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-Stathia Orwig One of my new year's resolutions for 2020 was to listen to more podcasts. I usually listen to them in the car after I drop kids off or on my way to get my kids, because they need to talk or listen to music. I love listening to podcasts about business, managing a team, Gretchen Rubin, piano teaching, and piano parenting. I wear lots of different hats and I just can't narrow it down! ;) This week, I was listening to the PianoParentPodcast, the host, Shelly Davis, was talking about how to fit in piano practice for our students. Now, I know we've written blogs about practice and how to practice, but this podcast really hit home with me. As a parent myself, my daughter is on her own most of the time to practice since I'm teaching most evenings. I don't do a whole lot of checking and planning for her, but I have added it to her "responsibility list" to help remind her to practice. As parents, we think just enrolling them for lessons will get the job done. If we can get in a few days of practice here and there, then that's an added bonus! However, I've seen so many students lose interest in their lessons because they are not getting in enough practice. You see, they want to come prepared for lessons! They want to impress their teacher! And when they are not able to do that, then they feel like a failure. As teachers, we get them re-motivated in their lesson and then send them back into their world hoping they will get to practice. Maybe one week is not a big deal, but if they don't get practice in week after week, this is when our students begin to lose interest. We, as parents, have to be intentional about helping our kids get their practice in. That doesn't mean we have to sit right by them, but we do need to say, "Hey, while I'm working on dinner, go get a little time in at the piano". "Or, we have a crazy evening tomorrow, so how about practicing your instrument before school so we get that in." They need our guidance and our help. Practicing is not going to always be first thing on their mind; it's our job. Yeah, I know, sometimes I feel like EVERYTHING is our job, we've gotta do everything, remind everyone, blah, blah, blah. But, I'm starting to come to terms with that. Have you? So, if you have a chance, check out this podcast. It will give you ideas on how to help your child with practice at home. Let's set them up for success the best we can! 
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-Stathia Orwig It's that time of the year when I start getting a bit sentimental. This past Sunday, January 26th, was the 4 year (!!) "anniversary" of our "Doing Business As" or DBA. I remember that day so well; only my kids and husband knew. I went down to the Dallas county building with my secret plan, making sure I didn't run into my dad (since he had restaurants in the county buildings). I think I was shaking with nervousness and excitement. It didn't take long since I had done my homework thinking about names and getting my paperwork together. Why Music SO Simple? Well, I am pretty sure that 4 years ago I was ready to get back to making music lessons simple again and I caught myself saying that a lot. Then, it dawned on my that "S" and "O" were my initials. I thought about "Music SO Simple" for about a week or so until I couldn't take it anymore- I KNEW it was perfect! Next came setting up a google domain and website. I wanted something I could edit myself (insert total type A personality here). But, what I had learned is that I wanted to be able to edit and change anything anytime that I wanted. I'm not always great at waiting on others. I had all of that set up within two weeks. Once you start thinking of what you want and you begin getting excited, it's really hard to put the brakes on and I was not going to back down. Needless to say, this dream of Music SO Simple was the birth of our new music school in Richardson, Texas. I honestly couldn't call it a "music school" until this past summer. For some reason, it always felt too formal. However, I think with over 170 students and 10 teachers, it's officially a school. :) I had no idea what the plan was for me (or us). Anyways, all of this to say that every time I start letting things get too complicated, I always come back to the "simple". It's is my mantra. When we keep things simple, we allow our imagination to flow. We keep it pure, uncomplicated, and natural. Music SO Simple is truly the perfect name.  -Meredith Manley
I came across a blog entitled “10 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make About Music Lessons”, written by Lara Levitan. She compiled a list of potential pitfalls from parents and teachers she works with, so I wanted to share a few of her points. I think it’s common for parents to approach music lessons with the best intentions, but sometimes have the wrong expectations when it comes to learning an instrument! The first mistake is starting formal music study too young: if your little one shows interest in music, this does not mean they are ready to start lessons. Private lessons require attention span, motor abilities, and reading skills that children younger than five are typically not ready for. For a preschooler to concentrate for a full 30 minute lesson is a lot and on top of that, because their minds and fingers are not ready to grasp the concepts, their first impression of learning an instrument is that it will always be a struggle (to get a full idea of all of the skills needed to read music, click here). A better solution for young students is to attend parent/child music