Mikes Music Room – Music Articles

Music education classes can enrich the life of an adult or child in many ways. Children who learn a musical instrument or sing usually perform better on test scores at school.

Here are a few reasons why music education is beneficial to both adults and children

1) Build self-confidence while having fun.

For those who have music education classes in school, learning an instrument and playing in a band can be lots of fun. Children as young as eight or nine can be taught how to play a variety of instruments. Bands usually have concerts on a regular basis where the children can play for their parents and others in the school. Adults with music background can form their own bands and perform in public places. Performing to a public audience is a great way to build self-confidence for both adults and children alike.

2) Team work and friendship

Learning about the value of notes, time signatures, and exits and entrances will help them to be a member of a team. Each member of a band or ensemble must work together to produce a well-coordinated piece of music. Besides teamwork, they can make friends very easily. This is especially beneficial for children and other adults who want to be more sociable. Together, they can explore many different types of music and learn to play different musical instruments.

3) Better analytical skill

A good music education can help improve the analytical skills of adults and children. For children and students, music plays a significant role in improving their math and thinking skills in many cases. For most people, they use only the left side of the brain to analyze and solve problems. However, a music education can help develop the right side of the brain. The effect is that children or adult are able to solve problems in a shorter time and using better solution.

4) Stress Reduction

Music has widely been regarded as an effective mean to reduce stress. In fact, this is one of the reasons that make music education so popular. Many people actually feel calmer and cheerful when playing music, including children. However, heavy metal or rock music tends to have a reverse effect on many people and it is generally not suitable as a mean for stress reduction.

5) Turn music into a career

For those who have an immense love of music, they can turn it into a full time career. There are many types of jobs that are related to music. They include music teachers, professional singers or bands, conductors and many others.

Today, more and more parents are also encouraging their young children to take up music lessons. If there is no music education program offered at school, they will send their children for private lessons. This can be beneficial but in a different way. Instead of being part of a band, music students will have to learn to rely on themselves when playing their instruments. Many children tend to take piano lessons or guitar lessons because these are instruments that can be played alone or with a group. In fact, these instruments are also very popular with adults. Regardless of the instruments, a good music education will leave a positive effect on both children and adults for many years to come.

Stephen Chua is the webmaster of EducationForLifeNow.com, a popular website that provides tips, advice and resources to music education, online education and education grants.. Visit http://EducationForLifeNow.com today and receive a free report ‘Your Guide To Grants and Student Loans’

Learn How to Play with step-by-step piano lessons

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Many people have argued that there are no great piano composers in the modern world. They say that this art died fifty to one hundred years ago. Here are the facts

Here are a few simple steps to learn easy and fast ways to practice the piano. The most important step is not the amount of time spent on practicing but the quality of time (how well you use your practice time).

Remember to visit your piano everyday! A little bit of daily practice is much better than none at all! Ready to get started?

* All of It versus Some of It

* Chunk It

* Bag It

* Chain It

* Record It and Play It Back

WHOLE VERSUS PART PRACTICE: A song may be practiced as a whole or it may be practiced in pieces. When you are first learning a song, often practicing one part is more effective. Later on, when mastering a piece, whole practice situations come into play more often. Don’t try to learn a piece all at once; take it in sections and practice a section until you can do it without mistakes three times through. Then move on to the next section. Remember the value of taking a section slowly, making sure that you play all the notes correctly and that you count through difficult sections. Playing to tempo comes later when you have the notes and the rhythm right.

CHUNKING: Chunking practice is essentially “part practice” – taking chunks of a piece & working them out individually. Determine the chunks or parts to practice before combining chunks into the whole. Take chunks of a piece of music and work them out methodically. You will not get it right if you start out too fast. Slow down and work at your own pace. After you play it smoothly and evenly, then push your speed!

SANDWICH PRACTICE: This practice technique is used when one wants to definitely master a certain difficult section in a piece. One might chunk it many times in a single practice session, sandwiching it between compositions or practice segments. The chunk to be learned is reinforced over and over within a single day of practice, similar to looping. Remember that repetition is a good thing because you are working out all the mistakes. So, keep playing it over and over!

BACKWARDS CHAINING: Practice from the end to the beginning. Take the last step to the first in a progressive manner but in reverse order. Learn the last “chunk” or part of a song first, & then learn the next “chunk” followed by combining those two parts. Learn the third to the last section, and then combine the three sections. And so on. Many times music is written in an A B A Form or Verse Chorus Verse. A very valuable way of knowing whether you have learned a piece, is to learn it well enough that you can play either hand independently starting at any place in the music.

RECORD/PLAYBACK PRACTICE: One of the best ways for you to objectively hear where you are & what you need to do next is to tape-record & play back your performance. Then listen to the music just played and practice from the tape recording. You will discern what needs to come next in the practice from objectively listening to your own playing.

Learning a new piece of music is real hard work. I have shared info on how to practice playing written music and how to overcome being unable play a piece at first attempt

I listed 5 easy steps for a beginner just starting out and who is wondering how to go about practicing in a way that will make it more interesting and fun, especially when learning songs like O’ Susannah and Camp Town Races! Piano practice was never meant to be boring! I hope these steps spice up and add flavor to your piano practice!

Visit my website at: http://www.LadyDpiano.com

Learn How to Play with step-by-step piano lessons

Supported by video and audio files. Rocket Piano is organized into 3 high quality books taking you on a journey from beginner to advanced in your gospel piano playing.

Click here to find out more