Happy New Year 2020!

Happy New Year! What will 2020 bring? What goals will you set? I am working on a few personal and professional goals and highly anticipate seeing what this year has in store. In the meantime, I’m excited to share a few things coming up in our studio!

• Lessons and classes will resume Monday, January 6th! We will return to our regular schedule.
• January and February will once again have a composing focus as we all work on creating our own music. In preparation for this, I’ve enrolled in this 10 day chord challenge that starts on Jan 5! It’s run by a colleague of mine who is a prolific composer and songwriter! It’s geared towards both piano teachers and intermediate level piano students and I think it would be an excellent way for us to start the new year! A great way to build upon those lifelong piano skills! The course is only $7 to enrol! I hope all my students who are a grade 4 level and up enrol and go through the challenge with me! https://elissamilne.simplero.com/page/133889
• UKULELE is returning! We had so much fun during our Holiday Ukulele classes that I’ve decided to continue a once a month class for those who would like to continue adding new chords and songs to their repertoire. For those of you who wished they could be a part of that holiday class and would like to take part in the once a month class, I will be offering a one day “Crash Course in Ukulele Playing” on Saturday, January 18th at 10:30am. We will cover 3-4 chords, strumming basics, learn a couple songs and get up to speed enough to join the monthly ukulele circle! Cost will be $25. Must be between the ages of 8 – 108. 😉 Book now.
• CALENDAR: this year our calendar has a couple anomalies! We have a leap year with an extra day in February AND we have local school districts split between two different Spring Break schedules! Because of this our studio will be doing a two week Spring Break from March 23 – April 5! This will allow everyone to be able to plan their break without worry of missing lessons.  Also the calendar page on the website has been updated showing which weeks are Spring Break, which weeks are master classes and when the projected last week of lessons will be in June!
• And finally, booking for the Spring Recital is in the works…will likely be the weekend of May 9.

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Sunrise Classes 2017

The natural energy and music children ages 2-3 years old have within them is amazing.  You will often find them singing, moving to a rhythm or beat or dancing.  Sunrise is an exciting and innovative pre-school music & movement program with a flexible format that fits the level of development of these children perfectly. Teddy Bears help teach the children rhythms and puppet friends Buzz, Buddy and Mellow guide children on their music journey and instruction with singing, and ear training. This child-centred curriculum includes stories, songs, and games to ensure that all children feel and achieve a high level of engagement and success.

The Sunrise preschool class is a fun introduction to the foundations of music and makes for a smooth transition to the Sunshine piano program at age 4.  Registration is now open for a new session starting February 15, 2017!  Classes will run weekly for 45 minutes from 11-11:45am on Wednesday mornings.  Registration includes a workbook, CD, finger puppet, rhythm instrument and backpack as well as the 10 lessons. Register now or email mmmusicstudio@hotmail.com for more details!

Easter Week Master Classes and Year End Glance

It looks like Spring will finally be arriving this week (at least according to the weather forecast)…and so will Easter! Just a quick reminder that there will be NO regular lessons NEXT week, April 21-24. Instead we will be having special ALL STUDIO master classes. This will give us a chance to prepare our large group rhythm ensemble for the recital (which is quickly approaching!) as well as some pre-recital performance opportunities and other rhythm development fun!

For those of you who will be working on Challenge Number 2 (Almost Famous) this week of the Rock Star challenge and having trouble gathering enough of an audience at your home for your challenge, next week’s master classes will provide this opportunity! Just remember to rehearse your pieces (it says three pieces, but for this challenge you can do just two if necessary) three times on the day you perform it at the master class! Be sure the piece you are going to play for recital is part of that gig set (you can keep which piece is the actual recital piece a secret from the other students, but it should be one of them! 😉 ) We have just under 4 weeks left to practice for our Spring Recital on May 9th at 6:30pm! It will be here before we know it!!!