classes or a general music class for preschool age children (like our Treblemakers and Merry Musicians classes), and then wait to start lessons until they are around 5 ½ or 6 years old. The next mistake is a big one; not sitting down with your young child during practice time. The truth is that children ages six to nine need practice support from parents to be successful. Some parents feel as though they are not able to help because they know “nothing” about music, but sometimes all the child needs is a quiet presence. If this still seems intimidating, talk with your teacher about things to listen or watch for, or have your child teach you! If they can explain concepts to you, that means they really understand the material. Another consideration is to have your child practice in a “family area” of your home: that way, it’s not isolating for him/her and you can be there for support while doing other tasks around the house. Another misconception about practice is that students are supposed to practice for a certain length of time. Practice should be focused more on achieving the goals that the teacher has established instead of practicing for an hour just for the sake of practicing. This takes the joy out of music making, and oftentimes the child starts to resent the instrument. Many parents also expect their child to always stick with their first instrument. Finding the instrument that is the best fit for the student can make all the difference. A child who studies piano because their older sibling takes lessons and because you already own a piano does not automatically mean that piano is the right instrument for him/her. If you want your child to be a long term musician, be open minded to what instrument is the best fit- even if it’s not what you originally envisioned! The last point is not letting students take lessons just for pure enjoyment. As students grow older, they have more academic demands and other activities to juggle, so it’s usually at this point that they quit lessons. Instead of nagging older students to practice and meet rigorous expectations, maybe all that’s needed is a shift in purpose for the lessons. What if we let older students decide when and how often to practice? I have mixed feelings about this, as I know private lessons are expensive and if you’re not going to practice, isn’t this just a waste of money? On the other hand, older students crave independence, and if they are in charge of what they are playing and when they sit down with their instrument, wouldn’t that make them happier and more likely to play? As long as the parents and teacher are on board as a team, it may be worthwhile to let older students take the reins. As parents, what are some things you’ve learned along the way in your child’s music journey? We are always open to what parents have to say! To read Ms. Levitan’s original article, click here  We are heading into 2020! I can't believe all that we have been blessed with in 2019, or even since 2016! We are continuing to grow at a super steady pace and I anticipate that continuing through 2020. It's always nice to take time and reflect on the year and what you see as goals for the next year. So, let's revisit what we were hoping to accomplish in 2019: Our Goals for 2019:
In looking at the numbers, we had 135 active students at beginning of January 2019. We now have 172 active students. And, we went from 7 teachers to hiring 3 more teachers, for a total of 10. We added more guitar students, a group piano teacher, a new voice teacher and violin teacher. 2020 is supposed to be "the year of vision". For me personally, I've had a few things that I have on my list to get accomplished this year: completing my teacher certification being a big one. However, my husband also gifted me with a 200-hour yoga certification which will begin in February. I'm excited for both of them, but how am I going to complete both this spring? My only thought is with lots of planning and being very purposeful with my time. I know both of these certifications will help me as a leader and as a teacher. So, for this 2020 year, here are my goals:
I hope and pray my vision for 2020 will be happy and bright and I wish all of you a wonderful New Year as well!   Q: Tell us about how you first became involved in music
A: From a very young age, I sang all the time. My mom says I would sing TV commercial jingles. In music class the boy in front of me loved to tease me and called me Judy Garland. Q: Is anyone else in your family a musician? A: Yes, my three children all have musical talent, although they are not professional musicians. Q: Growing up, did you have any influential teachers/professors who guided you towards becoming a professional musician? A: My elementary teacher, my middle school and high school choir directors and the directors of our high school musical performances all encouraged me! Q: What is your favorite part about being a private voice teacher? A: It is nice to work one on one. I taught in the general music classroom for almost 30 years so it is much quieter! It is wonderful to share my talents with students who want to learn and develop their talent and that have the support of their families. Q: You have a lot of experience in directing all types of ensemble groups. What do you like most about working with ensembles? A: Ensembles are great to work with. As a typically smaller group it is nice to share music with individuals who want more performance opportunities. Often the members have special tryouts and this is a learning experience as well. It is a thrill to make it, and if not, it’s good to learn