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Come hear our talented students perform Live in Chappaqua at The King Street Restaurant and Bar!

Thursday, May 23rd at 8:30 pm

76 King Street, Chappaqua, NY 10514

Free admission.  All ages show!

We wanted to congratulate all of the performers who “wowed” the crowd Thursday night at Music in Chappaqua’s Open Mic Night @ King Street Restaurant & Bar! We had an eclectic mix of performers who did not disappoint. We wanted to give a special shout-out to all of our first-time performers – Sam Mason, Jocelyn Blockinger, Erik Picone, Ava Foster and Gianmarco Martignetti- who stepped out of their comfort zone, put themselves out there and sang their hearts out ! We are also delighted to once again hear our young songwriters – Tori Robinson, Hailey Fishberger, Hannah Beilenson and alumni Jilli Schell. The amount of talent both in vocals and original compositions that these young women possess, along with the stage presence of the pros, was just astounding. And, everyone is always stunned by the vocal power of Ava Anduze, another Music in Chappaqua voice student, who did an outstanding job last night. We even had a few brave adults in the mix to round out the evening. Stacey and Jake Cohen, a mother and son duo, kicked off the adult portion of the evening, and Rich Lubarsky made his Music in Chappaqua debut with a great set of acoustic songs from the 1960’s and 1970’s. And last, but not least, it is always treat to hear our resident publisher/editor of Inside Chappaqua, Grace Bennett, channeling her inner Carol King! And we are still trying to find the identity of our first adult performer, who opened the show with some classic rock songs that inspired everyone to sing-along. If anyone knows his name, please let us know!

Of course, the evening would not be possible without emcee and Music in Chappaqua instructor Danny Golub. Besides keeping things running smoothly, Danny accompanied several of our performers and treated us to two sets with Caroline Couture, who tour and perform professionally together.

We encourage those of you who may think about performing, but are a little nervous. Open Mics are a great place to put into action all of the things you are learning in your music lessons, along with challenging yourself to grow. It is an amazing feeling and accomplishment, we promise! Give it a try next time around!

Music in Chappaqua invites you to sing at our OPEN MIC night on Thursday, May 16th beginning at 8:30 pm at the King Street Restaurant and Bar located at 76 King St. in Chappaqua, NY.  Spots are filling up fast, so please contact us as soon as possible! To sign up, contact the office before 6pm on May 16th by calling 914-238-3123 or mail@musicinchappaqua.com.  Singers may accompany themselves on piano or guitar or if you need an accompanist, please send a youtube link of the song being performed by May 13th. Piano, microphones and amplifiers will be provided.  Performers will be charged $10.

TOP 5 REASONS TO CONTINUE MUSIC LESSONS IN THE SUMMER

1. CONTINUITY:  Music is like a language – if don’t use it, you lose it.  Maintaining skills over the summer prevents a student from having to devote the initial music lessons of the fall trying to relearn what they forgot.
2. LESS DEMANDS:  Without the pressure and time demands of school, homework and other activities not offered in the summer, there is more time to focus on learning and practice.
3. OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN SOMETHING NEW:  Without the distractions of school and other activities, there is a chance to learn a new skill that there may not be time for during the year, like theory or sight reading.  Music lesson time can be doubled up to allow more time to focus on some of the more complex topics.
4. DISRUPTION IN PRACTICE:  One may think that students can just practice what they have learned all year over the summer.  But often times, without the expectation that what is being taught in a music lesson will need to be learned over the week, practice time can go by the wayside.
5. MORE FLEXIBILITY :  If you are concerned that music lessons will not fit into your summer plans (vacation, summer camp, etc), we will work with you to come up with a custom schedule to fit your needs, be it doubling up on music lessons, allowing more make ups than are usually permitted in sessions during the year, or if need be, a pro-rated schedule to run during the students’ free blocks of time over the summer.

Summer registration is now open!  Please call us at 914-238-3123 or email at mail@musicinchappaqua.com to sign up!

Our  “Tip of the Week”  for April  will be focused on practice pointers.  Each week this month, we will offer you some helpful advice on how make the most of your practice time at home.

My child is being difficult about practice….any ideas? 

You must first decide whether your child is truly committed to playing an instrument.  All of the “tricks of the trade” in the world will not work if your child’s interest lie elsewhere — in sports for example.    Practice time is a good opportunity to teach the important lesson of follow through to your child.  Establish a time frame of how long you expect the child to continue lessons and the practice required of the instrument.  At the end of this period, sit down with your child and evaluate whether or not he or she is serious about continuing to study the instrument.  Making the decision jointly , learning that life is a balance between hard work and play, feeling a sense of accomplishment for sticking with it as well as sending the message to your child that they just “can’t quit” when they don’t feel like doing it anymore, are important life skills to instill at an early age.

