Meri’s Musical Musings

After having seen several concerts where audience members showing poor classical concert etiquette (and it’s NOT usually the young classical music fans, but rather, typically older adults who are familiar with some pieces but likely have not studied an instrument seriously), I am writing this guide on etiquette as classical concerts. So here are my notes (pun intended!):

1. Arrive  at the venue 15-20 min early. Slightly longer if it’s a big-name artist and unreserved seating.
2. Set all electronic devices to silent; better yet, turn them off. Especially cellphones.
3. In a multi-movement work, do not clap between movements. In large ensembles, watch the conductor put down the arms fully; in chamber music the performers will take longer to put down their instruments.
4. If you’re sick, STAY HOME! I’ve been to symphony concerts where there were several people that were clearly ill just in the section my husband and I were sitting.
5. Be silent and LISTEN to the music. (No talking during the concert, not even briefly!)
6. Listen to the pieces that you will see performed when possible, either via audio recordings or videos. (Unless it’s a brand-new work, there is almost no excuse not to familiarize yourself with the pieces you will see performed.) It also helps you to get to know how the pieces end so you know when to clap, especially in chamber music pieces.
7. Dress nicely. Something you might wear to a wedding is a good guide.

Here are some tips to make musical performances expressive, which I use in my own playing, and in teaching students to play expressively.

1) Develop a beautiful tone quality for your instrument

2) Be sure your pieces are at the right tempo (if you can, compare your tempo to professional performances of those pieces, especially in intermediate pieces and above)

3) Taper off the ends of phrases by doing a diminuendo, instead of releasing the note suddenly.

4) When playing or singing a series of repeated notes, shape the dynamic level, usually starting soft, then loudest in the middle of those repeated notes, and soft at the end.

5) Use a small amount of unmarked tempo changes (usually a gradual reduction), usually best at the end of a piece or end of a major section of a piece.

6) Be sure you are playing the correct articulations indicated. Many times musicians will slur one note too many.

7) Finally, be sure you play your rhythms precisely, especially dotted rhythms. Emphasize the rhythms in a piece or section of a piece which contain it as a featured element.

When searching for info on what to write about for this topic, I noticed that the vast majority of perspectives were from parents. So, I wanted to write about this from a teacher’s point of view.

If the child wants to quit music lessons, you must talk with the child as to why. Sometimes it’s because they know all their friends are being allowed to quit their music lessons. Sometimes it’s because they were being teased at school about it. Sometimes it’s because the instrument is not of sufficient quality. (especially with piano families who start with a piano that’s out of tune and/or has poor action, usually both.)

There are some things that parents of students can try. One is to agree to stick with lessons until they pass a certain level in the exam system. (perhaps Level 6 or so) A second is to make a practice contract between the child and parent, with consequences for not meeting the contract, as well as rewards for meeting or exceeding the contract. Parents can also use my “Music Practice Passes” which will allow them to miss practice up to two days per week.

The teacher can also do some things too. One is to say have a period of 4-6 weeks of music lessons where little to no practicing will be required. Students can work on advancing their music theory skills at an accelerated rate, they can write a musical composition or two, they can play CD-ROM music games, students can learn to play a melody line with accompanying chords (via lead sheets), students can work on mastering the ear skills for their level of study, they can get the student into arrangements of the pieces the student knows that are in current popular music, and they can do lots of easier pieces that they can master in a week or two with only a small amount of practice. Sometimes students will want to go back to more “normal” lessons after only 2-3 weeks of this, but most students by the end of this period are ready to get back to practicing after this special time.

There are only a very few acceptable reasons for allowing students to quit music lessons. Here is my very short list:

1) Reaching a late intermediate or early advanced level on an instrument, and not intending to pursue it as a career.

2) Students who have reached their limits, or nearly so, and have, with a good amount of effort, tried for 6 months to a year with continuing frustration and little enjoyment.

3) The student shows little musical aptitude and interest after two or more years of study with a good teacher and a reasonable amount of effort. This third reason is rare.

Therefore, “not liking it any more” or “friends are making fun of me” are not acceptable reasons to quit, especially if a child is younger than 12 or 13. It is also a bad idea to quit when a child has made little effort in practicing for at least 6 weeks; if you let them quit when they are not practicing, it shows that they can win if they just show less interest. A third idea on not being a good time to quit is if a child has a habit of quitting things quickly, or has quit two or more activities in the past year.

