fun tool that pairs with Treblemakers Piano Method Books and other curriculum to strengthen learning. I’ve always liked using flash cards in my lesson plans and this is even better.

I’ve created sets using the same learning strategy used in my teaching and method books.

1. Introduce small subset of information. (3-4 things)
2. Drill and use till mastered.
3. Introduce another small subset.
4. Drill and use till mastered.
5. Combine sets.
6. Drill and use combined set.
7. REPEAT!

I’ve included the free link below for anyone to join and use my class. This can help you track progress, know what information is mastered and what needs more attention. Students can also compete against themselves and others in my class for fastest times.

https://quizlet.com/join/MHjsy4aQz

Treblemakers Piano Class Quizlet Sets Available Now:

Reading 1 RH C, D, E- Pairs with C,D,E Songs in Treblemakers Piano Method Book 1.

Reading 2 LH C,B,A- Pairs with C,B,A Songs in Treblemakers Piano Method Book 1

Reading 3 A-E (Set 1 & 2 combined) RH & LH- Pairs with first half of 5 Finger Originals in Treblemakers Piano Method Book 1

Reading 4 F & G in RH & LH- Pairs with second half of 5 Finger Originals in Treblemakers Piano Method Book 1

Reading 5 LH F below middle C-RH G above middle C (sets 3 & 4 combined)- Pairs with 5 Finger Classics in Treblemakers Piano Method Book 1

Reading 6 RH F above middle C-medium high C

Reading 7 LH medium low C-G- Pairs with chord outline, parallel motion and chord pattern sections in Treblemakers Piano Method Book 1.

Reading 8 LH medium low C-RH medium high C (sets 1-7 combined)- Pairs with Treblemakers Piano Method Book 2 and a vast amount of supplemental music.

Reading 9 Anchor C’s- Pairs with Anchors Songs in Treblemakers Piano Method Book 2. Drilling on anchor C’s allows students to always have a well-known note nearby to figure out unknown or less solid notes from.

Reading 10 LH low F-low B

Reading 11 RH D-G above medium high C

Reading 12 LH low F-RH high G (sets 1-11 combined)

Reading 13 LH low C-E

Reading 14 RH high A-C

Reading 15 LH low C-medium low C

Reading 16 RH medium high C-high C

Reading 17 LH low C-RH high C (sets 1-16 combined)

Key Signature Major 1 (C,G,D,A)

Key Signature Major 2 (E,B,F#,C#)

Key Signature Major 3 all sharps (sets 1 & 2 combined)

Key Signature Major 4 (F,Bb,Eb,Ab)

Key Signature Major 5 (Db,Gb,Cb)

Key Signature Major 6 all flats (set 4 & 5 combined)

Key Signature Major 7 all sharps & flats (Sets 1-6 combined)

Major Scales 1 (C,G,D,A) How many sharps?

Major Scales 2 (E,B,F#,C#) How many sharps?

Major Scales 3 (set 1 & 2 combined) How many sharps?

Major Scales 4 (F,Bb,Eb,Ab )How many flats?

Major Scales 5 (Db,Gb,Cb) How many flats?

Major Scales 6 (set 4 & 5 combined) How many flats?

What is the relative minor? 1 (C,G,D,A)

What is the relative minor 2? (E,B,F#,C#)

Note Values 1 How many counts? (whole, half, quarter, eighth)

Note Values 2 How many counts? (sixteenth, dotted half, dotted quarter)

Note Values 3 How many counts? (set 1 & 2 combined)

Note Values 4 How many counts? (rests-whole, half , quarter, eighth)

What kind of note? 1 (whole, half, quarter, eight)

Chords 1: What numbers of the scale do they come from? (triads)

Chords 2: What numbers of the scale do they come from? (triads)

Chords 3: What numbers of the scale do they come from? (triads set 1 & 2 combined)

Chords 4: What numbers of the scale do they come from? (7ths)

Chords 5: What numbers of the scale do they come from? (7ths)

Chords 6: What numbers of the scale do they come from? (7ths set 4 & 5 combined)

A lot of teachers and parents have the misconception that small kids cannot read music and substitute other methods in order to get them playing the piano. This is just not true. The longer reading is put off, the further the reading level will be behind the playing level and the more most kids will resist doing it. That being said, four year olds have challenges in learning to read music that older kids don’t struggle as much with. If you tackle those obstacles, reading becomes completely doable. Finding out why a student is struggling is the key to solving the problem. If you land on a reason that isn’t the underlying cause of the difficulty, you won’t be able to solve it and will conclude that it’s not possible. These are two misconceptions that I hear frequently from teachers and parents.