Here are the class times you may sign up for:

TUESDAY, APRIL 22
6-7pm

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 23
5-6pm

THURSDAY, APRIL 24
4:30-5:30pm

With master classes there is a larger volume of traffic coming and going. If you are walking your student in and out of the lesson, please try and park outside the cul de sac on the main part of Clareview road to allow any residents coming home from work the ability to get in to their driveways or parking spaces! We want to keep the neighbors happy. 🙂 THANK YOU!

Also, if you haven’t had a chance to get over to the schedule and calendar page. Here is just a glance at the calendar for the remainder of the year:

Week 28 Apr 14-17 regular lesson schedule
Week 29 Apr 21-25 ALL STUDIO MASTERCLASSES; no regular lessons
Week 30 Apr 28-May 2 regular lesson schedule
Week 31 May 5-8 regular lessons *SPRING RECITAL, MAY 9, 2014 6:30pm*
Week 32 May 12-15 regular lesson schedule
Week 33 May 20-26 regular lesson schedule
NO LESSONS May 27-June 2, STUDIO CLOSED!
Week 34 June 3-9 regular lesson schedule
Rock Stars of Practice Wrap Up Master Classes June 10-12

April News and Registration

It looks like we are finally getting some Spring weather….just as our Spring Break comes to a close! I hope you all had a wonderful Spring Break. Mine was very busy…and felt rather short…but I am excited about the coming weeks ahead!

Our year is rapidly coming to a close. We have less than 10 weeks left in our year and many exciting things to fill these last few weeks. The month of April will be busy with recital preparations as we have only 5 weeks until our annual Spring recital is here. This week students will be busy choosing their recital piece and we have a few fun ensembles to rehearse together. Our recital will take place on Friday, May 9th, at 6:30pm at the First Church of the Nazarene. Extended family and friends are most welcome. Due to the busy-ness of the sport season and dance recitals, we will not be having a reception following this recital as we did with our Christmas Recital. Instead students will receive a refreshing treat and be encouraged to go and enjoy what will hopefully be beautiful spring weather! 😉

We are kicking off an exciting new practice incentive this month that is very relevant to our recital preparation as it’s all about performance preparation. Students will have 4 weekly projects to complete and are encouraged to try and complete all BEFORE our Spring recital, however, they will have to the end of May, if needed.

The schedule for next year’s MYC classes is up and ready for registration. Private students, I will need to know ASAP whether or not you wish to register and return for next year in order for me to know whether or not I will be able to accommodate any graduating Moonbeams 3 students who might wish to continue on.

Slight adjustments have been made to both the schedule and the tuition fees so please be sure to go to both the Schedule page and the Piano Lessons page to check it all out.

Now…let’s get ready to ROCK! 😉

March News and 2014/15 Registration

March certainly did come in like a lion with icy, cold temperatures and a wind chill that made me want to hide in my house! What a relief to be looking at double digit temperatures on the plus side of 0 for the upcoming days!

It’s hard to believe we are already almost halfway through March. Actually, this is Week 24 of our lesson year which means we only have 10 more lessons to go before summer break is here! And as one year closes, I am always thinking about the one upcoming. So here is a quick look ahead for the next several weeks.

SPRING BREAK
There will be no lessons during Spring Break, March 31-April 6. Lessons will resume on April 7th and I’ll have a brand new practice incentive cooked up for you by then! 😉 I think we will have a bit of fun with it as it brings our focus towards the upcoming Spring Recital. Let’s just say it’s going to “rock”!

SPRING RECITAL
Our Spring Recital is scheduled for Friday, May 9th, at 6:30pm in the main auditorium of First Church of the Nazarene. First Church is planning some big renovations, so there is a small possibility that they could begin around this time. We may have to be flexible in the when and where of our recital, but I will keep you posted! In the meantime, we will plan on this and mark our calendars! 😉 UPDATE: the church renovations have been officially scheduled for late May through end of June so our May 9th recital is a GO!

