Every year around this time I have conversations with students where they share with me family plans for the upcoming Winter Break. Many spend time with extended family. While I don't assign homework over breaks as a general rule, I do encourage them to play music. (Sometimes parents ask me to assign extra homework and I assign free choice playing and watching videos of their favorite performers.) But the main encouragement I give them is to share their music with their family and guests. I ask them who is visiting, or who they are going to visit, and what these people might really enjoy hearing. I make sure they have a few pieces that they feel comfortable sharing. For those with other musicians in the family we talk about what they can play with others, or if they have music their family can sing along to.
For some students, however, extended family is far away. For these I ask if they can perhaps share some music over a video call, or record something to send. Most of us are pretty far removed from a culture where music is something frequently shared informally, so we talk about the pre-internet (and pre-electricity) days, when it was a more common thing to do. I still see it in families where it is encouraged, so I like to at least plant the seed- and help kids understand just how much joy they can give their grandparents (aunties and uncles, little cousins...) by sharing their music!
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AuthorHi! My name is Mariya, and I teach flute and piano lessons in Redmond, WA and online. Here I share thoughts about learning music and helping others learn how to play an instrument. Archives
December 2023
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