If the commitment is there,  but you still need some help getting your child to practice,  you can try the following:

* Praise:  Do not underestimate the power of the positive.  Always encourage your children and note their progress and improvements, being as specific as possible

* Baby Steps:  If the child is overwhelmed with length of the practice time, break it down — for example two 15-minute segments instead of one 30 minute segment.  Or start with 5 minutes the first day,

and add 5 minutes each week or even month until you get to the desired time.  Or, you can try to switch the practice time to a different time of day.  Keep experimenting until something works.

* Goal vs. Time:  If the child is fighting the length of the practice, try and set a goal instead, for example, instead of 20 minutes, say for today, you will practice until you can play the first 4 measures of the         piece without any mistakes, adding on to the goal once the previous one is met.

* Make it a family affair:  Besides supervising a child while they are practicing, there are other things that can be done to make it fun for them when the going gets tough.  Have your child act as the teacher

and “teach” you a lesson — it will be a good indicator of how much they are absorbing!  Or, have your child give a concert for the family, and film it for them so they can watch it later and use it as a measure of their progress.

* Look to the future…take your child to concerts of professional musicians and even older children so your child can see what they can aspire to if they stick with practice!

* If all else fails…. You can set up a chart where the child gets a sticker for each day he/she practices and at the end of a designated period (week, preferably a month), the child gets to choose a fun activity.

SOURCES:  www.kidsoutandabout.com and wwwmusiced.about.com

Be sure to save the date for our upcoming April 29th  Honors Piano Recital! This performance will be held at Steinway Hall in New York City and will feature performances by some of our accomplished piano students and a very special guest, Vassily Primakov! The recital starts at 6pm and is open to the public. Free admission.

Please be sure to save the date! If you have any questions, please contact the office during regular business hours Monday through Friday 1pm – 6pm at 914-238-3123, or email us at mail@musicinchappaqua.com. We hope you may attend this performance!

Steinway Hall is located at
109 W 57th Street

New York, NY 10019

The  “Tip of the Week”  for April 17th  will be focused on practice pointers.  Each week this month, we will offer you some helpful advice on how make the most of your practice time at home.

What does my child need for practice (besides their instrument)? 

It is best to set up an environment conducive to getting the best results — proper lighting, good ventilation, supportive seating, and most important a room free of distractions.  Additionally, make sure that the student has all the necessary equipment and materials in the area so the student does not spend valuable practice time searching for these items, which can include:

*    Pencil, eraser

*    Books and/or sheet music and a notebook/case to hold them

*    Music and/or instrument stands

*    Metronome

*    Tuner

*    Recorder/MP3 to record practice sessions and lessons

*    Ipod/ computer or CD player for listening to/playing with songs

SOURCES:  www.kidsoutandabout.com and wwwmusiced.about.com

Our  “Tip of the Week”  for April  will be focused on practice pointers.  Each week this month, we will offer you some helpful advice on how make the most of your practice time at home.

How long should the practices be?

The practice length, like the times, will vary by age.  We recommend using the following general guidelines:

*  5 years old                    5-10 minutes

*  6 years old                    10-20 minutes

*  7 years old                    20-30 minutes

*  8 years old                    30-40 minutes

*  9 years old                    40-50 minutes

* 10 years old                  50-60 minutes

60 minutes is a great amount of daily practice time for the average student. More will lead to faster progression but is not necessary for the student that is not trying to become a professional musician.

Our “Tips of the Week”  during the month of April will be focused on practice pointers.  Each week this month, we will offer you some helpful advice on how make the most of your practice time at home.

What is the most important thing to remember about practice?

The most crucial part of practice is consistency. The key to success is to practice every day, it should really feel like its part of your child’s daily routine.

When Is the best time to practice?

By the time students get to middle school, they should be ready to practice on their own. It is still best to help them set up a routine and oversee that it gets done, but the micromanaging can end. A good time of  day for this age group is in the afternoon once the student completes their school homework. Getting practice done in the morning is always optimal. Before school is ideal! Especially when the students are young beginners, even 5 or 10 minutes before school sets the young musician up for real success, and not just in their music studies but in their academic school too. Practicing at this time of the day helps spark the brain which can be extremely helpful before they start their academic day. You can try organizing the practice time while the parent is making breakfast or getting ready for the day. The young student can then fit in practice that can easily be overseen. Parents can also be encouraging and supportive when things get difficult if they are around thus setting up an environment for positive results.

By high school,  students should be self-motivated and practicing on their own and making their own schedule.