Winter-Going-On-Summer Updates! 2020

"Overnight successes are generally years in the making. And most progress is made in isolation, far from the public eye." –Andrew Yang

Dear Students and Parents of Students, I'm so proud of you for the work you've done in the past seven weeks of online lessons! I'm seeing some wonderful progress and I can't wait for you to all show it off in person! In this newsletter, I want to talk to you a bit about how we'll reintroduce in-person lessons and when that may happen. I also want to discuss options that make online learning a bit easier, some mental health ideas, and announce some exciting events! Please note that I'm currently considering opening my studio up for in-person lessons on May 26th (see below) as long as everyone feels safe. I will be teaching eleven weeks during the summer session (10 weeks for MIC students), which begins June 1st. Please let me know if you have any travel planned (assuming the world reopens sometime soon!). I hope everyone is doing well this week. Summer MUST be right around the corner! Right??? - Aubrey

Studio Opening Policies: Since live-school is canceled for the rest of the year, I'm going to be closely monitoring what the Mayor and Governor advise. However, I'm proposing going back to in-person lessons starting May 26th with the following conditions: Lessons will be drop-off only for all students that are capable of taking a lesson without a parent.  Only one child and one parent will be admitted at a time. Lessons will end a few minutes early to provide time for cleaning of: piano keys, doorknobs, faucets and handles, stair banisters, piano bench and observer chair. I might have to do my Saturday lessons at home until the Fine Arts Building is open again to the general public. I will provide hand sanitizer at the door and at the piano. I will provide paper towels instead of cloth towels in the bathroom. Masks must be worn and/or available for use for everyone's comfort. In order for everyone to feel comfortable, since many of us have high-risk family members we are trying to protect, this is only an option if the following conditions are met: Families have been observing the "stay at home" order. There has been no travel outside the state. Nobody is sick in the household. Nobody in the household has been in contact with the general public. Virtual lessons will remain an option for those that want them. And if anyone is showing any signs of sickness, please take advantage of this option! We have to work together to keep everyone safe and I welcome your input to the above ideas as we move forward to being able to work together in person again!

Quarantine Piano Highlights

Click the image to be taken to Facebook to see Declan's Suzuki Book 4 Graduation recital! We streamed it live on Monday, May 4th at 7pm!

Vincent had a challenge for school that he shares with us here! Way to go!

Here's a fun video of me and Dayton playing Minuet 2 together. He's just learned the theme, and the sound quality isn't great, but it was momentous and we captured it, so I thought I'd share!

Annie did the Spring Break Quarantine Challenge beautifully! She is playing Honeybee along with my recorded duet. Excellent job!

ITEMS OF NOTE All Zoom Mini-Recitals and Full-Length graduation recitals will be streamed live on Facebook. Please follow FaithSlaker Music on Facebook, or join our private studio page here. Has anyone received their magnetic staff board yet? Anybody in Suzuki Book 1A, 1B or 2 Group classes should purchase one (the red one) so we can do some great note reading activities with them! Let me know if you have any questions! Anyone participating in the Royal Conservatory Assessments might want to try out their ear-training online! It is $5 for a month, which is really all you need as we approach the exams. I strongly recommend this! Stay tuned for Anthony's Book 1 Graduation Recital and Diego's Book 3 Graduation Recital! Next Mini-Recitals will be the week of May 18th. Let's choose recital pieces next week!

Musical Challenge Links:   For anyone who wants to participate in the quarantine challenge, the following are links to play along with. If you can listen on one device and play with me, you can record on another and send me the video! (That's why it's called a challenge!)   Black Note Improv: https://youtu.be/mFNFj2vdC2I White Note Improv:  https://youtu.be/a0l3trkHkGQ Honeybee Duet:  https://youtu.be/gg3clkkekdQ Go Tell Aunt Rhody Duet:  https://youtu.be/izzWses7zRs Little Playmates Duet: https://youtu.be/jtBIk5oyUgo Goodbye to Winter Duet:  https://youtu.be/a4z2oZRUbiU Clementi Op. 36, No. 1, Movement 3 Duet: https://youtu.be/EahbyDbjjRc

February Updates and Events, 2020

"If a child hears fine music from the day of his birth, and learns to play it himself, he develops sensitivity, discipline and endurance. He gets a beautiful heart." –Shinichi Suzuki February Music Notes CONGRATULATIONS to the winners in the Sonata Sonatina Festival this past month! Adara won a gold medal! Declan, Diego and Vivian all received bronze medals. I'm so proud of everyone.   A Few Notable Dates: February 21: All-Student Studio Recital! PianoForte, 6:30pm. Performers--please be there at 6:10pm! February 22: Intermediate Level Group Class. 5:30pm, Fine Arts Building. March 1: Tuition Due March 17: No Lessons. Election Day. April 6-11: Spring Break. No lessons. (For a more complete list of calendar dates, please see faithslakermusic.com.) For those of you who study with me in my home studio, please do not knock or ring the doorbell before your lesson time! Dayton'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! Rosie and Derek are READY! I can't wait to show you more from the studio's newest pianists! I was in Peru earlier this month. I appreciate everyone taking the week off while I taught at the Suzuki Festival there! It was tough and I was so glad to see everyone when I came home! (But, it wasn't all bad, as you can see from the view and the food.) Dayton got a new piano! What a huge event! (He got his piano at PianoForte, which is where we're having the recital this week. Feel free to take a moment and check out their showroom before or after the recital!) Here is Kabir, inspiring shoppers with his beautiful playing. It looks like Clementi. Well done! MY DECEMBER RECOMMENDATIONS   ARTICLE/BOOK:  Teaching Growth Mindset in Suzuki Education. If you happen across the most recent Suzuki Journal (48.1), I recomend my article!!! :)   PRACTICE HELP: Parents as Partners , a collection of short videos by Suzuki parents, teachers, and musicians. I think these clips are great and range across all topics, so I'm sure there is something there for you! I've been enjoying it immensely. Ask me about how you can access them in you next lesson!   CONCERTS: Jack and the Beanstalk: Saturday, March 7, CSO Casablanca in Concert: Friday, March 13th. Music played by the symphony orchestra in front of the projected movie. 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! FaithSlaker Music, 2018. aubrey@faithslakermusic.com 847/800-3502 Hours: M-Sat 9am - 9pm

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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