December: Sonata Fest, a new app, sightreading and another graduation!

"The future belongs to young people with an education and the imagination to create." –President Barack Obama December Music Notes A Few Notable Dates: December 22: Sonata/Sonatina Festival Registration Deadline December 23: Makeup or Extra Lessons by appointment only! December 23 - January 3: No regularly scheduled lessons. Winter break! January 11: Intermediate Group Class, 5:30pm Fine Arts Building January 12-20: No lessons. (Exact dates to be determined. I'll be teaching in Peru.) February 7/8: Dayton Book 1 Graduation Recital (check the website for exact date) February 21: All-Student Studio Recital! PianoForte, 6:30pm. Details via evite to follow! The newest swap list for FaithSlaker Music students has been posted on my website. Ask me in lesson for the password! The swap list will be updated whenever there are changes, so it is best to look at the newest version whenever you need to use it! (Only students who are on the swap list may use the swap list.)   For those of you who study with me at the Fine Arts Building. Please continue to bring your water bottles! The water cooler in the studio is not ours. Sorry for the inconvenience! Dayton playing Allegro for his Book 1 Graduation Approval! (He was approved, by the way!) Recital Date to follow.  Orson's Book 1 Graduation Recital! If you didn't already see it on Facebook Live, here it is! Give him a high five if you see him in the hall or at group class! I was asked by the Suzuki Association to do a short video for their Parents as Partners video series. It is a collection of videos, articles and podcasts that parents can sign up to receive to support them in their Suzuki studies at home. I'm not supposed to share it, but I thought I'd give it to you guys anyway just for fun! Orson Graduated from Suzuki Book 1 in November. He gave a beautiful recital! Congratulations Orson! Congratulations to these sightreading heroes! Kabir finished all the purple sightreading books (just green to go!) and both Colin and Henry finished the red books. Nicely done! My Book 2 Group Class learns how to use a music store. We went on a hunt for music-store treasures and I think the boys found something they want to work on! MY DECEMBER RECOMMENDATIONS   ARTICLE/BOOK:  What Parents Need to Know about Piano Practice. An article that I find helps support the Suzuki method that you might enjoy!   PRACTICE HELP: Marco Polo app for your phone. This is a very quick and easy way of sharing videos. I'd like to start using it with any families that share videos back and forth. I can more easily comment, make a response video, and it doesn't take time to upload or room on your phone. You can keep all lesson videos in one place! If you sign up, find me in your contacts and send me a quick video of your child at the piano!   CONCERTS: Bugs Bunny in Concert at the CSO - January 18th. See Looney Tunes cartoons on the big screen with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra playing the music! Charlie Brown Christmas - December 14th (other dates available) at the Rosemont Theater. Excellent jazz piano music! Ready to Upgrade? Or do you have materials to donate? New students are always looking for footstools that your child may have outgrown. If you're no longer using it, let's pass it along! Footstools, pianos, keyboards, extra Suzuki books, CDs, Practice-help books, etc! Thanks for sharing and adding to our community! You can just bring these items to your lesson and I'll pass them on to those who need them!

November Music Updates, 2019

“Music is the shorthand of emotion.” ― Leo Tolstoy November Music Notes Intermediate Group Classes begin next week! 5:30pm Fine Arts Building. Class will be every sixth week or so for the rest of the school year. The full schedule for the year will be posted the following week.   A Few Notable Dates: November 23: Orson’s Suzuki Book 1 Recital, 6:30pm. November 26-30: No Regularly Schedule Lessons—Thanksgiving Holiday November 26: Makeup Lessons—by appointment only. November 30-December 12: RCM Examinations   The newest swap list for FaithSlaker Music students has been posted on my website. Former Sherwood students have been integrated. Ask me in lesson for the password! The swap list will be updated whenever there are changes, so it is best to look at the newest version whenever you need to use it! (Only students who are on the swap list may use the swap list.) Orson playing Christmas Day Secrets for his Book 1 Graduation Approval! (He was approved, by the way!) My student Sebastian came to visit from Mexico for two weeks. he and Diego worked on this duet together, which was inspiring and a lot of fun! For those of you who have been practicing the "StandUp/SitDown Game" for harmony, here is a clip that you can practice along with from group class! We're all content in the new studio at the Fine Arts Building. I'm glad to have you with me and I'm looking forward to accomplishing so much together! Book 1 Group Class learning how a piano works inside! Look! Toby found all the Cs on the piano! Declan gigging at a fundraising function. Way to go! MY NOVEMBER RECOMMENDATIONS   ARTICLE/BOOK:  Outsmart Your Smartphone: a fun, lighthearted book that offers advice, games, and exercises to help any family have a balanced relationship with technology.   PRACTICE HELP: A Suzuki Practicing Notebook prepared for you! For those of you who would love a system set up for your success in lessons, check out Lesson Compass! Here is a practice chart too that your child might find motivational!   CONCERTS: Harry Potter Goblet of Fire--CSO concert, Friday, November 29, 7:30pm   Ready to Upgrade? Or do you have materials to donate? New students are always looking for footstools that your child may have outgrown. If you're no longer using it, let's pass it along! Footstools, pianos, keyboards, extra Suzuki books, CDs, Practice-help books, etc! Thanks for sharing and adding to our community!

