Alan & Brenda Leonard

1/28/03 19:09:

> I have not been super stringent about practicing in that I have never sat
> with her and required her to do all the teacher asked her to do(she is way
> beyond me musically, I am still in the middle of book one and painstakingly
> moving forward, lol. She took traditional piano for four years before we
> switched to Suzuki). I have always asked that she practice every day, but
> understood when we didn't get time occasionally, etc. Still, she was
> practicing more before we decided to unschool (only a month or so).

First, I am not banning words here. Don't anybody get jumpy. However, I
HATE the word practice. Can't she just PLAY piano? Every time you sit
down, you're playing. Really. Sometimes I play the same thing over and
over, attempting to play it better, but I'm really playing. Practicing
sounds like copying letters out of the handwriting workbook. BORING.

I'm a musicican, so I'm going to suggest some things. They probably won't
all work, but maybe there will be something in here useful to you.

*sit down with her when she plays. How appealing is it to struggle alone?
I like my husband in the kitchen for company when I'm cleaning it, she might
really appreciate your being there. You don't have to be technically
advanced to make positive comments and constructive criticism.

*start playing piano yourself. If she wants to play and asks you to move,
GREAT! Don't put her off. hearing the music might inspire her.

*ask her to help you. If your'e making painstaking progress, surely she
could come up with some good ideas. Have her check your position, hold a
paper over your hands so you try playing without checking your fingers, etc.

*get up before her in the morning and have the cd playing then, softly.
Maybe it will catch her attention while she does the usual mornint routine.

*play the cd in the car on the way to your lessons. dub it onto tape if
your car doesn't have a cd player, and bring a tape deck along if you're as
cheap as me and only have a radio.

*go to the local music shop and dig through the easy music for beginners to
find something she'd like to play. Suzuki is a fine method, but they don't
have the Flintsones or the Love Theme from Titanic, or whatever. While
you're there, encourage her to play through her songs on the various
electric keyboards. Set them to make different sounds -- harpsichord,
laughing, tuba, bomb, etc. Laugh at how silly the songs sound like that.

*encourage your daughter to pick out tunes she likes without music, or
improvise with sounds.

*unschool piano. don't just take piano lessons, figure out how the thing
works, or go to concerts and critique performers, or listen to other cds,
search the internet for info on piano competitions, watch tv shows with
pianists in them, etc. whatever interests her.

good luck, and enjoy.

brenda

Jim Selvage

Brenda,

I am so sorry for that "practice" word. I did remember in a later post and
stated that I was "playing" piano today, <g>.

> *sit down with her when she plays. How appealing is it to struggle alone?
> I like my husband in the kitchen for company when I'm cleaning it, she
might
> really appreciate your being there. You don't have to be technically
> advanced to make positive comments and constructive criticism.

Most the time she does not want me to do this. She is 13. But when she
asks I come. She prefers I make no comment at all. But, during lessons,
she looks to me for encouragement all the time. (We both sit through the
other's lesson, I take notes for her while she has her lesson, she doodles
for me when I have mine, lol.)

"start playing piano yourself. If she wants to play and asks you to move,
> GREAT! Don't put her off. hearing the music might inspire her."

Okay, this happens about every time. But, am I suppose to then give up the
piano to her. She will usually come over and tell me how something should
be done, and the next thing I know she is playing and wondering why I am
there bothering her.

*ask her to help you. If your'e making painstaking progress, surely she
> could come up with some good ideas. Have her check your position, hold a
> paper over your hands so you try playing without checking your fingers,
etc."

She loves to help me, but she is quite the tyrant in this regard and does
not have the patience for my mistakes. I am trying patiently to get her to
see that this is not a natural for me. We will continue to work on this,
lol.

" *ask her to help you. If your'e making painstaking progress, surely she
> could come up with some good ideas. Have her check your position, hold a
> paper over your hands so you try playing without checking your fingers,
etc."