However, even if the student quits lessons on an instrument, they should be encouraged to play for themselves, or possibly take lessons on a different instrument after a break of 3-6 months, but not more than a year.

Many people are unaware of what typically happens at a first lesson with students, so I am writing this to give students and parents an idea of what to expect, in the case of students who have never played in instrument (or not the new one they are learning) and who are switching to a new teacher (often known as transfer students).

Both new and transfer students:

• Questions about the students goals and interests, and what they may have learned from music studies in school before starting lessons
• Info about the teacher’s studio policies and fees.

Students new to an instrument:

• How to assemble the instrument (for those that come in more than one piece)
• How to sit or stand when playing the instrument
• How to hold the instrument
• How to blow into the mouthpiece/hold the bow/hold the pick
• How to shape your hands when playing the instrument
• Learning the first note
• Learning how to play at least 3-5 notes on the instrument (some have learned 8 or more)
• Learning about quarter, half, and whole notes (some even get to 8th notes, depending on the student and how quickly the book introduces eighth notes)
• Playing  some easy tunes on those notes
• How to dissasemble an instrument
• Recommendation of appropriate materials and books for the student (eg: instrument models, reed brand and strength, mouthpiece, books at their level of study; some teachers will do the purchasing for you)

Transfer students:

• Review of instrument care and assembly
• Having the student play a piece or two, and sometimes some scales (teachers will be making mental or written notes about what is good and what needs to be improved
• Short sight-reading exercises (especially piano students–many only read positionally)
• The beginning of establishing of new habits in the areas students need improvement (almost every student has some areas that need significant improvement). Most require improvement in reading skills, many in their posture or how they hold the bow/pick or how they blow into the mouthpiece.
• Attempting at the pieces the student just played with the newly taught habit.
• Sometimes, a short duet
• Recommendation of appropriate materials and books for the student (eg: different instrument models, different reed brand and strength, different mouthpiece, books at their level of study; some teachers will do the purchasing for you)

There are many private music teachers who do not like teaching adults and refuse to take them on. Please note that I am not one of them; however, I would like potential adult students to be aware of teacher’s often negative experience with adult students. Here are some of the reasons many teachers do not want to teach adult students:

• Many adult students take lessons for only a short time, and then quit lessons because they get too busy.
• Many adult students are set on learning only what they want to learn, and are not open about learning other useful skills.
• Many adult students take lessons infrequently, especially those that are beginners.
• Many adult students only want to learn to play by ear, and think learning to read music is too hard for them.
• Many adult students cancel lessons frequently.
• Many adult students only want to learn particular pieces or styles of pieces, when they need to be open to learning a variety of styles and pieces.
• Many adult students do not want to learn music theory.
• Many adult students do not want to use method books, to systematically get them to their goals.
• Many adult students have an unrealistic idea of how fast they should be learning.
• Many adult students don’t trust the teacher, especially when they are doing well.
• Many adult students want lesson times that are generally reserved for school-age students.

Here are a few notes I have come up with for students and parents to prepare for the holiday break.

1) Be sure that the next month or term’s lessons have been paid for by the last lesson in December. (Your teacher probably has holiday expenses too!) I have been jipped twice by families promising to restart lessons in January, and then stopping lessons because they over-spent at Christmas. Some teachers even require that the lessons for January be paid for prior to the break. Alternatively, consider paying for December and January when the fees for December are normally due to ease up on the holiday expenses.

2) Be sure the students practice, especially if they have an exam, audition, or competition soon after the break. In the very least, they should play their favourite pieces.

3) Do NOT take December off! Especially with first-year beginners or students taking exams, auditions, and competitions. The December lessons can be used to expand or learn new rhythmic concepts through their favourite Christmas tunes, Many teachers also lighten student’s practice load at this time, especially with younger students.

4) Give your teacher a gift. Students who are only in their first month or two of study might be okay with no gift in the first year, but if the teacher has gone beyond the call of duty and you don’t give a gift to the teacher (especially if they write custom arrangements or even compositions for the student) the teacher may consider it rude and may not give as much service in the future. And no food gifts, though gift cards/gift certificates are usually appreciated, especially if it’s somewhere they definitely go to (like their favourite music store)  or one that almost anyone would. (like Walmart or Sears)