Music Authority Family Newsletter for October 8, 2019

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Music Authority Family Newsletter - October 8, 2019 The Practice Problem, ESP EC Guitars, Meet the Instructor: AJ Hirsch, Fright Festival The Practice Problem The number one complain when a parent starts considering dropping a student from lessons is almost always practice.  "My child won't practice unless I badger them." Usually, once we begin a conversation about practicing, I hear this: "Thirty minutes is just such a long time to get them to focus." That's right, in today's world, thirty minutes is a lifetime to young students. Consider this: an average YouTube video is a little over four minutes.  That's seven YouTube videos in thirty minutes. When I was young, expecting thirty minutes of practice at one time was normal.  But, I'm not that young any more and a lot has changed in what we know about education.  Our lifestyles are different.  Our attention span has changed. Instead of a thirty minute practice time, research now shows that "playing" (instead of practicing) more frequently for shorter periods of time will garner faster results.  It gives muscles less time to "forget" the new skill and the brain more frequent reminders of material. The sweet spot for practice is the same number of minutes as your students age.  Yes, if your young pianist is five, about five minutes is how long they should practice - twice each day.  If you can get your child to sit at their instrument once in the morning and once in the evening (or once after school and once before bed if you have an early bus), you will see better progress than if you force thirty minutes after school. To most of us, finding five, ten, or twelve minutes to sit down with our children is much more manageable than a full thirty minute time block.  And, especially with the young ones, sit with them.  Ask them to show you what they're learning.  Make practicing time you spend together. Before you drop lessons because your student isn't practicing, ask yourself - is the practice I'm expecting reasonable?  Or can we make adjustments that fit better for today's lifestyle?   Melissa A. Loggins, Owner #MusicAuthorityFamily #beyondthemusic Click Here to Log In to Your Lessons Account ESP EC Guitars The ESP EC Guitars are Music Authority's best selling guitars.  Comfortable to play, affordable, and available in a variety of colors, these guitars would make a great gift for any guitarist. Shop local!  Stop by Music Authority and try one out today! Meet the Instructor: AJ Hirsch AJ is a multi instrumentalist from Columbus, Georgia.  He keeps busy doing solo YouTube projects and playing around the Atlanta and Columbus areas.  His favorite food is spaghetti.  Please follow Music Authority on Facebook; on Instagram @musicauthorityinc; and join the Music Authority Roadies Facebook group for informational articles and to keep up to date with the happenings at Music Authority. Fright Festival October 20, 2019 2-6 pm At Music Authority Music, games, concessions!  Come to Music Authority on Sunday, October 20 for a fright filled afternoon.  There's no cost to attend, games are $0.25, and we'll be taking donations for the Any Solider holiday project shipping costs. Not in Lessons at Music Authority? Sign Up Here! Music Authority instructor Lauren Isenberg performing at last year's Fall Festival.  Be sure to come by and check out the fun on October 20 at Music Authority! Click Here to see what events are coming up at Music Authority Copyright © *|CURRENT_YEAR|* *|LIST:COMPANY|*, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*