2014/15 SCHEDULE AND REGISTRATION
I am currently working on the schedule for next year and hope to have it up by Spring Break so that we can begin re-registration and new registration for the fall when we return from Spring Break. Next year my daughter enters grade 10 and over the last couple of week’s she had an interview and acceptance at Strathcona Christian Academy in Sherwood Park. She is very excited, but it does mean that I will likely be driving her both to and from school as there is no bus from Edmonton to transport her there. This will certainly impact what I can or cannot add to my schedule for next year and will limit the number of new classes or private lessons that I can add into the schedule for next year.

APRIL MASTER CLASS
There will be another master class in April, during the week immediately following Easter Monday. More information will come out after Spring Break.

YEAR END
I will be away during the last week of May. I actually have a conference in Las Vegas! We will still get all 34 weeks in the schedule, though, and are set to finish up by or slightly before June 12.

Wacky Wednesdays and a little March News

What a terrific showcase of compositions and contemporary pieces we heard during our Contemporary Showcase this month! Congratulations to all the students and their hard work. I was both humbled by and proud of their creativity and accomplishments in both writing their compositions and performing pieces. And the titles!!! Some of my favorite titles were: Teddy Bear Comes Alive!, Prancing Poodles, Crocodile Creek, Rush Hour, Wave of Emotions….the list goes on!

This week were back to our regular routine…..well sort of! We had a power outage here on Wednesday! It lasted almost 90 minutes and so we had to “evacuate” to my upstairs living room where we could see our books. I scrambled quickly to hide a few messes and close a few doors and then we were back to work again in minutes. The Sunbeams 3 group enjoyed sitting on sofas instead of circle mats and doing theory pages and rhythm stories on a coffee table instead of the floor. “Couldn’t we do this every week?” they asked. It was fun and took me back to 10 years ago when I was teaching out of my living room all the time….but as soon as the power came back on my family was looking at me as if to say, “Um, what are you still doing up here?”

Well, March is here and with it the downhill slope to the end of the year…it’s true! This month comes with some very important dates to take note of. Please mark your calendars where appropriate to you:

RCM AND CONSERVATORY CANADA EXAM REGISTRATION DEADLINE MARCH 4th and 7th:
For those of you in Moonbeams 3 or private lessons who have spoken to me about doing a national exam this is just a reminder that the deadlines to register for the June exam are ALMOST here! To take a Royal Conservatory exam in June you must register by MARCH 4th. To take a Conservatory Canada Contemporary Idioms exam in June you must register by MARCH 7th. Please contact me if you intend to do so. If your students does not feel ready yet that is just fine, there is another opportunity in August or even next January. It is still possible to register after these deadlines but there will be an extra charge for a “late fee”.

SPRING BREAK–March 23rd to April 1st
We will continue with our regular schedule over the next few weeks until March 23rd when we will break along with school for Spring Break. There will be NO LESSONS during that week. This is for ALL STUDENTS from Sunrise to Private Lessons. Enjoy your well-deserved break…..but don’t forget to keep practicing!

SUNRISE PRESCHOOL CLASSES
Sunrise 2 will wrap up on March 18th with a Teddy Bear Pajama Party. Sunrise 3, our final block of the program, will begin on April 8th and run until June 3rd.

Noteworthy Items and Reminders

As we finish up October and prepare to dive into November, I have a few important reminders and requests for you.

First of all, let me just say what a fantastic couple of weeks we have had.  The students have been working so hard over the last almost 8 weeks and the Practice Tree is just full of stickers and that Treasure box has been opened many times over the last two weeks–it’s already half-empty!!  Time to go shopping! 😉

MAKE A MUSIC VIDEO
The treasure box is one great way to celebrate all their hard work, but I was reminded this week of another terrific way to do celebrate at home.  I have often encouraged my students to call grandparents on the phone and play for them or take advantage of when they are over for a visit and put on a little concert, but this week one of my little students proudly showed me a video of herself playing the piano that her mom had shared on facebook.  We have so much technology at our fingertips now and so many of us have iPhones–take advantage of it!  Making a “Music Video” of your child and posting it on facebook or youtube is a wonderful way of sharing with family and friends as well a great way to show your child how important you think their music is and build their self-esteem and confidence!  Thanks, Ayla and Amanda for that great reminder!