Mindfully Musical

MINDFULLY MUSICAL: HOW MUSIC LESSONS CAN HELP CURE OUR MODERN-DAY ANXIETIES, DISTRACTIONS, AND OTHER FIRST-WORLD MALADIES.

In today’s age of social media and cell phone addiction, when community is shaped by your Facebook feed, and a time when kids and adults alike are experiencing an inability to be alone brought about by technology, how could you expect someone to tolerate sitting down at an instrument every day? To tolerate spending time alone every day? To feel proud having devoted an entire hour to a passage of music when there are texts to answer, instagrams to post, and your teachers and bosses expect to be able to reach you at all times?

So many chronic mental health issues in today’s society can be addressed in music lessons. We all know that music study improves self-esteem, teaches overcoming obstacles and setting goals, and brings respect and a loosening of ego into daily life. Here is how you can focus that power to make a more lasting impact.

To have your students participate in the research, please have them fill out the following survey. Survey: The Perks of Studying Music.

To participate in an online and ongoing happiness survey yourself, go to https://www.trackyourhappiness.org/

SUGGESTED READING

Barron, Carrie & Alton. The Creativity Cure. Scribner:NY, 2012.
Burkeman, Oliver. The Antidote. Faber & Faber: NY, 2012.
Cognitive Neuroscience of Music, The. Peretz, I & Zatorre, R (ed), Oxford U Press, Y, 2003.
Coyle, Daniel. The Talent Code. Bantam Books: New York, 2009.
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow. HarperCollins: New York, 1990.
Davis, et al. An Introduction to Music Therapy. McGraw Hill, 1999.
Davis, Tchiki. Outsmart Your Smartphone. New Harbinger Publications, 2019.
Duke, Robert. Intelligent Music Teaching. Learning and Behavior Resources: TX, 2005.
Dweck, Carol S, PhD. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Ballantine Books: NY 2006.
Goleman, Daniel. Focus. Harper Collins, NY, 2013.
Gunatillake, Rohan. Modern Mindfulness. St. Martin's Griffin: New York, 2017.
How to Memorize Music. James Francis Cooke. Theodore Presser Co.: Philadelphia, 1948.
Levitin, Daniel. The Organized Mind. Dutton: NY, 2014.
Levitin, Daniel. This is your brain on music. Dutton: NY, 2006.
Miles, Elizabeth. Tune Your Brain: Using Music to Manage Your Mind, Body and Mind. Berkley Books: NY, 1997.
Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology, The. Hallam, Cross & Thaut, eds. Oxford U. Press: Oxford, 2009.
Suzuki, S. Ability Development from Age Zero. Alfred Publishing, New York: 1981.
Suzuki, S. Nurtured By Love. Alfred Pub., USA, 1983.
The Child as Musician; A Handbook of Musical Development. Gary McPherson. Oxford U. Press, NY, 2003.