We do have plenty of other music which she plays around with sometimes. She
also picks up her flute and plays the Suzuki songs or other songs she has
heard. She and her brother will sit down and pick out tunes they have heard
on a cd or the radio. BTW, all of this amazes me because there is no way I
could do that.

> *unschool piano. don't just take piano lessons, figure out how the thing
works, or go to concerts and critique performers, or listen to other cds,
search the internet for info on piano competitions, watch tv shows with
pianists in them, etc. whatever interests her."

We will definitely start trying to do this a little more. I am clueless
when it comes to picking out music to listen to though, but maybe I can ask
her piano teacher. She loves to go into the music store and play with the
keyboards and such, but that doesn't happen often. We live in the middle of
nowhere. But, I can try to make more of a point of it when we go to
lessons.

Thanks so much for all the great ideas, I will use them!

blessings,
erin

Jim Selvage

Brenda,

I am so sorry for that "practice" word. I did remember in a later post and
stated that I was "playing" piano today, <g>.

> *sit down with her when she plays. How appealing is it to struggle alone?
> I like my husband in the kitchen for company when I'm cleaning it, she
might
> really appreciate your being there. You don't have to be technically
> advanced to make positive comments and constructive criticism.

Most the time she does not want me to do this. She is 13. But when she
asks I come. She prefers I make no comment at all. But, during lessons,
she looks to me for encouragement all the time. (We both sit through the
other's lesson, I take notes for her while she has her lesson, she doodles
for me when I have mine, lol.)

"start playing piano yourself. If she wants to play and asks you to move,
> GREAT! Don't put her off. hearing the music might inspire her."

Okay, this happens about every time. But, am I suppose to then give up the
piano to her. She will usually come over and tell me how something should
be done, and the next thing I know she is playing and wondering why I am
there bothering her.

*ask her to help you. If your'e making painstaking progress, surely she
> could come up with some good ideas. Have her check your position, hold a
> paper over your hands so you try playing without checking your fingers,
etc."

She loves to help me, but she is quite the tyrant in this regard and does
not have the patience for my mistakes. I am trying patiently to get her to
see that this is not a natural for me. We will continue to work on this,
lol.

" *ask her to help you. If your'e making painstaking progress, surely she
> could come up with some good ideas. Have her check your position, hold a
> paper over your hands so you try playing without checking your fingers,
etc."

We do have plenty of other music which she plays around with sometimes. She
also picks up her flute and plays the Suzuki songs or other songs she has
heard. She and her brother will sit down and pick out tunes they have heard
on a cd or the radio. BTW, all of this amazes me because there is no way I
could do that.

> *unschool piano. don't just take piano lessons, figure out how the thing
works, or go to concerts and critique performers, or listen to other cds,
search the internet for info on piano competitions, watch tv shows with
pianists in them, etc. whatever interests her."

We will definitely start trying to do this a little more. I am clueless
when it comes to picking out music to listen to though, but maybe I can ask
her piano teacher. She loves to go into the music store and play with the
keyboards and such, but that doesn't happen often. We live in the middle of
nowhere. But, I can try to make more of a point of it when we go to
lessons.

Thanks so much for all the great ideas, I will use them!

blessings,
erin

[email protected]

In a message dated 1/28/03 4:09:00 PM, jselvage@... writes:

<< Okay, this happens about every time. But, am I suppose to then give up the
piano to her. She will usually come over and tell me how something should
be done, and the next thing I know she is playing and wondering why I am
there bothering her. >>

Depends whether you really wanted to play it.

That happens with us and the computer. If I really want it back I say so.
If not, Marty or Keith keeps it and I wander off to do laundry or watch a DVD
(I'm watching them in bursts, now, fifteen minutes or a half an hour at a
time, since it will pick up again where I quit--I LOVE that!) or play with
the dog or eat.

Sometimes I'm happy to GET the computer and sometimes I'm willing to be
relieved of it.

When my pump organ was new, playing it would lure other people to want to
take it away from me.

Maybe when you want your daughter to play a while, you should go up and play
and she'll hear it and maybe want you to STOP playing ! <g>

Sandra