Misconception #1: If they are not reading words yet, they won’t be able to read music.

One of the advantages in the beginning stages of reading music is that you only need to be able to recognize letters A-G. Most young kids can do this long before they are able to put words together or string words into sentences. As piano music gets more difficult, recognizing patterns will be necessary but in the very beginning it is mainly straight note-recognition. The difficulty that often trips young ones up is actually not seeing lines and spaces as individual things or as different from one another. We’ll cover this below.

Misconception #2: The music print is too small for their eyes to read.

Unless they have a vision impairment, their visual development shouldn’t be an issue by toddler age. I do give them jumbo staff paper to write on because they are still developing dexterity and drawing small or detailed things will be difficult. I don’t usually recommend starting before age four for other reasons: focusing ability, dexterity and ability to understand concepts.

These are really misdiagnosis of the obstacles small children have reading music. These are the obstacles that I see small children struggle with and how I solve them.

Obstacle #1 – Tracking:  Small children have learned to track with their eyes but not in the specific way that it happens in reading text or music. Following unmoving words or notes across the page from left to right is different than the tracking that happens when eyes are following something that is moving or looking at a picture where the eyes can bounce between objects in any order. When kids read learn to read text, sometimes they need to place a ruler or bookmark under each line of text until they can learn to follow the words across the page with their eyes without losing their place. In music, this is easily taken care of by having a teacher or parent use a pencil and pointing to the notes as they go by. This helps train their eyes to track. Eventually they won’t need it. It’s also important to work on keeping their hand in position (one finger per key) and their eyes on the music as they read. It’s easy for anyone to lose their place in the music if looking up and down between the keys and the music frequently.

Obstacle #2 – Understanding Symbolism: Adults use symbolism all the time and it is easy to forget that this is new for kids. Kids that have just learned to write their alphabet in all lower case may not be able to see that a capital ‘A’ is the same as a lower case ‘a’ or a cursive ‘a’. It takes training to develop this skill. Kids still need guidance to see what characteristics things have in common that allow you to group them together as the same thing. Here are the ways to train them to differentiate between notes on the staff. It’s always important to give them questions they can ask themselves to determine what they are looking at.

The three main things they will need to work on in order to read are:

1. The difference between a line and a space.
2. The location of a note on the staff tells what note to play.
3. Whether the note is colored in or has a stem tells what kind of note and how long to hold it. Worry about flags, beams and dots later.

Difference Between A Line and A Space:

Often kids seem to be reading notes and then you ask them to draw a specific note on the staff and they put on a note that is nowhere near the note you asked for. This is mostly because they are seeing the staff as a whole and not as made up of smaller things. They also may not fully grasp that where you put the note on the staff matters. They need to be trained to be able to see that the LOCATION of the lines or spaces makes them different. This is a tricky concept for them because all of the lines and spaces do look the same.

    LINES:

1. Ask how many lines make up the staff.
2. Draw a staff of their own or trace over one already drawn.
3. Ask which line is closest to the floor. This is the bottom. Have them trace over the bottom line.
4. Ask which line is closest to the ceiling. This is the top line. Trace the top line.
5. Try to find other lines by counting from bottom or top.

     SPACES:

1. Ask if they know what a space is. Explain that a space is the empty area between two other things.
2. Ask them for an example of a space. Give the example of the space from a missing tooth.
3. Show them a space in music is the empty area between lines.
4. Have them color in an area of a space.
5. Find spaces in different locations: top space, bottom space, stuck to the bottom line, etc.

LINE AND SPACE NOTES WITHOUT A STAFF:

1. Draw line and space notes WITHOUT a staff and quiz student between the two using the questions:

 Question 1. Does a line go through the middle of the note? (line note)

Question 2. Is a line touching the top or bottom of the note? (space note)

2. If understanding middle, top and bottom of the note is difficult, compare it to their bodies. Where is the top on yourself? (on top of your head)

Where is the very bottom of yourself?(your feet)

Where is the middle of your body? (your belly button)

3. Have them draw space notes and line notes. Draw the whole note first, then make it into a line or space note. Have them trace yours first if they find it difficult.

