It's the Most Wonderful Time...for Music!

What a wonderful time for music…of course, what time is not wonderful when there’s music to share?! This is the time of year that we begin to think about music for the holiday season. We will begin practicing our holiday “songs” in October for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Each student is encouraged to think about the holiday songs he/she would like to play and possibly perform for family, friends, and in the community. Finding the right arrangement and ability level for each student will make learning more enjoyable for everyone. Check out your church hymnal or go online and search “free hymns” to get some ideas. Hoping we will all have our selections by the end of September and can have a great time learning some selections that will bless our hearts and the hearts of others…

 

All students are doing a great job with practicing, and some of you have entered quite a few practice strips in the monthly drawing. It will be exciting to see who wins “Student of the Month” for September! Thank you for coming prepared and doing your best. A favorite hymn of mine is “Give of Your Best to the Master.”

 

Each student is in my prayers! May God give you strength, courage, perseverance, motivation, and discipline to bring glory to Him!

 

 

Bonus Question for the Week:

 

Who wrote the hymn, “Give of Your Best to the Master?”

Bring some information about the author and receive an extra entry in the monthly “Student of the Month” drawing.

Music: More Than Meets the Ear

What an exciting week at Chrysalis Piano Studio! It’s great to see all the students coming prepared and even better to hear the beautiful music that they are playing!

 But, did you know that there may be more benefits to playing piano than the amazing music students make?

 Several research studies confirm that playing a musical instrument has been definitively shown to improve test scores. Several longitudinal studies support this. Dr. James Catterall of UCLA led a 10-year study which involved 25,000 students which showed that music-making students not only performed better on standardized tests but also in reading proficiency exams. Likewise, high school students involved in music score higher on both the verbal and math portions of the SAT when compared to their “non-musical” peers (College Board Test Scores). Music students receive more academic honors and more A’s and B’s as grades than do their non-musical peers (U.S. Department of Education).

 According to Dr. Brenda Hanna-Pladdy, a neurologist at Emory University School of Medicine, “learning to play an instrument requires years of practice and learning” which is believed to create neurological connections in the brain which help compensate for the decline in cognition as people age.

 Other benefits of learning to play and understand music include the proportional math involved in music that is required for higher level math computation. Music has also been shown to enhance spatial thinking. It goes without saying that the discipline that is involved to learn to read and play music is beneficial to overall academic achievement.

 WOW! How exciting for all music students everywhere!

 Keep up the incredible work that you are doing at Chrysalis Piano Studio.

About the Studio

No one is ever too young or too old to learn to play joyful music on the piano. All ages and ability levels are welcome to come experience a complimentary lesson!

The focus at Chrysalis Piano Studio is foundational preparation in beginning and intermediate piano. As the instructor, I have a love for young children and a desire to guide them toward joyful but disciplined piano instruction. Having received the blessing of being taught by gifted instructors for 12 years, I am excited to teach those who have a love for transforming the music within themselves.

I lose track of time when I am teaching, but each lesson is scheduled to provide rich one-on-one instruction, and to openly communicate and guide parents to encourage a regular practice regimen at home. And, what a special time when students play a song on the piano for their parents at the conclusion of each lesson.

Looking forward to the next lesson...!!!