WAITING AREA–IMPORTANT REMINDERS
I have had a chance to talk quickly at some of our classes this week about what to do when you are at the studio waiting for your class to begin, but there are few classes and students that I missed getting this message/reminder out to.  When you come into the studio for your lesson, please wait on/near the brown chairs around the corner, quietly and out of sight of the piano if at all possible.  When some of our classes were arriving this week, I noticed some students and parents standing about near the sofa and keyboards while a private lesson or class was still in session.  It’s easy to forget how intimidating or nerve-wracking (not to mention distracting) it can be to a student to see half a dozen adults and the same number of children watching them out of the corner of their eye.  Some of my private students feel a little nervous playing just for me, imagine how they must feel when a whole group shows up at the end of their lesson….especially if they weren’t feeling as prepared as they usually are to begin with.  This is especially important to remember if there is a private lesson going on before your class/lesson begins.  Many of the private students only get a 30 minute lesson.  If you are in a 60 minute class and think the time flies by, imagine what a race we have to get through everything we need to in 30 minutes and how vital it is that we can spend those 30 minutes un-distracted.  If you show up for your class 10-15 minutes early and you are talking, whispering or moving around in that student’s line of sight, they can be feeling nervous or distracted for up 30-50% of their lesson–that is a huge chunk of their time.  And, to be honest, they are not the only ones distracted.  I will often see little ones waving at me and I can’t help but wave back but my student needs 100% of my attention for their lesson.  So, please, if you can remember, try to come into class only 5-7 minutes early and wait quietly on the brown chairs, the sofa area is intended for parents and siblings of private students who need a comfortable place to study/work for 30-60 minutes while they wait for their child or sibling to finish their private lesson.  I know it can be exciting and inspiring to hear what those older students or other classes are working on, but make sure you listen in as quietly and as invisibly as possible!

CHRISTMAS IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER
“Oh, my did she really just say that”, you ask, “we haven’t even gotten through Halloween?!”  Yes I did, and yes I have even bought a couple of Christmas presents already!  Christmas is only 2 months away and our Christmas recital is only approximately 7 weeks away.  If that thought has given you indigestion, I apologize, but swallow it down because we are going to be ramping up for our annual Christmas recital VERY soon.  My family has already heard me playing through several Christmas pieces as I choose and prepare to accompany some of the class ensemble numbers our classes will do and trust me, they have groaned loudly but I ignore them and play on!  If you have only been skim-reading my newsletters (shame on you!), then you may have missed the announcement about the when and where of our recital so here it is again–just in case:

Annual Christmas Recital:  Friday evening, December 14th, in the First Church of the Nazarene  Main Auditorium located at 14320 94 street.  I believe our time will be 6:30-7:30pm, but I will need to confirm that with you a little later–as soon as I hear the date and time of my husband’s work Christmas party. I may have to run the recital from 6-7pm.  I do apologize for the late date, I was hoping for December 7th, but, alas, it was unavailable.

With the recital just weeks away, we will begin working on special ensemble pieces in our music classes as well as some piano duet or solo opportunities.  All the MYC classes will find that seasonal music is actually included there in our books, but private students need extra supplementary books of their own.  So, all of you in private lessons: please take this weekend to go through your piano bench or magazine file beside your piano and dig out ALL your Christmas books–then bring them to piano lessons NEXT WEEK, we need to make sure the level of the book is still appropriate or if you have “out-grown” it and are in need of a new book/level.  We want to begin our preparations no later than the first week of November so we are confident, prepared and not cramming last minute practice into an already busy season!