LINES AND SPACE NOTES ON THE STAFF:

1. Draw line and space notes WITH a staff and quiz student between the two using the questions:

 Question 1. Does a line go through the middle of the note? (line note)

   Question 2. Is a line touching the top or bottom of the note? (space note)

2. Have student draw line or space notes on staff. Use some jumbo staff paper. (http://bigtreble.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/4-Jumbo-staff-treblemakers.pdf)The dexterity to draw notes a specific size and in the right location will be enough of a challenge right now without having to draw very small.

Location of a Note The Staff Tells What Note To Play:

Start with just Middle C, D & E. Don’t overwhelm with too many choices and just use whole notes to begin.

1. Draw a middle C and ask them to draw one next to yours. You can draw the ledger line for them.
2. Draw a D and then ask them to draw one next to yours. Make sure they understand that the top of the note needs to touch the bottom line of the staff.
3. Draw E and then have them draw one next to yours. It’s a good idea to start halfway in the space above the bottom line to make sure that half of the note ends up on each side of the line. You can put a dot to help them know how to start the first time.
4. Ask which of the notes they drew are line notes. Then show them that E is on the bottom line of the staff where middle C is floating free like a planet.
5. Ask which note is a space note. (D)
6. Draw C, D or E and ask which one it is. Make sure they go through the steps of asking?

Is it a line (C or E) or a space (D)?

If it’s a line, is it floating free like a planet (middle C) or the bottom line of the staff (E)?

7. Once they’re reliably naming the note, you can draw different kinds of notes on C, D & E to make sure they understand that the line or space tells you what note to play. What kind of note tells how long to hold it.

Whether the note is colored in or has a stem tells what kind of note and how long to hold it.

I usually won’t add rhythm the first week with young students. If they can play through the entire 8 measure song by the next week fairly easily, I start working on the difference between whole, half and quarter note.

1. Draw a whole note.
2. Have them draw a whole note.
3. Add a stem to the whole note, making it a half note.
4. Have them make their whole note into a half note.
5. Color in the half note to make a quarter note.
6. Have them color theirs in.
7. Draw all three on the board. Ask about the differences between the notes.
8. Describe each note.
9. Whole note-not colored in, doesn’t have a stem.
10. Half note- has a stem, not colored in.
11. Quarter note- has a stem and is colored in.
12. Draw new notes and quiz between the three asking questions:
13. Does it have a stem?
14. Is it colored in.

Some other important factors to remember when working with young children:

1. Give enough repetition of concepts while working with them where they can retain it
2. Come at concepts from different directions.
3. Revisit information often in order to store information in long term memory. Daily is ideal.
4. Short practice sessions regularly yields better results than long sessions infrequently. When you wait too long between practices, the information has to be relearned every time because it is only being stored temporarily in working memory.
5. Stop when you notice fatigue. If you notice they do really well in the beginning of working but then start getting a lot of things wrong, stop. This usually means they are mentally fatigued.

With beginners, it’s important to understand the crucial information inside and out without overwhelming the student with information that they don’t need to know yet.

Music is extremely effective in transmitting emotion and affecting moods. There is an intangible communication that happens. I think part of it is that our bodies try to match the environments that we are in. The tempo (speed) affects our body rhythms (heart rate and breathing). Harmony and dissonance can effect whether we feel whether things are at peace or in conflict. There are many emotional cues that we take in through our senses with music that we may not be consciously aware of.

Then there are other ways that the music can affect us. Maybe people might relate to something personal in the story or lyric or the song? The most moving and universal songs are ones that lots of different people can see their own emotion or story in. It is normal to view the song through the lens of our own experience since that’s how we perceive the world.

I also think that music has a wonderful way of taking an emotional snap shot of what you were feeling when you listen to a particular song. There are songs that I remember from parts of my life that evoke my outlook and emotion at the time that I listened to them. I was listening to something recently that I loved in college and I had this emotional flashback of feeling like who I was at that time. I felt sad because I grieved a little for that person that was innocent and had a million possibilities before them.

There are sometimes songs that remind me of specific people. Maybe they introduced me to the song or they loved the song. So then the feelings I have are all tied up in how I feel about that person that it reminds me of.

