The middle of March is here already and Spring Break is just around the corner for our students. It’s exciting to see the days getting longer…now if we could only see some more snow melting!
SPRING BREAK
We will continue to enjoy another week of our regularly scheduled lessons next week and then the students can enjoy a break–Spring Break. There will be NO LESSONS OR CLASSES from March 22-April 1st. I know there are some students, depending on the school they attend, who have two weeks off for Spring Break, but the studio will just be closed for the one week and Easter Monday. The week of Easter Monday there will be lessons but NOT regularly scheduled lessons. Instead we will be having our 3rd special group lesson of the year and it’s going to be a big surprise…well sort of!
SURPRISE ME DAYS–special group lessons ONLY for April 2-4th, no regular private lessons or classes
During the week following spring break we will have another special themed group lesson in lieu of regular lessons and this time the theme is Surprise Me! This is the chance for my students to do a little bit of work on their own over the break and really surprise me when our lessons resume. I will be handing out a little assignment (both in this newsletter and in class) and they will have several guided options with which to surprise me and knock my socks off at the group lessons, in return I will surprise them with a little something for their extra work. We will also be studying a little bit about the composer, Haydn, and his life and music and learning a lot about one of his symphonies known as the “Surprise Symphony”! (are you seeing a theme here). Following is a list of the days as times that you can sign up for and the special SURPRISE assignments:
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
6-7pm
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
4-5pm
5:30-6:30pm
Thursday, April 4, 2013
4-5pm
SPECIAL SURPRISE ME ASSIGNMENT:
Hey Kids, You Can Choose To…
1) Flip ahead 3 pages in your book and teach yourself to play the right hand of that entire piece.
2) Memorize a piece from your lesson or repertoire book.
3) Play one of your current pieces with all the dynamics, phrasing, articulation and expression in place… perfectly!
4) Compose an original piece or make an arrangement of a favorite popular and play it for me!
5) Flip ahead 1 page in your lesson book or repertoire book and teach yourself the first two lines hands together with exact rhythm and notes.
Have your student choose one of these 5 options and prepare it for me over the break. This will be such a great assignment for them because they will also be learning to take ownership over their own learning. They will be learning to problem solve using their skill set to teach themselves how to work through an unfamiliar musical task all with the goal of showing off their abilities.
REGISTRATION FOR 2013/2014 is APRIL 2-MAY 1
Once Spring Break is over, we will only have about 10 weeks left of lessons! We will be on the downward slope to the year end recital, and that does mean thinking about the next year already. This month, I have had close to half a dozen calls regarding available classes for next year and so over spring break I will be preparing newly updated registration forms and opening up registration for the fall. If you will be returning next year, you will need to register by MAY 1st to hold your place in the studio. This will allow me to know what it available to offer to transfer students and the MYC graduates who may be looking to continue on next year with private lessons, as well as new students. And MYC head office requires all returning MYC students to register by May 1st in order to get the early bird price, after May 1st there is an extra charge. Registration for brand new students will begin in May.