Summer is quickly coming to an end.  September is a great time to sign your child up for music lessons.  S Music Studio is starting semi-private lessons this fall,  giving young children exposure to private lessons for a fraction of the cost.  These lessons will be for 2 children and last a half hour.  Each child will have 15 minutes one-on-one time with a teacher and the other 15 minutes playing musical games on the computer.  This approach will not only produce young musician, but encourage a passion for music.  Children will have music to practice at home along with an option of subscribing to the software package that is used in class.  The at-home subscription gives the child endless hours of musical activities, songs, improvisation, ear training and much more.  

Parents, if you have been contemplating lessons for your child, try our semi-private lessons and watch your child develop a love for music.  The lessons are held at our Middletown, location.  The cost is $15 per half hour ($150.00 for 10 weeks) and an additional $21.00 for the software subscription.  To use the subscription you will need a midi-keyboard that connects to your home computer.  Guitar Center has offered to give all of my families a 15% discount on any instrument they purchase through them.  For more detail either visit my website: www.smusicstudio.com or give me a call: 302-838-5330.

Parents have asked me what instrument their child should start with when beginning lessons.  I always tell them the piano.  There are several reasons for my answer, the most important is the piano involves every aspect of the brain as the child decodes what they are seeing and then asks 10 little fingers to play what has been decoded. This process has more benefits than just learning to play an instrument.  "Children exposed to a multi-year programme of music tuition involving training in increasingly complex rhythmic, tonal, and practical skills display superior cognitive performance in reading skills compared with their non-musically trained peers, according to a study published recently in the journal Psychology of Music, published by SAGE."

Researchers continue to study musics effect on early learning and consistently come up with a correlation with academic achievement. A study was done in two elementary schools in the U.S, one had a music program the other did not.  The school that had an ongoing music program included piano as part of the program.  Piro and Ortiz set out to investigate the hypothesis that children who have received keyboard instruction as part of a music curriculum increasing in difficulty over successive years would demonstrate significantly better performance on measures of vocabulary and verbal sequencing than students who did not receive keyboard instruction.

One group studied piano formally for a period of three consecutive years as part of a comprehensive instructional intervention program.  The second group had no exposure to music lessons, either in school programs or private study. Both groups were assessed on two sub-tests from the Structure of Intellect (SOI) measure. Results revealed that the experimental group had significantly better vocabulary and verbal sequencing scores at post-test than did the control group. 

Starting a child on the piano as early as four and continuing their study throughout elementary school will produce the biggest increases.  When the child reaches the age of seven, there is evidence that there are significant spurts of brain growth and gray matter distribution around this developmental period.  Continued study on the piano will result in higher brain activity, increasing cognitive understanding.

If you are a home-school mom and you are looking for a solid piano curriculum for your family, I highly recommend Children's Music Journey Vol. 1, 2 and 3.  You do not need to be a piano teacher to use this software with your children.  With daily use you will be delighted with the results.  Adventus software makes music delivery easy.  You can check this subject off your list knowing that it is completely covered.  

For more information send me an email.  

Music At Home: Teaching music is like teaching a language, the mo...

Music At Home: Teaching music is like teaching a language, the mo...: Teaching music is like teaching a language, the more exposure a child has to it the better.  I have found that all children do not learn to ...

Teaching music is like teaching a language, the more exposure a child has to it the better.  I have found that all children do not learn to read music the same way.  If you are observant and ask questions as you teach the child will give you clues as to how they learn best.  Some children have well developed ears and are better at finding and playing the pitches on the piano then they are at reading.  Others have trouble hearing when they are playing the wrong pitches.  Some children can memorize the note sayings, Every, Good, Boy Deserves, Fudge, etc.. while others continually forget what the sayings are.

For visual learners I have discovered a colored note system to works really well.  When the student first starts they are only learning a few notes at a time which makes it easy to assign a color to each note.  I have them color all the C's, D's, etc. as they progress through their music.  In doing this they are forcing themselves to identify the note and physically color each note before playing the piece.  By the time they are done coloring and ready to play the piece they are already somewhat familiar with the patterns and timing.  With the colored music in front of them the student plays the piece with confidence, feeling good about their achievement.  Once I feel that a child has a good understanding of their notes I begin taking away colors, starting with the most familiar notes.  By the time they are part way through book 2 they are usually reading comfortably on their own.

Some children need more time, and I often find that some need a refresher as they progress.  As with anything, there are plateaus, forward and backward motion.  The most important thing is to keep the child interested and build their passion. I hope this helps as you teach your child the language of music.  For more information on my color system please contact me.

Music At Home: AHHHHHH!!!! The recital is over. We had at least ...

Music At Home: AHHHHHH!!!! The recital is over.  We had at least ...: AHHHHHH!!!! The recital is over.  We had at least 90 people here for the Sunday afternoon recital and another 65 tonight.  All the kids di...

