DEAR PARENTS AND GUARDIANS OF NEW MUSICIANS:
This
is a really exciting time of year for students in their first year of learning
an instrument. For many students,
all the skills we’ve been working on in the first half of the year are really
starting to sink in. You might notice that what started out as unrecognizable
noise is beginning to sound an awful lot like music. You might even notice your child is voluntarily taking out
their instrument to practice - imagine that! If this has been your experience - Congratulations! That is wonderful! Feel free to reach out to us to see how
you can continue to support your blossoming musician!
However,
if this has not been your experience - if their instrument spends more time
collecting dust than being played - if your child is getting frustrated and
disheartened that their classmates are progressing faster than them - if they
think they’ll never get it - if they’re about ready to give up - it is
okay. This type of reaction is
very normal for this time of year. The music they are working on in lessons is
getting slightly harder, we are continuing to build new skills in lessons, home
practice is becoming more necessary, and some students might feel like they
just can’t do it and start to think about quitting. If this is the case for your child, please reach out to the
instrumental music teachers.
We have so many ideas about how to help our students get
over that hump and start to succeed. We have countless tips and tricks to help with the more common problems,
and we are not afraid to get creative when faced with a new problem. We recognize that our students have
many different interests, and that music may only be one of them. We recognize that instrumental music
may not be for every single child. However, we believe that your child signed
up to learn an instrument for a reason, and we are determined to give them the
best possible experience in instrumental music. That might mean finding a small amount of time for an extra
help session, or possibly giving them a few extra minutes of practice in
lessons, or even bringing you, their parents/caregiver, in to learn how you can
help them practice at home.
If your child is struggling with an instrument or is
thinking about quitting, please reach out to their instrumental music
teacher.
The Instrumental Music Team: Heather O’Mara (Strings), Katie LaFond (Band), Bob Castellano (Strings/Winds)
