10 reasons I love working from home.

Today I joined the library for the first time in about 20 years. Please don't judge me. Most of the books or articles I read have something to do with business or music and so, while I did take out one fiction book, I also had to borrow a book called 'Your Guide to Working from home'. Even though the book was first published in 1997, chapter titles such as 'Discipline and Motivation, 'The Dining-room Syndrome' and 'Good habits, bad habits', sparked my interest. And, of course, the promise of being able to read something without the disruption of some pop-up advert or link distracting me.

The prospect of reading this book made me so excited because I am so blessed to work from home. I hope to eventually work from home completely, but I am counting my blessings.

Here are 10 of the many reasons I love working from home:

1. I am able to create a space that is welcoming for my students

2. I have the freedom to decorate the space as I choose

3. If there are any last minute cancellations, it is super easy to fill that time with household chores  or admin.

4. Having the ability to work reasonable hours and put food on the table

5. No added rental costs

6. No travel time is wasted

7. I am fortunate enough to have a separate studio from our house, so people do not have to come into our private space

8. The studio is dedicated space for my work, which means there is no need for me to bring work 'home'

9. I don't need to lug heavy bags with books or instruments to work

10. I have a great big room, which is spacious and clean. What more could a person ask for?

I hope that you all have a musically inspiring week.

Robyn

Innate or habit?

As a teacher of many different age groups I have noticed a trend with all of my students, while playing a piece, that they should have practiced. When they make a mistake, they almost always want to go back to the beginning and start again. It can sometimes be a bit frustrating as a teacher, but I have been starting to analyze why this is such a trend. I do teach my students how to break down pieces when they practice, I also give them a new piece or sightreading most lesson, so that they become used to reading new music, but they all want to start at the beginning if they make one little mistake.

So, my question is, is it an innate thing that makes us want to have perfection? Or is it habit as human beings to strive for perfection, and so once you have made a mistake you need to wipe the slate clean and start again?

For those who are not musicians, the reason this can be a problem when playing through a piece or sightreading, is that it is important to move on and keep playing music even if you make a mistake. You might do so while performing one day, or playing with a band, and you certainly can't stop and go back and fix a mistake. Yes, while learning, you can then go back over the parts that you don't know so well, but that is a different exercise in itself.

The in-between state

I firmly believe that change is as good as a holiday, but as we say goodbye to our old home, we are not able to move directly to our new place, so the change feels delayed. Now that we are staying with my parents, I am able to focus on my current state of being, rather than just focusing on the next step and moving forward. While I was secretly dreading this in-between stage and had hoped to avoid it, I realise that it has been the most healthy thing for me, to stop and reflect on where my work journey and home life is going. It has been most refreshing. 

I am a doer, I dream and then I do my best to move in the direction I feel that dream is taking me. So it has been hard to have to stop and not feel like I am moving forward with our new venture, and having to wait has proven to be tougher than I thought.

The reflecting aspect has meant that I can see the dream in a broader context. I have been able to put certain things into perspective, but most significantly, I have felt affirmed that I am heading in the right direction in order to achieve my goals.

The most exciting thing however, is to see how much support I have had from both my students and friends, and the fact that my students are eager to get started with lessons again, proves to me that I am fulfilling my role with what I am actually offering as a music teacher. It tells me that my core roll in this industry is meaningful and worth something, and that is the nudge I have been needing to propel me to the next level. 

What books do I start with?

There are so many very good tutor books out there and I probably will change which books I use a few times over the years. But I do have my current favorites for beginners.

Below are short descriptions of the books:

Recorder

Title: Recorder from the Beginning Book 1
Composed or arranged by: John Pitts
Published by: Music Sales Ltd 
For : Young beginners

This book is good because it has a word or syllable below each note. It is more appropriate for the little ones who are either starting to read or already can, but I find it wonderful to teach the younger ones the rhymes and how to play the pieces. I show them the book and teach them about the note values and they are pretty quick to start understanding basic concepts. It helps if they are learning to count already, and usually from about 3 they are counting comfortable (remember they will only need to count to 4).

Recorder

For: Older beginners - from 12 and up

I actually haven't had any adult beginners. I have one who is doing Grade 3, so I don't actually have a go to book for this one :-)  I'm open to suggestions.


Clarinet

Title: A Tune a Day For Clarinet book 1
Composed or arranged by: C. Paul Herfurth
Published by: Boston Music Company
For: Any age, although I don't usually start clarinet student too young, the youngest I have is 9 and she is an exception as she is incredibly advanced musically for her age.

I'm not sure if I like the new layout as I haven't used the latest publication yet, but I found that the old 'A Tune a Day for Clarinet' introduces new notes well and has good pictures to help students remember the notes. There are a lot of exercises given on each note before moving to the next. As the clarinet makes use of a lot of ledger lines very early on, it is important that a beginner is very certain of the notes before moving to the next one to avoid any confusion. I usually use it for teaching all of the notes and then supplement it with examination pieces as soon as the student is ready.The new edition comes with a backing track CD, I believe.

