Milton Keynes Festival of the Arts for Dance, Music and Drama

This weekend (1st & 2nd March) the 46th Milton Keynes Festival of the Arts for Dance, Music and Drama is taking place at Walton High School. This annual performance festival for amateurs was founded in 1968 and still attracts large number of performers of all ages and levels of experience. 

Last year there were over 2,000 performers, 95% of which were children of school age. At the festival, each entrant is given constructive feedback on their performance from a highly experienced and professional adjudicator and awarded a certificate, plus there are medals, trophies and prizes awarded also.

DO NOT MISS IT!!

http://miltonkeynesfestival.org/

How Parents Can Help Their Children Practice Violin?

Parents play a crucial role in helping their children learn to practice violin. The parent's role is arguably just as important as the teacher's role in the child's learning process. While the teacher only sees student one day a week, we cannot forget that parents have the ability to oversee what goes on during the other six days.

This article is aimed at parents of beginning violin students. However, players of all levels will be able to glean information from this.

• Parents should take detailed notes during the child's violin lesson.

While it may be tempting to text, read or zone out, it is important for parents and children to be engaged during the lesson in order to have a better idea of how to practice violin during the week. Take notes on the materials covered during the lesson and write down aspects your child needs to focus on during practice. Bring a notebook to the violin lesson each week. A video camera or tape recorder would be valuable as well.

• Don't be afraid to ask the teacher questions during the lesson or even during the week if necessary.

For beginner students, much of the lesson time will be focused on posture, violin set-up, and bow hold. It may be helpful to spend time learning how to hold the violin and bow. That way you'll be able to help your child during practice.

• Create structure in the child's practice schedule.

Children wake up at the same time to go to school each day. And mealtimes are roughly the same time each day. Try to practice violin the same time every day. This gives the child the sense that "this is violin time."

• Keep a practice notebook or violin practice chart.

Record the number of days your child has practiced, how long, what materials you covered and which areas need continued work. You can even offer your children rewards when they have practiced well.

• Start each violin practice session with concrete goals.

What do you and your child want to accomplish in this practice session and how long will it take? Practice goals can range from "remember to keep the pinky curved" to "be able to play this passage in tempo."

• At the same time, don't be afraid to be flexible.

While structure is important, don't be able to shift gears or to get creative. If one method isn't working, try another. For example, if "watermelon watermelon" isn't helping your child learn sixteenth notes, try another mnemonic device such as "peanut butter peanut butter."

• Strike a balance between being kind but firm.

Overpraising children can cause them to overlook mistakes or to develop practice habits. On the other hand, being excessively strict and admonishing can cause a child to lose interest in practice or even in Music as a whole. Find a middle ground. Start with telling you child something positive such as "I love how you held a beautifully curved pinkie throughout the whole song.” Then make the correction: "It would be even better if you remember not to let your bow slide to the fingerboard.” If parents can find that balance between structure and flexibility, meticulous attention and positive reinforcement, then the process of violin practice will be productive and rewarding.

Why teach Music?

Music and the Brain

Music is an art that puts sounds together in a way that people like or find interesting. It may well teach too. Montreal researchers find that music lessons before age seven create stronger connections in the brain. If you started violin lessons in grade one, or played the recorder in kindergarten, thank your parents and teachers.

 The younger you started music lessons, the stronger the connections in your brain. A study published last January in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests that musical training before the age of seven has a significant effect on the development of the brain, showing that those who began early had stronger connections between motor regions — the parts of the brain that help you plan and carry out movements.

Five reasons to let your kid learn violin

It is not unusual when we heard that parents would want their kids to learn how to play musical instruments when they are very young. One of the most selected instruments parents want their kid to learn, is the violin!

With so many instruments to choose from, you may wonder why so many parents chose to let their kids learn the violin. If you are a parent, and still wondering if your kids should pick up the violin, then this article is for you.
Learning how to play the violin trains one in many life areas, other than just learning music. 

Here there are 5 reasons why you should let your kid learn how to play the violin:

1. Violin playing teaches discipline.
Discipline is one area all parents would want to inculcate in their kids from young. And the great news is that learning the violin could do the job for you. For every kid when they started learning the violin, their violin teachers would want them to practice the violin regularly to improve their skills.
And practice needs discipline too!
If kids learn how to set aside time every day to practice the violin, they will learn how to manage time when they grow up. They will be disciplined to put in time and effort to accomplish anything they want in the future.
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2. Violin playing teaches patience.
We all know kids are impatient. If they want something, they do not want it tomorrow, or next week. They want it NOW!
But we know they have to learn how to be patient over time. Violin playing teaches that.

