Practicing music daily is a great way to keep up progress! It’s also a great outlet for stress and creativity! Setting aside a planned amount of time at the same time each day is great for a daily routine. For instance: 2pm to 2:30pm practice time. It could also be added to your morning or evening routine, for example: every night after brushing your teeth, practice your instrument for 30 minutes. People, especially children, thrive on routines and structure. It promotes a sense of security, met expectations, and emotional wellbeing. Another way to incorporate music into your daily routine is to listen to a variety of music from many genres and backgrounds but particularly classical music. Here is an incredible study done on the affect of music on plant growth which I highly recommend! http://www.ijesd.org/papers/522-CD0162.pdf Dance to music, sing along. Music inspires emotions and emotional release that nothing else can. Let’s take advantage of it!

Tips for Creative Musical Expression

Practicing from books is a way to keep things clearly structured but it’s also good to step away from books sometimes and just get creative on your instrument! One way to do this is to keep a mental picture in mind; visualize an emotion or feeling, a memory, or a place. Place your hands on your instrument and just begin playing. It doesn’t have to have any particular rhythm or pattern. You could emulate your visualization directly; or example, springtime rain might sound like random tinkering of the highest keys on a piano. Or, you could express the feeling that rain gives you, which could be any pitches in any rhythm, depending on how rain makes you feel. For younger students, I will offer a few suggestions, like “I want you to think of a type of weather. Now, how does that weather make you feel? Ok, what kinds of notes do you think sound like that feeling?” The emotion doesn’t have to be happy or peaceful for this to work, simply let out whatever emotion you are feeling most present at the time. This is a wonderful outlet for stress and emotions and overall brings calm and peace.