that one can work harder and try again. Q. You are certified to teach both Orff and Kodaly methods. Can you tell us more about those curriculums? A:John Curwen created the hand signs which were used in the Kodaly teaching approach. These are the hand signs that represent the musical scale that help students understand the ascending and descending scales and notes sung in melodies. The Orff curriculum is a hands on approach to playing instruments, specifically the glockenspiel, metallaphone and xylophone in every range. Q: What is your personal teaching philosophy? A: My teaching philosophy and teaching goal is to help instill the joy that music brings. It opens our hearts and moves us in ways that nothing else can. Q: What is your favorite music genre to listen to? What’s your favorite genre to sing? A: I love just about every musical genre! If I had to pick what I love to sing it would probably be movie soundtrack and Broadway tunes! Q: When you are not teaching, what do you like to do in your spare time? I direct the music at my church which keeps me very busy. I work with both the Children’s Choir and the adult Chancel Choir. I attend many concerts both public and private! It is all about the music and always will be! -Stathia Orwig  I'm a mom who needs a lot of coffee and the occasional glass of wine. Life is just crazy busy; I work, driving kids to school, homework, family, and extra-curricular activities, and we are going non-stop. I've been doing a lot of thinking on this topic and an idea came to me when I was talking with a mom at the studio. My brain started really thinking when another mom and I were talking about lessons and life: we need to have a mom get together for our studio mommas! Now, why would I think about this when we are all already crazy busy? Well, many of you know that my daughter dances, so I started thinking of my new thought in this way: I have no idea about dance. We literally just pay for her to go, we see recitals, and we do what we are told. But, what does the future look like for her? How much time will it take? How does she balance all of the rest of her life (school and being well-rounded) and still dance? I have so many more questions, and very little answers except to just keep doing what we are doing and figure it out as it comes. If there was an opportunity to get together with other dance moms to get some of these answers, would I want to do it? Of course! When I run into other parents while at the dance studio, that's what we talk about! So, why not give us a reason to get together and figure some of these questions out (with a little guidance)? So, here's what I'm thinking- why not have a couple of different times when we moms can get together to discuss being a music parent (for newbies and those who have been around for a while)? Topics could include, but are not limited to
These are just a small handful of ideas I have come up with! I think what's neat is that I have a unique understanding of parenting (with 2 kids of my own who are 14 1/2 and almost 12 years) and experience to help. However, I am far from having all of the answers! I think that coming together to exchange ideas only helps each of us and will give you the guidance you are wanting. On the plus side, you will get to know other moms and make "music mom" friendships! That's worth a little night out, right? So, look for an invitation in January from me. If you have ideas, send them to me! If you know me, you know I'm always wanting to help and improve. Start your list now and be on the lookout!   Recital and festival season is upon us, and our students have been preparing their selected pieces for the past few weeks! Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned performer, memorizing a piece is something we all have to do to be performance ready. There are a lot of different approaches to memorization, so we have tips from a few of our teachers! Ms. Ellie: Memorize WHILE you learn the piece not AFTER you learn the piece. Four types of memory (you should have ALL of them): 1) aural - can you sing it? 2) physical - can you play with your eyes closed? Do you have articulation marks and dynamic marks memorized? 3) visual - can you find where your hands should be on the keyboard? Can you see the music in your mind? 4) conceptual - do you know the theory behind all the notes? Do you have a story or narrative to tell? Ms. Logan: Use post-it notes to cover each measure of the piece that is memorized. Soon, the whole piece will be covered! Ms. Meredith: Memorize as you learn, starting with small chunks (maybe a couple of measures or one phrase). Being able to hear it in your mind or sing it out loud is important! Once you can do this, try playing one hand and singing/hearing the other part simultaneously, then switch. Make sure you know where your articulation and dynamic marks are before practicing without the music, as it’s much harder in my opinion to go back and add them in. Ms. Stathia Memorize small sections of your piece one at a time. Sometimes it’s even fun to mix up the sections and not go in order! Do one section each day and plan out which sections you will memorize each day you sit down to practice. This gives you a goal to work towards and a plan to make it happen! Another fun thing to try is to put the music behind you, maybe on a chair, and when you get stuck, turn around, look at it, and then get right back on the piano. Before you know it, you've got your whole piece memorized!    Q: Tell us about how you first became involved in music