When you are learning the violin, you will learn that you will not be able to master a song on day one. Even if you are a very skilled violinist, you might still need some time to master the whole piece. That’s where patience comes in. You cannot rush through mastering a piece. It takes time. And this is where you learn to be patient with your progress.
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3. Violin playing teaches self-confidence.
Learning how the violin is not complete, if it is not shared with other people! As your kid learns the violin, he will have the opportunity to perform solo, or as an orchestra. In either case, he is building his self-confidence by performing for others.
Exposing your kids to opportunities to perform since young, will prepare him for bigger stages in the future.
Even if he might not be a world-renowned violinist next time, do not you would still like him to be a person full of confidence?
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4. Violin playing builds relationships
While many parents thought that it is the role of the kid to learn violin well, it is not. They play an important role in determining the success of their kids too! As parents encourage their kids to play the violin, they also foster better family bonding and cohesion.
The kid would also love to see that his family is appreciative of his violin playing, and would be motivated and encouraged to perform more. Family cohesion and relationships are somethings that money can’t buy, but you can build them by letting your kid learn the violin.
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5. Violin playing builds your kid.
As you have read so many benefits the violin brings, indeed, it can help building up your kid. Many research and studies show that most kids who pick up music from young are perform better in the society when they grow up.
Further research also shows that kids who learn music from young are better in mathematics, and often score better in examination than their peers. When your kid pick up a skill of violin playing, he also received many life skills which build him up as a great person in society.
The above reasons are not exhaustive in explaining the benefits of letting your kid learn the violin. There are many more benefits the violin can bring to your child. However, the 5 reasons may be strong enough to help you decide if your kid should learn the violin!

Violin Maker's Day. Sunday 3 March, 10am - 4pm

http://www.bvma.org.uk/

Good reasons why your child should study music

• Kids who study music from an early age can do better at a range of subjects.
• Children who play music learn there are rewards from hard work, practice and discipline.
• Playing a musical instrument helps develop kids' creative thinking and motor skills.
• Music helps kids become more active listeners.
• It can also enhance their health and wellbeing and increase their stamina.

Research shows the benefits of studying music and playing an instrument can be substantial.

"There are a great many reasons why children should learn to play music," says Dr Richard Letts, the executive director of the Music Council of Australia.

"If a child studies music constantly over a period of time, they do better in school in all sorts of ways, including academically and socially."

The earlier a child ... comes to grips with music, the more the brain growth will be influenced. It sets them up for life.  Dr Richard Letts Music Council of Australia

Music can support kids' school work

Children who study music from an early age can do better at a range of subjects such as maths, science, arts and language, Richard says. They also learn that there are rewards from hard work, practice, and discipline.

"If a person is engaged in making music, the brain will grow to support the activity as it would for any activity – but in the case of music it appears other abilities also increase. The consequence is that children who study music have an accelerated learning in other academic subjects," he says.

"The earlier a child ... comes to grips with music, the more the brain growth will be influenced. It sets them up for life."

Richard points to an American publication Champions of Change – The Impact of the Arts on Learning. It presents reports from teams of researchers that examined a range of arts education programs and their impact on learning and socialisation.

The reports show learning to read music with its concepts of time, rhythm and pitch, seemed to have a direct effect on a child's ability at maths.

One study showed clear links between sustained involvement in music and theatre, and success in maths and reading, particularly for kids from disadvantaged backgrounds. Key findings included:

• Year 8 students who were involved in arts were more likely to do better academically than those who had a low level of arts education.
• By Year 12, the likelihood of better academic performance was even greater.
• All students who were involved in music were more likely to excel at maths than other students.
• Students from low socio-economic backgrounds who studied music were twice as likely to excel in maths as students from low socio-economic backgrounds who didn't study music.

There are other benefits too says Margaret Bradley, a music expert with the NSW Department of Education and Communities.

"Playing in a group, working together and developing negotiation skills are complex processes you have to work through to build a certain confidence," she says.

"Playing an instrument is also a physical thing. It develops fine motor skills, the kind of motor skills you need to have to become a surgeon for example."

It can also enhance a child's overall health and wellbeing, and increase stamina, she says.

"The same focus and discipline is needed to play an instrument or participate in athletics."
  

More benefits for kids who play music

• Children learn to embrace other cultures through their music.
• It develops teamwork and shared goals.
• The overall experience of listening to music is dramatically enhanced.
• Music can assist active listening, which is beneficial in a range of things from taking part in conversations to building more satisfying friendships.
• Children can also explore emotions through music, which may help them better understand who they are.