ARTICLES, WEBSITES, AND LINKS:


Benefits of Music Education https://www.slps.org/site/default.aspx?DomainID=2046
Benefits of Playing the Piano: https://ogdenpianogallery.com/the-benefits-of-learning-to-play-the-piano/
Could Playing Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker improve kids’ brains? https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141223132546.htm
Creativity, happiness, and your own two hands https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-creativity-cure/201205/creativity-happiness-and-your-own-two-hands
Decline of Play and the Rise of Children’s Mental Disorders https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/201001/the-decline-play-and-rise-in-childrens-mental-disorders
"Develop Grit" Esther Fellows. American Music Teacher. Feb/Mar 2019.
Handiwork: How busy hands can alter our brain chemistry https://www.cbsnews.com/news/handiwork-how-busy-hands-can-alter-our-brain-chemistry/
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2019/03/14/703170892/a-rise-in-depression-among-teens-and-young-adults-could-be-linked-to-social-medi?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20190314
Happiness Games: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/click-here-happiness/201711/ten-plus-happiness-games-and-activities
Happiness Skills Workbook: https://www.berkeleywellbeing.com/store/p13/Happiness-Skills-eWorkbook.html
How Music Could Improve Language Skills https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141223132546.htm
How negative is your mental chatter? https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sapient-nature/201310/how-negative-is-your-mental-chatter
Music Lessons Improve Children’s Cognitive Skills and Academic Performance https://neurosciencenews.com/music-cognition-academics-8689/
Smartphones causing kids to experience altered childhood https://www.healthline.com/health-news/smart-phones-causing-kids-to-experience-altered-childhoods#2
Teaching Lessons for Children with Special Needs: https://nafme.org/teaching-lessons-children-special-needs/
Working with your hands—the secret to happiness? https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/may/08/working-hands-happiness-burkeman

It's Back to School!

"Creativity will be the currency of the 21st century." 

– Gerald Gordon

September Music Notes

• For All Saturday Students: Starting THIS WEEK (Saturday, September 21) we will be in the Fine Arts Building at 410 South Michigan Avenue, Studio 727. I have arranged to be there for the rest of September. We are trying it out, so please let me know what you think!
  
• For those of you who need an adjustable piano bench at home, there is a large order being placed through the Music Institute of Chicago which drastically decreases the cost of these benches ($315 instead of $599). All order forms need to be in by the end of the month. Please let me know if you're interested!
  
• The swap list for FaithSlaker Music students has been posted on my website. Ask me in lesson for the password!
  
• The Grand Avenue Bridge is going to be closed until the 27th of September. If you rely on that route to my studio, please make other plans!

You guys need to send me some new videos! I've had to resort to machines! Here is a mixed instrument player piano at House on the Rock.

Although they're not that bad.......

And here is Toby, back from the summer and trying out Variation A. Remember when Variation A was new???

MY SEPTEMBER RECOMMENDATIONS

• ARTICLE AND BOOK: 
  The Benefits of Piano Practice Article
  Beyond the Music Lesson - a great guide for practice help that makes sense for your family!
• PRACTICE HELP:
  A Suzuki Practicing Notebook prepared for you! For those of you who would love a system set up for your success in lessons, check out Lesson Compass!
• LISTENING:
  For the pet owners: here is a dog enjoying the family piano when he's alone.
• FREE CONCERTS:
  Harry Potter Goblet of Fire--CSO concert, Friday, November 29, 7:30pm
  Casablanca--CSO concert, Friday, March, 13, 7:30pm.
  Jurassic Park--CSO concert, Friday, May 15, 7:30pm.

Ready to Upgrade? Or do you have materials to donate? New students are always looking for footstools that your child may have outgrown. If you're no longer using it, let's pass it along! Footstools, pianos, keyboards, extra Suzuki books, CDs, Practice-help books, etc! Thanks for sharing and adding to our community!

July Notes and Updates as we get set for the fall term!

"Education in music is most sovereign because more than anything else rhythm and harmony find their way to the innermost soul and take strongest hold upon it."  ~ Plato 

July Music Notes

• Fall Scheduling is upon us! If you have participated in two public events and have taken summer lessons, you may register for lessons starting July 15th!
  
  Please fill out the following form if you study with me at home: FSM Registration Form.
  Please fill out the following form if you study with me at Sherwood: Fall Scheduling Form.
• Everyone has been invited to choose a movie or a song from a movie to start working on in lessons. We're going to do a Music in the Movies Recital this fall, projecting images from your child's favorite movie on a screen behind the piano to accompany each performance. Fun! Make sure you know what your child is planning on playing and keep an ear out for it during home practice!
• Please remember--No cell phones in lessons. I have been finding it very distracting and want to be able to give your child my full attention. Thank you so much!
• If you're on Facebook, please follow FaithSlakerMusic for weekly updates as well as articles on parenting, music education, and events around Chicago!

