Music in General

Do you find yourself nagging your child to practice music all the time? Does your child seem to get distracted easily while practicing? Has your child’s interest in music seemingly waned over time? Most parents have shared similar experiences. It’s perfectly ordinary for children to be inconsistent with their practice and have their interest to fluctuate over time. We offer six plausible reasons why your child might be practicing less than he/she should be, and some tips to motivate your child to practice. Reason 1: Your child wants results too fast Learning music is a long and sometimes challenging journey. … Read more

Without a doubt, the most effective way to improve your abilities as a musician is to practice. It seems like common sense, but in today’s fast-paced world that favors activities that provide instant gratification, many people tend to forget the importance of practice. Although there is no shortcut around practice, there are ways to make your practice sessions more enjoyable and effective. In this article, we’ll talk about how often we should practice, how to mentally prepare ourselves for our practice time, the obstacles of practicing and how to overcome them, and how to establish good practice habits. How often … Read more

At a glance… 1. Relationship between music and intelligence 2. Jamming versus reading 3. Music and speech 4. Importance of active participation 5. Patience, diligence and discipline Many parents believe that music and learning musical instruments can enhance children’s intelligence and academic performance. Some pregnant women even play Mozart for their unborn babies in hopes that classical music will give their children an academic edge. It turns out that learning a musical instrument indeed benefits the development of a child’s brain. Ample evidence suggests that taking music lessons at a young age can improve intelligence, cognitive and social development, and … Read more

The short answer is… NO! If you’re reading this article, you might be an adult who’s interested in learning an instrument, but have fears that you’re too old. We’re often told that music is something best learned as a child and that adults have a much harder time mastering an instrument. What we’ve been told isn’t very far off the mark. Children typically do learn faster than adults. They are capable of amazing feats. Videos of five year olds rocking out to System of a Down’s “Toxicity” (see video below) or playing lengthy sonatas are aplenty on Youtube. What might … Read more

Music history is littered with precocious child prodigies taking the world by storm with their dazzling musical talents. A famous historical example is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791). Stories abound of his conquests of European heads of state while touring with his sister Maria Anna (Nannerl; 1751–1829), also a talented young musician. At one such stop when Mozart was only 6 years old, he entertained the Empress of Austria and afterwards he climbed up into her lap where she gave him a kiss. Young Mozart went on to compose a range of works including a symphony, concerto, and opera all by … Read more

We all know that practice makes perfect. Therefore, it is important to learn the right way to practice. By incorporating the right habits, you can make your practice sessions more efficient, and thus improve more quickly. In this article, I will be introducing my article series, Making The Most of Your Practice. This series of articles will help you set realistic goals, overcome your weaknesses, and develop your musicianship so that you can become a better player. Why should you practice your instrument? Before we look into the right ways to practice, we need to understand why practice is important. … Read more