Then there are moments when I feel like music evokes something so profound in me that I feel like crying. In those moments it’s not always logical to me why I’m so moved. It could be that it makes me have a realization or sense of understanding or sometimes it can just be that something is so beautiful that I get an emotional overload.

A few weeks ago one of my students brought in a song called ‘For Forever’ from ‘Dear Evan Hansen’. As she started playing and singing it, I literally was on the verge of tears. The lyric, melody and piano parts so perfectly capture the feeling that anyone who’s ever had a childhood best friend can relate to. Between the song itself and my student who did such a beautiful job expressing it I was really moved. Music is like that. Even though I’ve spent my life learning and trying to understand how it works, there is always going to be a part of it that is magical. Try to figure out why that song affected you so much. You’ll probably learn something about yourself.

Here is Kate playing and singing ‘For Forever’ from my Instagram Instagram post by Suzan Stroud • Jul 29, 2017 at 12:52am UTC It was too beautiful not to capture and share…).

Quite some time ago I had a conversation with a philosopher who asked me,

“How does it feel to do something that contributes nothing to society? Music doesn’t feed anyone, save lives or contribute to the survival of man.”

He was trying to spark a lively debate I’m sure, but it still felt pretty insulting. It was obvious through further conversation that he really did see music as frivolous. Music had always been the most important thing in my life. This experience made me determined to answer the question: “What is the purpose of music?” Why was it so important to me that my entire life centered around it? Since and even before that conversation, I have become aware of so many ways in which music has purpose in my life and that of my students. Parents seek practical reasons why music lessons are important as they are trying to make good decisions for their children with only so much time and money available. I find myself with so much to say on the subject that I sometimes don’t know where to start.

Healthy Emotional Outlet

Music is healthy way to be able express all emotions. People can vent emotions through the outlet of music that may otherwise come out in unhealthy actions that cause consequences or harm. Music is naturally therapeutic.

Connection

Music allows a level of communication that is deeper than words. The power to communicate with others meets a basic need to feel a connection with other and be understood.

Communication

In order to benefit from the interaction with others you need to learn not only to listen but also how to convey your ideas so that someone else understands what you’re saying. Having the ability to communicate your ideas and feelings to others is a valuable skill that can be applied throughout your life. In music we learn to do this by learning to speak through the language of music.

Teamwork

When you play with other people you learn to work together. There is a global sense of how integral everything is to each other and being a part of something that is larger than oneself. When you are a part of the whole, it matters to you what happens in the other parts. Parts need to blend, not compete in order for the outcome to be a success. Never is it so obvious the benefits of working as a team. When you do your part for the good of team and everyone else does too you can often achieve something greater than what you could on your own.

Discipline

Practice and lessons require a commitment that students have to find a way to make part of their regular routine. Discipline is also learned in overcoming obstacles and facing personal weaknesses.

Mood Shifting

Music can be a great way to shift your mood. It can help put you in the mood for an activity or change your outlook when you need it.

Life Lessons

Many life lessons play out through the process of learning to play an instrument. Lessons about ourselves, how to learn, and how to face personal strengths and weaknesses.

Balance

The same principles of balance in composition exist in many other forms of creation. Even if you are just playing a piece, not writing one, being aware of balance is still useful in interpreting it. Contrasting ideas are necessary to create balance and this is everywhere in music: louds to softs, highs to lows, fast to slow, silence to sound, etc.

Coordination

Fine motor skills and coordination are important skills that are learned while playing instruments that can easily transfer to other areas of life. I’ve seen great strides in students who initially didn’t have a lot of coordination and have even had students whose doctors recommended learning piano as part of their physical therapy. Playing an instrument builds physical dexterity that can be applied to anything and in necessary for all kinds of endeavors. Athletes, architects, carpenters and surgeons all require coordination skills.

Zen or Flow

The science of happiness uncovered being in a state of ‘flow’ as being an integral part of people being happy. Music naturally puts you into the state of flow since in order to play it, you must be a participant in the moment and not just an observer.