Ms. Aubrey Book 2 Graduation Performance, 1986!
Some of you might find this fun. This is me at age seven graduating from Suzuki Book 2. I was not required to play the entire book, so you'll hear two Bach Minuets and the Beethoven Sonatina.

Rosie's First Piano Lesson!
Orson's little sister was so well behaved during Orson's time with me that she finally got her very own piano lesson! They're rarely too young!

 Sasha and Stefan participated in the Chicago Suzuki Institute over the summer! Well done!

It's official! I'm a Suzuki Piano Teacher Trainer! The Chicago Suzuki Institute was my last step. I studied with Annette Lee, Caroline Fraser and Fay Adams and celebrated with the newest Suzuki Cello Teacher Trainer, Andrea Espinzo from Argentina. Here is also my first class of new Suzuki teachers that I helped train! If you know of anyone looking for Suzuki training, send them my way! I'm so eager to get started!

*****************************************************************************

MY JULY RECOMMENDATIONS

• VIDEO AND BOOK: 
  Growth Mindset Video a& book Mindset by Carol Dweck
• PRACTICE HELP:
  A Suzuki Practicing Notebook prepared for you! For those of you who would love a system set up for your success in lessons, check out Lesson Compass!
• LISTENING:
  For those of you who enjoyed the Gershwin at Millennium Park last week, here is a Spotify playlist of more of Gershwin's music: Gershwin Playlist
• FREE CONCERTS:
  Ravel's Mother Goose Suite--Millennium Park, Wed, 7/17, 6:30pm
  Beethoven 3rd Piano Concerto--Millennium Park, Fri 7/19 6:30/Sat 7/20 7:30pm
  Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake--Millennium Park, Wed, 7/24, 6:30pm
  Copeland Rodeo--Millennium Park, Wed July 31, 6:30pm

June is Finally Spring and other Exciting Updates!

June Music Notes I hope everyone is having a great summer so far! School is just about over, the sun is JUST about to come out, and we have some fun stuff to work on together! Please at least skim this e-mail as many of the questions I get every day in lessons and via text are answered here and on my website: www.faithslakermusic.com.   First of all--a BIG congratulations to Adara, Vivian, and Carrie for their recent high scores in the Royal Conservatory Assessment Program! Congratulations also to Vivian for her Third Place in the Illinois Music Association Competition. Well done, Pianists!!!!   My altered summer schedule begins Monday, June 24th. That's coming up! Let's talk if you have travel plans you haven't let me know about or conflicts coming up!   Please remember--No cell phones in lessons. I have been finding it very distracting and want to be able to give your child my full attention. Thank you so much!   If you're on Facebook, please follow FaithSlakerMusic for weekly updates as well as articles on parenting, music education, and events around Chicago!

Summer Studio Recital! Click here for the full video of the entire recital. Everyone played beautifully and I'm so delighted to be able to share it with you!

The Last Book 1A Group Class of the School Year! Pictured: Viviene, Vincent, Amy

Kabir gave a wonderfully musical performance last weekend and graduated from Suzuki Book 2. We're already excited to be working on new material and if you click here, you can see a video of his encore piece - Knight's Tale.

With summer just around the corner, and many of you having fun summer travel plans, I'd LOVE to see pictures of pianos around the world that you've been able to play! You can find them in hotels, in malls, in restaurants, and even on the streets! Keep your eyes open and make it a habit to play every piano you see! Send me pictures, or post them to the FaithSlaker Music Facebook page!   During the summer I am available for lessons more than once a week if you are interested in taking advantage of the time your child will have not being in school. Let me know and I'll put you guys on my list of students to contact when I have an opening!   Also, for those of you who haven't been regularly attending lessons, we're all working on a "Music in the Movies" recital for the fall term. Every student is looking to the movies to find inspiration. We're choosing pieces in the next week or so and we'll be working diligently all summer on these! This fall, everyone will play their movie music with images from their movie projected on screen behind the piano. I'm super exited!

UPCOMING FESTIVALS   ISMTA Competition:      This one happens in October, so it is something to think on over the summer.      For more information: https://ismta.org/ismtacompetitions      I'd love to have my students participate. This is a newer one for me.      It is open to all intermediate and above level students.