I started playing trumpet in the band in the 5th grade. Q: Is anyone else in your family a musician? My brother is a trombone player and is also a band director for the past 35 years. Q: Tell us more about your music education I played trumpet through the 10th grade and moved to the baritone for the 11th and 12th. I started playing guitar in the 7th grade and moved to the electric bass in the 11th grade. Studied general music at Tyler Jr. College and finished my Bachelor Music Degree with a Minor in Education at UNT and my instrument at UNT was the Double Bass. Q: Growing up, did you have any influential teachers/professors who guided you towards becoming a professional musician? My high school band director, who was also a professional musician, had a great influence on my music career. Q: What is your personal teaching philosophy? Anyone can learn to play a musical instrument if they “want” to. Q: You have taught orchestra for over 30 years in DISD, including at Booker T. Washington. What is your favorite part about instructing an ensemble? How does it compare to teaching private lessons? Working with ensembles helped me explore a great deal of string repertoire with a variety of textures. That is a lot of fun. When teaching private lessons the experience is still fun but more on watching the student’s growth. Q: One of your string orchestras performed at Carnegie Hall in 2012. Tell us more about that amazing experience. In one word is was “surreal”! The hours and hours of preparation with rehearsals and picking the repertoire perfect for the student’s level to maximize the experience was worth it when you hear the beautiful acoustics of the Hall. New York was amazing! Q: What is your favorite music genre? I am very moody about music genre. It depends on what instrument I have in my hands. My favorite when I play an electric bass is Classic Rock but when I am playing a string instrument my favorite is music from the Classical Period but when I conduct my favorite is music of the Romantic Period. Q: Do you have a favorite musical memory? Between meeting Itzhak Perlman or Elmer Bernstei or conducting at Carnegie Hall … Very hard to choose. Q: When you are not teaching, what do you like to do in your spare time? Play with my 5 Grand Kids.  I read an article recently by violinist Noa Kageyama that inspired me to write about something I’ve believed for a long time about practicing. It doesn’t necessarily matter how long you practice, but rather the engagement of your mind when you practice (you can read the original article here: https://lifehacker.com/a-better-way-to-practice-5939374)). In the article, Kageyama categorized practice into two types: mindless and deliberate. Sounds pretty self explanatory, right? Let me go into further detail about each one. Mindless practice is exactly what it sounds like: playing your assignment as if you were on auto pilot, not really concentrating on what you’d like the result to sound like. There are a couple of problems with practicing this way. Number one: it really is a complete waste of time. Without concentration, you won’t actually improve much at all. Kageyama states that “this model of practicing strengthens undesirable habits and errors, increasing the likelihood of more consistently inconsistent performances.” You will then have to spend more time correcting the errors you made, when they could have been avoided in the first place. Mindless practice is also extremely dull and takes the joy out of music making, and thus motivation to practice is lost. So, if you are taking the “broken record” approach, you are probably doing more harm than good.  Now don’t get me wrong, repetition is important- but it has to be thoughtful. Having a specific goal in mind before you start your practice is key. When you play/sing a passage, does it “speak” the way you want? If not, that’s when repetition is helpful- repeating the phrase slowly until it sounds exactly how you want each time. For a beginning student who may not be at this point yet, their goals are simpler. Perhaps the first day is just focusing on playing the rhythm correctly. Day Two could be to incorporate staccato/legato and other articulation marks. Day Three could be dynamics and phrasing, and so on. Having an intention in mind is what makes the difference in becoming a really fantastic musician. The goal is to work smarter, not harder!  Some other suggestions are to practice only as long as you can stay focused and during the time of the day you have the most energy or feel the most productive. Because it is so easy to slip into mindless practice mode, keep yourself on track by using a problem-solving model and a practice journal (one of Ms. Ellie’s favorite solutions!) Write down your goals for practice that day, and how you were able to achieve them. Define and analyze the problem you are targeting, then test solutions. Once you figure out the best solutions, write this down in your journal so you can continue implementing next time! Sounds like a lot of work, doesn’t it? Well it is, which is why most musicians don’t take the time to practice this way. Parents, this is where your support is so very needed when your child is beginning his/her music study. Your instructor is there to guide their learning once a week, but the real progress and development takes place between lessons. Feeling uncertain about how to help your child practice in the best way? Design a practice plan with your teacher- he/she will be glad to do it! If you are an adult student, try this approach out. You’ll feel more connected to your progress and you will love the way you sound! 
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