Creating a Musical Environment at Home

There are many aspects of music teaching and methodologies that help prime a student for success: parental involvement, a simplistic, step-by-step sequence in which early pieces are taught, using a practice tracker to note progress, the use of games to motivate the student in their practice, and the fact that students are generally expected to listen to recordings of their repertoire. 

While it is hard to place a hierarchy of importance on these facets, the one that is most applicable to all music students is the last one. The Practice Space app allows students to video record their practice to not only share with their instructors, but to play back for themselves so they can critique their own performance and understand where they can improve, and where they nailed it! I

It would be better to go further and not just listen to recordings of one’s own repertoire but to many musical genres of interest, including classical, folk, and rock. Some reading this might already be thinking that this is an obvious statement but would also be surprised with a number of students who do not branch out from their favorite genre at all! It is not a coincidence that students who play with artistry and expression from a very young age also listen to a range of different music and attend concerts often. One of the most important parts of language acquisition is immersion, and it is important for us to simulate this when approaching a child’s music education. By consistently listening to recordings or attending concerts of great composers, and performing artists, students are inundated with a melodic and harmonic vocabulary, a sense of phrasing and articulation, and hopefully above all, moved by the experience. 

In the end, parents want their children to study music for many reasons, but one would hope that one reason is for them to develop a love for music. The best way to further this outside of lessons is to create a musical environment at home by playing music in the background while cooking or eating dinner, while reading or while relaxing. Music streaming companies like Apple Music, Spotify, and Pandora make this extremely easy. You can access them from your computer, smartphone, smart TV or through a device like Roku. Try rotating through different genres each day, so your budding musician can hear all of the different types of music he or she can play. 

Last but not least, concerts are very motivating for kids. Many communities have local music societies that put on concerts, along with performances being held in coffee shops and restaurants. Summer is a great time to explore outdoor concert series being held in parks and on beaches. With the current Shelter in Place orders in many states, many music artists are hosting live performances on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and some have been aired on TV!