UPCOMING CALENDAR DATES   June 24th: Summer Schedule begins June 29-July 7: Chicago Suzuki Institute: No Lessons July 15: Fall Deposits and Fall Schedule Requests Due August 19-September 2: No Lessons. Summer Break!   For more Calendar Dates, please see my website: www.faithslakermusic.com

Suzuki Therapy

Suzuki Therapy: How music lessons can help cure our modern-day anxieties, distractions, and other first-world maladies.

In today’s age of social media and cell phone addiction, when community is shaped by your Facebook feed, and a time when kids and adults alike are experiencing an inability to be alone brought about by technology, how could you expect someone to tolerate sitting down at an instrument every day? To tolerate spending time alone every day? To feel proud having devoted an entire hour to a passage of music when there are texts to answer, instagrams to post, and your teachers and bosses expect to be able to reach you at all times?

So many chronic mental health issues in today’s society can be addressed in music lessons. We all know that music study improves self-esteem, it teaches overcoming obstacles and setting goals, and it brings respect and a loosening of ego into daily life. This is how you can focus that power to make a more lasting impact.

To have your students participate in the research, please have them fill out the following survey. Survey: The Perks of Studying Music.

To participate in an online and ongoing happiness survey yourself, go to https://www.trackyourhappiness.org/

Suggested Reading

Barron, Carrie & Alton. The Creativity Cure. Scribner:NY, 2012.

Burkeman, Oliver. The Antidote. Faber & Faber: NY, 2012.

Cognitive Neuroscience of Music, The. Peretz, I & Zatorre, R (ed), Oxford U Press, Y, 2003.

Coyle, Daniel. The Talent Code. Bantam Books: New York, 2009.

Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow. HarperCollins: New York, 1990.

Davis, et al. An Introduction to Music Therapy. McGraw Hill, 1999.

Duke, Robert. Intelligent Music Teaching. Learning and Behavior Resources: TX, 2005.

Dweck, Carol S, PhD. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Ballantine Books: NY 2006.

Goleman, Daniel. Focus. Harper Collins, NY, 2013.

Gunatillake, Rohan. Modern Mindfulness. St. Martin's Griffin: New York, 2017.

How to Memorize Music. James Francis Cooke. Theodore Presser Co.: Philadelphia, 1948.

Levitin, Daniel. The Organized Mind. Dutton: NY, 2014.

Levitin, Daniel. This is your brain on music. Dutton: NY, 2006.

Miles, Elizabeth. Tune Your Brain: Using Music to Manage Your Mind, Body and Mind. Berkley Books: NY, 1997.

Oxford Handbook of Music Psychology, The. Hallam, Cross & Thaut, eds. Oxford U. Press: Oxford, 2009.

Suzuki, S. Ability Development from Age Zero. Alfred Publishing, New York: 1981.

Suzuki, S. Nurtured By Love. Alfred Pub., USA, 1983.

The Child as Musician; A Handbook of Musical Development. Gary McPherson. Oxford U. Press, NY, 2003.

Articles, Websites, and Links:

Teaching Lessons for Children with Special Needs
https://nafme.org/teaching-lessons-children-special-needs/

The Benefits of Playing the Piano
https://ogdenpianogallery.com/the-benefits-of-learning-to-play-the-piano/

Could Playing Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker improve kids’ brains? https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141223132546.htm

How Music Could Improve Language Skills https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141223132546.htm

Music Lessons Improve Children’s Cognitive Skills and Academic Performance https://neurosciencenews.com/music-cognition-academics-8689/

Benefits of Music Education
https://www.slps.org/site/default.aspx?DomainID=2046

The Decline of Play and the Rise of Children’s Mental Disorders https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/freedom-learn/201001/the-decline-play-and-rise-in-childrens-mental-disorders

"Develop Grit" Esther Fellows. American Music Teacher. Feb/Mar 2019.

Smartphones causing kids to experience altered childhood
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/smart-phones-causing-kids-to-experience-altered-childhoods#2

How negative is your mental chatter?
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/sapient-nature/201310/how-negative-is-your-mental-chatter

Working with your hands—the secret to happiness? https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/may/08/working-hands-happiness-burkeman

Creativity, happiness, and your own two hands
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-creativity-cure/201205/creativity-happiness-and-your-own-two-hands

Handiwork: How busy hands can alter our brain chemistry https://www.cbsnews.com/news/handiwork-how-busy-hands-can-alter-our-brain-chemistry/