Music has been the constant positive force in my life since I was a small child. Some of my first memories are of music. Having music in my life has balanced me as a person and taught me so much about myself and about living. There have been points in my life where the only happiness I felt was in the midst of music. My logical brain couldn’t make sense of it but it was undeniable. No matter how hard I’ve struggled with surviving and making sense of things, I’ve never doubted the importance of music. I can’t believe that music is sitting here in plain sight and there are people who don’t think it’s important and aren’t aware of the power it has.

I think the purpose of music is to keep us keep us constantly in the experience of feeling and living our lives; not just going through the motions of survival. It is always there to nudge us back on track when we forget that we get to choose whether we enjoy the ride or not.

Instant gratification: With so many things in life you don’t get to see rewards, especially right away, but with music you work hard at something and you come away with a song.

The power of communication/ interaction with others: When you perform with others, you get to be heard but you also learn that in order to be heard you need to listen. Being in sync with others is satisfying. No one likes to feel as if they are all alone in what they think and feel. No matter how much we want to be unique and individual we do still need that connection with others. We need to feel like someone else understands us. In order to be understood, you need to know how to communicate.

Performing with others also teaches us to compromise. It can’t be ‘all you all the time’. If everyone in the group takes an ‘all me, all the time’ perspective, the music is a train wreck. This reflects life. We need to work together and consider the desires and needs of everyone. In jazz there is a thing called trading twos (or fours). It’s something that happens in soloing. Rather than one person taking a solo and improvising over an entire section, the performers take turns two (or four) measures at a time. In this everyone isn’t just randomly playing (or expressing) what they want or feel. They pass on themes and ideas to each other. It is everyone communicating and getting a chance to speak on a subject within a conversation. And then there is the main body of the song where what you play is a part of a whole. This is the common ground where you have to be thinking of the big picture; what’s going to be best for the song not just what’s the most satisfying for you.

One of the most amazing things that happens when you play music with the same person or people often is that you develop the ability to communicate nonverbally. I had a friend that I sang with all the way through junior high and high school. We sang as part of a larger choir but also in smaller groups and did a lot of duets together. We became so attuned to each other that we could stop and restart with each other perfectly in sync during practice without any word or signal. Singers who sing with others have to learn to be completely in sync. They need to pronounce words identically, match every syllable, start and stop together and even breathe together. Direct eye contact is often used by singers and musicians to communicate with each other. (often they’re hands or mouths are busy playing an instrument) Direct eye contact when held for more than a second or two is taboo in most other social situations. It is instinctively perceived as too intimate or a territorial challenge. Lovers hold direct eye contact and so do two people about to fight. Both are reading each other and communicating. Interacting musically is very intimate yet it doesn’t breach any boundaries that make it dangerous to us or upset societal roles and order, yet it does give us a deeper communication with each other that is healthy.

Develop our personal voice:  Our voices are the way that we communicate and are understood. They convey our perspective and we all have a basic need for this expression. A singer uses the sound of their voice to get others to pay attention to what they have to say. I believe that instruments arose out of this need to have a voice even if the singing voice that came with your body is not a beautiful instrument or you don’t know how to use it. Of course a voice doesn’t have to be beautiful in order for us to be compelled to listen. We all have a need to be heard and understood. When you start thinking of music in this way, the idea of musical sentences and phrases makes more sense. Even if you are playing a piano or another instrument where your fingers don’t need to breathe, they still need to put that slight lift or pause that is the breath and punctuation of language. Question and Answer also corresponds to this. When we speak to ask a question, our voices go up in pitch and the end of the question. When an answer is given, our voices go down in pitch at the end of the answer. Question and Answer is everywhere in western language and music. It reflects another one of our basic needs: to ask questions about our lives and the universe we live in, and to find answers. Hearing that played out over and over in music (even if we’re not aware of it’s significance) satisfies us because this is something we innately crave and recognize whether we are conscious of it or not.

Develop fine motor skills/coordination: Playing an instrument, particularly piano develops the fine motor skills and coordination in a way that is so much more detailed than most other things. It makes the coordination needed for learning other things in life come so much easier. Learning to control the movements of our bodies in such a detailed way opens up the possibilities of what we’re capable of. Developing the basic coordination to play an instrument is difficult enough but as you get more adept and advance in your playing, you need to learn even more fine motor coordination to be expressive. Controlling the weight of your hands to bring out dynamics (louds and softs), emphasize the natural flow of rhythm and connect notes are all things that allow you to shape the phrasing and be expressive.