AHHHHHH!!!! The recital is over.  We had at least 90 people here for the Sunday afternoon recital and another 65 tonight.  All the kids did a terrific job playing the guitar, piano, violin and singing.  I love seeing how much the students have advanced from one season to the next.  Times like this are the teacher's reward.  

Starting children as young as 4 is a great way to develop a passion for music in your child.  I have found that  children who begin with our software based program either in a MusIQ Club at home, not only love music but can start at a much younger age.  Before I saw the result that were achieved by using Adventus software, I used to think that students should wait until they were around 7 or 8 to take private lessons.  One reason was their attention span, and second was parents weren't willing to invest time and sit with their child during the week to practice.  After 6 months or more most really young children would get bored and want to quit lessons.  Once I was exposed to Children's Music Journey by Adventus, I knew I had finally found a tool that could be used for younger children.  It is fun, engaging and holds the children's interest while giving them a solid music foundation.  Children who normally wouldn't be able to sit still long enough to learn are playing and loving it.  

Special needs children find Children's Music Journey easy to use.

   

Music At Home: Today is recital day at S Music StudioThis is the ...

Music At Home: Today is recital day at S Music StudioThis is the ...: Today is recital day at S Music Studio This is the room where I teach and we hold our recitals RECITAL TIME!! Recitals...

Today is recital day at S Music Studio

This is the room where I teach and we hold our recitals

RECITAL TIME!!

Recitals are always fun at S Music Studio.  I turn my great room into a concert hall by adding enough seating for 50 and unfortunately the rest have to stand.  I am expecting at least 80 to 100 people today, and another 50 tomorrow night.  All the students have practiced, teachers have helped them polish their pieces and now it's  show time

I try and make recitals interesting and different from other studios.  In the past we have gone to 2 different local restaurants and did a "gig".  The kids entertained while the families enjoyed their dinner.  That was lots of fun for everyone.

This coming fall I am planning on doing a country hoe down.  My studio, which is also my home is on a farm.  Every year we do hayrides, complete with bonfire, hot dogs and s'mores for our church youth group.  For the fall recital I am going to turn my husband's flatbed trailer into a stage complete with sound system and keyboard. While everyone is eating, sitting around the fire and riding on the hay wagon, our 75 plus students can perform on the outdoor stage.  I'm getting excited just thinking about it.  I think it will be a real hit!

The horses are going to love the music!!

This is Sebastian.  He is such a sweetie!!

Music At Home: Did I happen to mention that I love dogs? I have ...

Music At Home: Did I happen to mention that I love dogs?  I have ...: Did I happen to mention that I love dogs?  I have 3 poodles that are with me every waking minute of the day.  I am convinced that many of th...

Did I happen to mention that I love dogs?  I have 3 poodles that are with me every waking minute of the day.  I am convinced that many of the students who come to my studio for lessons are here just because of my dogs.  In some cases I tell them that once they play their song well they can play with the dogs.  It usually works.

This is Benji.  He only weighs 6 1/2 lbs. and is a 'Party Poodle'.  

Buddy loves to sit on my lap and listen to my students play.

Princes is my dainty little girl who loves to have her belly rubbed.   

S Music Studio just wouldn't be the same without my dogs.  Our studio motto is "Musical Excellence, Family Atmosphere".  If you live in New Castle County we would love to have you join us.

I take my hat off to all you homeschool mom's who do everything from housework to homework and everything in between.  I say this because for 12 years I did the same thing.  You are probably working on a shoestring budget, aren't we all, and have only so many hours in your day to accomplish the education of your children.  If you are like me, you probably want to give your child the very best education that you can and expose them to everything possible to help them realize their full potential.

Here are just a few of the things I did over the years.  My oldest needed some form of activity to put in the phys. ed. category of our portfolio.  The first thing we tried was ballet, she ended up being at least a head taller than all the other kids in her class.  Next we went to the YMCA and tried out Mighty Mights Football.  I was the only mom running down the field with their child as my daughter ran full force toward the wrong goal.  Not the best fit!!  My daughter asked one day about horse back riding and I quickly told her that we couldn't afford it.  She kept asking, so we took a trip to the nearby stables to inquire about lessons.  Nervously, I did the homeschool thing and asked if we could possibly work for lessons.  Much to my surprise, the owner said yes.  My youngest was never sure how she got roped in to some of these things, but for at least a year the three of us headed off to the stable 3 days a week, to muck 30 stalls.  The smell that came off of me in the shower at the end of those mucking session almost made me faint.  The things moms do for their children!  Here we are 17 years later...we are the proud owners of a barn, 3 horses and board 2 others.  My daughter has become a horse professional and others turn to her for advice, horse training and lessons.  It was definitely worth every moment spend mucking stalls to see her continued passion for horses.