Saxophone

Title: Saxophone Basics
Arranged or composed by: Andy Hampton
Published by: Faber Music
For: Any age

I really like this book because the saxophone is a much easier instrument to come to grips with as a beginner than the clarinet. So this book moves much faster. There aren't as many examples before moving on to the next note. Yet it is still thorough and presents each page in a fun and clear way with added tips and information. Once you have learnt all of the notes there are some nice pieces toward the end of the book. This allows the learner to feel they have really accomplished a lot by the time they have reached the end of the book. My younger and adult beginners both seem to enjoy using this book. 

You should be able to purchase these books at any local music shop. They may have to order them for you or you can also purchase the online. 

Disclaimer: please note that none of these pictures belong to me.

Which instrument is right for me or my child?

A few years ago I bought this book. 

Of course I have know idea where t is now, because I lent it to someone and can't remember who.

I partly bought it because I thought it would be very useful as a music teacher to be able to advise parents, and partly because I, at the time, had been having a few questioning thoughts. I suddenly panicked that perhaps I had chosen the 'wrong' instrument (at the time the saxophone was my main focus). I thought maybe this book would give me some percipient answer. I thought that it would say, that due to certain personality traits...really my character, I should have learnt to play a specific instrument. I thought that I had perhaps missed out on the 'correct' instrument for me, and that if I had been exposed to it first, then I would naturally have picked it up every time I walked into my bedroom. I thought that if I had studied that specific instrument then I would have been an amazing musician from the get go. My nagging question was perhaps I had chosen the WRONG instrument and had been pushing against this current my whole life, and that if I had not been so mislead, then I would not have had to battle through practice sessions and force myself to play scales. 

While the book was interesting, it didn't really help me. I think it would be incredibly useful for someone looking to introduce their child to music. What did help though, was that is got me thinking that if I were to choose any instrument in the world, what would it be? Well, you guessed it, the saxophone. It was not purely because of my character or because it is right or wrong physically for me, (while these certainly can be contributing factors), but because I love playing the thing. I love the sound it makes and I love that I sound different to other saxophone players. I also realised that if I spent 6 hours a day practicing, I could be pretty darn good, but I don't want to do that. That doesn't mean I don't practice and it doesn't mean that I can't play the instrument. It also doesn't mean that I am any less of a teacher or a person for that matter. It's just that I have so many other interests in my life, that there aren't enough hours in a day for me to get through everything.

What I do know is that having a few struggles along the way has helped me to be a more empathetic teacher. I believe it has also helped me to be a more patient and encouraging teacher. It has also taught me that not everybody learns the same way or even thinks the same way, and sometimes you have to teach the same thing in 3 different ways before it makes sense to a student.

I have also been able to study the clarinet and recorder further because of my previous knowledge of the saxophone. This instrument has afforded m opportunities to do gives and be in adverts.

I have tried playing a bit on other instruments (non woodwind), but in truth very few excite me enough to want to spend hours with them. 

Yet on the other hand I have met people who were just handed an instrument at school and told that they had to play that one, because the one that they wanted to try was already taken and then they ended up being able to play that instrument so well that they forgot about the first one.

So when it comes to personality, I think you must consider if a child expresses interest in it and are willing to give it a go. Don't force them. Expose them to as many different instruments as possible. If they are able to try out different instruments before deciding, encourage them. Once they have picked something, encourage them to stick with it for a while. If they don't gel with the teacher, find another teacher (after you have given it some time), but let them go through all the steps to learning the notes, making music before switching too much. The most important thing is that your child has an overall good experience of learning music. Sometimes a student may clash personality wise with the teacher and not the instrument. Sometimes it may the be the instrument. Sometimes your child may be going through hormonal changes and just doesn't want to practice. I believe though, that if you expose a child to learning music with the correct person, they will not only learn more about how to play an instrument, they will learn how to express themselves as well as discipline and how to think in a different way, and my personally favorite, they learn how to appreciate listening to music. This may mean that your child might not end up playing music when they leave school, but they will be an informed audience member, and will their life may therefore continually be enriched by beautiful sounds.



(Disclaimer: please note that this picture does not belong to me)

How to sight-read

I like to teach my students to sight-read by giving them new music at each lesson from early on. If they are continually exposed to new music they aren't going to feel daunted when they have to do so in an examination.

Being able to read music really is an essential part of learning to be a competent musician and something that I believe is key to being able to empower a learner to be able to learn and play anything that they choose. It also helps boost their confidence when they join an ensemble or band.

Before I continue let me make it clear that I do realize that many musicians are self taught and many play by ear, so I'm not knocking anyone, but in terms of the system and styles that I teach, it is highly important and appropriate  for learners to be able to read music.

          

So when teaching sight-reading I make sure that my students check out the following before attempting to play:

Key signature

Accidentals

Accents (including slurred and tongued notes)

Time signature

Dynamics

Tempo indications

Any tricky rhythms

If there is still time then I tell them to try to find any melodic or rhythmic patterns that are repeated and if they are allowed to, they should play the first two and last two bars.

Make sure you count a bar for nothing before you begin to set your speed and off you go. Make sure that you don't stop once you have begun. Make sure you focus more on the rhythms because your brain should naturally pick up which notes to play.