By Anthony Mazzocchi

Article originally posted on The Music Parents’ Guide
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How many times have we heard from adults that they wish their parents didn’t allow them to quit their musical instrument when they were younger?
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There comes a time in a large percentage of music students’ lives when they want to quit their instrument — and more often than not, parents allow them to do it. But is the child quitting . . . or is the parent?

I remember wanting to quit the trombone when I was in middle school. Honestly, it’s hard to remember why. It could have been peer pressure, boredom, or something else — but I had my mind made up. I shudder to think of what my life would be like now if my mother had decided to quit as well and give in to my pleas.

Ultimately, it is important to understand that when it comes to music education and other transformative activities that require some grit in order to succeed, most children go through a period of time where they must succeed despite themselves. They must be encouraged and supported through the tough times, not given a pass. It is only at a certain point that children — and parents — can make an informed decision to quit their musical instrument, and that point is usually much later, not sooner, than one may think.

Here are a few ways that parents are the ones that quit music instruction, and some thoughts on overcoming the tough times with our children that are bound to occur:

http://www.smartmusic.com/blog/top-5-tips-for-first-year-music-students/

Being a part of a student’s first year of music instruction is equal parts awesome responsibility and constant inspiration. Based on our combined experience, here are our top tips for making the year as rewarding as possible – for your students as well as yourself!

1. Expectations
The beginning determines the end and what you expect is what you will get from your students. Young students are capable of a very high level of performance and professionalism if they are taught explicitly how to demonstrate these characteristics. A high level of expectations must be consistently tied to the development of a process, grit and work ethic. Not only must every student (and teacher) believe they can achieve a high level of success but they must understand and believe that they can also work hard enough to make it happen when something is new or tricky.

2. Routines
Explain and show students how you expect every classroom routine to be executed. Model the correct way to perform even the most mundane tasks; opening cases, how to hold the instrument when carrying it, resting position for instruments while playing, etc. Have students demonstrate the correct way to perform routines until they are performed without reminders. When they slip or forget, go back to square one.

Consistently holding students to the daily routines and the behavior expectations you establish can be exhausting and sometimes frustrating but it is critical in training students in the correct way to be a musician and part of your ensemble.

3. Playing Position, Hand Positions and Embouchure
Correct posture, body position, hand position and embouchure are non-negotiable. There is one way to do things: the right way. Clearly teachers have differences in tips and tricks they use for these concepts but a student will not exceed the standard that a teacher sets. Model these concepts with your own set of instruments. Even if you are not strong on every secondary instrument a beginning band teacher should be capable of modeling the correct position, embouchure and tone on each instrument. If you cannot, then it is time to get busy and improve.

Modeling and playing along with students every day provides them with an exemplary model and builds their concept of skill and tone. When students become fatigued or resistant, explain the analogy of a sports trainer or coach. A trainer will push an athlete to do more work and reps than they would do alone. A coach will repeat a drill or skill until it is part of muscle memory and a skill set. You are their coach and trainer. Most young students have been on an athletic team and will understand this immediately.

4. Music Reading
After spending a considerable amount of time doing call-and-response exercises to establish tone production, articulation, rhythm and pulse, introduce music reading. We give students approximately 15 hours of instruction before we begin reading music.

Once it is time to start reading use a large screen or whiteboard to project music. When students begin to read music the majority of confusion comes from not knowing how to track across the music at the correct rate. Showing the students music symbols in one place on the board and making sure that each child is looking at the correct place in the music makes the process move quickly.

After spending several hours of instruction using a screen for their music we begin to use music books on their stands and we refer back and forth between the two sources. If students are having difficulty with the material we will direct them to look at the screen to review the note types, names, fingerings, etc. and will play several times before they return to looking at their books or music.

We also rehearse each piece or exercise in very small chunks, often measure by measure. If a measure does not sound good, DO NOT MOVE ON, repeat until students reach your set level of mastery. This will make putting together the entire piece/exercise much easier.

5. Quality Literature
​Keep things simple. Literature selections should provide a beautiful melody or tune, give every instrument fairly equal playing opportunities, and enable you to teach the characteristics of musicianship and ensemble. Set aside the “cool” pieces until students are technically and developmentally ready. The stress of chasing notes and rhythms sucks the fun and excitement out of performances for kids and teachers. The Queenwood “Red Book” series is one example that meets all of these requirements, is well crafted, and provides ample selections in a variety of genres and styles. Develop a set of core repertoire that you can rotate and know will work well with your first year students.

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Hopefully your child will begin a musical instrument through their school music program.  If so, when they bring home their instrument for the first time, it is more than just an exciting day…

...It is an opportunity...

…Perhaps one of the greatest opportunities in your child’s life thus far.

Web-based tools continue to proliferate, giving teachers more to add to their arsenal, but it can be hard to determine which resources are worth spending time exploring. At the International Society of  Technology in Education (ISTE) conference this year, Adam Bellow, founder of EduClipper, and Steve Dembo, Online Community Manager for Discovery Education offered a quick run through of some favorite apps. The two educators are early adopters of ed-tech classroom strategies and have a lot of experience with tech integration.