One thing I learned quickly was to surround myself with people who knew more than me in any given subject.  You may feel that way about some of the subjects that you have to expose your children to.  Don't let your lack of knowledge hold you back.  Trade off your expertise with another mother who is good in an area you are weak in.  Co-op and give your children exposure to other moms and their teaching style and the big "S" word, socialization.  Your music program can be done the same way.  Let Adventus software be your foundation and then set up a co-op and do fun musical activities together.  By taking your children through the software you can be sure that everything is covered, leaving time for musical games, singing and movement.

Children's Music Journey Overview    When I was homeschooling my daughters I went searching for materials to use to teach them music.  Music is more than just learning an instrument, it involved, theory, ear training, note reading, music history and much more.  I spent money through the years on the latest thing that came out, but never found a program that could teach everything that my girls needed to know.  I needed the software that Adventus makes, which takes children from the age of 4 through graduation and gives them a comprehensive music program.  Children's Music Journey by Adventus, comes in 3 volumes with 25 lessons in each.  Each lesson is taught by a famous composer and it is really rewarding when children tell us that their teacher is Mr. Bach or Mr. Joplin.  Parents, the exciting news for you is that you can guide your child through their lessons when you sign up for the home subscription.  You will be sent a teacher's guide which gives you additional games and songs to complete your music program.  This would have been worth far more than Adventus charges in the time it would have saved me and the results I would have had.  This is coming from a music teacher, studio owner!  Let me know if you would like to give it a try.  Guitar Center is working with me to give parents an extra discount on pianos that can be connected to your computer (midi keyboards).  I've done all the research and leg work, you can relax and know that your child is getting the best.

MusIQ Connect: This young lady attends one of our local Boys and ...

MusIQ Connect: This young lady attends one of our local Boys and ...: This young lady attends one of our local Boys and Girls Clubs.  My teachers take  mobile labs (6 laptops and 6 keyboards) to different loc...

MusIQ Connect: Adventus has created a unique approach to learning...

MusIQ Connect: Adventus has created a unique approach to learning...: Adventus has created a unique approach to learning the language of music.  This program is call MusIQ Connect.  Computer stations with thi...

MusIQ Connect: As a former home-school mom, I understand the chal...

MusIQ Connect: As a former home-school mom, I understand the chal...: As a former home-school mom, I understand the challenges the many of you face.  You want to introduce your children to music at a young ag...

This young lady attends one of our local Boys and Girls Clubs.  My teachers take  mobile labs (6 laptops and 6 keyboards) to different locations throughout the week and teach children how to play the piano.  We introduced this center to our program last summer and they loved it so much we were asked to go to all the centers in Delaware.  In a typical class we would divide the kids into two groups.  One group would do a lesson on the lab while the other group works with the teacher on what we call "floor activities".  These activities vary from teacher to teacher, but include playing colored hand bells, working with Boomwhackers, singing and playing musical games.  As the year progresses and the students become more advanced, the teacher can work with them as an ensemble.  The teacher can turn each student's keyboards into a different instruments.  Each child is assigned a musical part and with the teachers help learns to play together.  This is such a rewarding experience for the students.  

Adventus has created a unique approach to learning the language of music.  This program is call MusIQ Connect.  Computer stations with this award winning software are used in a classroom setting so that children can learn at their own pace.  The key to the success of this program is the home subscription.  To learn to play an instrument proficiently there must be daily practice.  This sounds good in theory but getting children to do it is another story.  Using traditional methods parents would have to sit with their child when starting them at 4 years old and help them as they practice.  With a software approach you only need to teach your child how to work the mouse and find Middle C on the keyboard.  I make that easy by placing a sticker on Middle C and most children that age know more about the computer then I do!  The software does the teaching and totally engages the children in the process.  If children aren't enjoying themselves they will not want to continue learning.  Learning music the Adventus way is so much fun.  I wish these programs were around when I was home-schooling my girls.  I would be happy to give you more information if you send me an email.

As a former home-school mom, I understand the challenges that many of you face.  You want to introduce your children to music at a young age, but what is the best approach?  I have been teaching children both privately and in group situations for many years and I would like to suggest a software based program from Adventus.  Adventus has created 7 software programs that teach children ages 4 through adult how to play the piano.  The exciting thing is that you can get all 7 software programs as a monthly subscription.  There is a program for everyone.  Each child logs in under their name and the program saves their information.  Lessons are taught by famous composers, reinforced by Miss Melody and then the child is encouraged to try out the many games that support their learning.  There is a room where the child improvises their own music and can record what they are playing.

Daily music lessons can be delivered through the computer, knowing that your child is getting a comprehensive music education.  The program can take 7 years to complete and is full of enough lessons, music theory, ear training and songs to keep your family learning for a long time.  By subscribing to my blog you can get the subscription for just $10.95 per month.  Along with your monthly subscription you will receive 1 free lesson guide (a $20.00 value) that will help you get the most out of the software.  You will need a midi-keyboard that you will connect to you home computer.  Guitar Center is giving my families a 15% discount off all of their keyboards.  Guitar Center will ship the keyboard to your home and you will be ready to start your musical journey.

Feel free to contact me if you would like more information.