This entry goes along with the one titled "Don't be a fool...use the summer time wisely."
I was involved in a couple different music camps growing up. My favorite was at Fredonia String Camp, which was located at Fredonia University. I've gone back to that camp for 4 years! It was a one week, overnight, string camp. The camp involved playing in one of three orchestras (depending on your playing level), chamber music playing, concerts, a talent show, technique classes, theory classes, and more. They made it really fun because it was more social than anything. I have some of the fondest memories of my "musical journey" that took place at Fredonia String Camp, and I acquired sooooo much knowledge with that experience. To this day I continue to use concepts I learned from that camp during my practicing. It also allowed me to develop a sense of independence (staying away from my parents for a week, for example), and other everyday life lessons.
During the camp, I was fortunate enough to meet many other musicians-some professional, our counselors, and other "campers" of course. I participated in this string camp while I was in middle school, and being that it was located in a college campus, I got a taste of what college life was like. It was very similar: we stayed in a dorm room with a roommate, ate at the cafeteria, went to different campus buildings for our daily schedule, etc. It was so cool to be exposed to so many concerts, and they did not only consist of classical music, but all types.
This was also one of the first experiences I had playing in a chamber group. I loved it and I'll never forget the amazing bond my group and I formed. To this day, I still remember the piece we played one year.
If you are a student who is fortunate enough to have the opportunity to participate in any sort of music camp-take it. I can honestly say I left the camp every year a better player (and performer) than I did going into it. Just go for it and have a wonderful time!!!!!!!!!
~Regina
PS-You don't have to be extraordinarily gifted to participate in any of these types of camps. These programs will always place you in the correct playing level groups, and if they make a mistake, they will adjust it immediately. If you are a beginner or don't feel you possess outstanding playing ability it's OK. You'll have such a great time and I'd hate for you to miss out due to unnecessary fear!! If you have anymore questions about music camps feel free to contact me.
Everyone avoids the hard and boring stuff when they practice for exactly that reason: it's hard and boring. What does this consist of??? Probably scales...exercises...difficult pieces you don't like that your teacher is making you learn...etc. Solution? Skip it and move on to the fun pieces!! Right? Wrong. Instead, what you need to do is EAT THE FROG FIRST!
My good friend, Debbie, taught me the expression "Eat the frog first" and it actually applies to everyday life. Practicing your instrument is no exception. What "eating the frog first" means is that if you eat a frog first thing in the day, the rest of whatever you do will seem easy! The same goes for practicing: instead of putting off the "frog" type of lesson material to skip to the fun stuff...just get it over with. It's a simple analogy. If it helps, write it on a posted note and stick it onto your music stand or piano. Or just put a picture of a frog staring at you in the face. Whatever works best for you!!
Why is that stuff necessary? It's not like you're going to be performing scales and exercises for an audience. The "boring" stuff is necessary. The exercises and skills are what build your technique and enhance your playing. If you constantly skip these things, your fundamental basics will be pushed to the side and it will eventually show in your playing. And keep in mind that with any audition you do, I can pretty much guarantee you will have to play scales and a big chunk of the evaluation will be based on technique. I'll write an entire blog on this point in the future. Stay tuned! ~Regina
As many of you know, my mom is the piano instructor at our school. She has so many students she had three recitals! I got to witness all of them, and I was thoroughly impressed with many of the students. However, I realized some students had major issues that needed addressed, so I will cover one issue at a time throughout my blog. This posting is all about concert attire. DRESS TO IMPRESS
Whenever you are performing in front of anyone, with any type of concert, you should always "look the part." Treat every recital as if you're performing in the symphony. If you want people to take you seriously, then dress like it. I was astounded when I saw a piano student come into their recital with basketball shorts and sneakers. If that was my student, I would ask them to go home and change before they're allowed on stage. I was shocked they would even consider dressing like that. Recitals are typically very formal, and for my recitals, the guests are also required to show up in concert appropriate attire. An argument might be, "Well..this isn't the symphony, and besides, people at the symphony wear jeans anyways." THOSE PEOPLE ARE WRONG. They lack class and look completely inappropriate. And even though the recital isn't the symphony, the students worked hard and everyone should take it seriously...and therefore, dress like they do. Everything should always be done in the best way possible, starting with the outfits. Boys: NO jeans. I don't care if it's blue jeans and a shirt and tie...stay away from them. Not any other color jeans, either. That might look nice if you're going on a date to dinner...but it's still not appropriate concert attire. SHOES matter. I noticed at my mom's recital, a lot of the boys were fine until it got to their shoes. It's important to complete your outfit with nice loafers or any other types of dress shoes. Absolutely no sneakers. That ruins your entire outfit.
Some great examples of how boys should dress: Girls: Fashion Face-off! Girls: Don't dress too "sexy." This is not the time or place. Let's look at these two Professional performers, violinist Sarah Chang and pianist Yuja Wang:
I love Sarah Chang. Not only is she obviously extraordinarily talented (and that's an understatement...there are simply no words in the dictionary that do her justice, except maybe violinist prodigy!) She is a very classy lady but still has her own great sense of style and personality that makes her even more special and unique. Instead of the typical, all black, concert attire, she never fails to find a beautiful dress that is extremely flashy and sexy in it's own way, but still concert appropriate. She dresses fun, and certainly not "dorky," and still looks completely respectable. She's the perfect role model! Vs. Yuga Wang I was shocked when I found these images of Yuga Wang. After this particular concert, all critics were talking about was her outfit, not her playing. It almost looks stripperish! Like she came right from her secret second job as a stripper to perform at the symphony and forgot to change in between...and now her secret is revealed. And she is considered a "Professional"!??!? Why on earth did her manager not stop her?? Or why didn't anyone stop her, for that matter!? What was she thinking??? Maybe she was trying to start a trend that clearly failed to launch. A lot of times, it's a stereotype that musicians are a little on the dorky side. I hope after seeing these images you realize that's sooo not true. Plus, do I look like a dork!? (Don't answer that...) But just keep in mind when you are picking out your outfit for ANY type of performance...time and place, time and place, time and place... Now the above mentioned was for recitals. Girls, here are a couple more examples of recital attire that I think are great: <--I love this group's choice of concert attire. They look very cute but still have their own fashion flare!! If you're performing in a group, even a duet, try to coordinate your outfits for a complete, clean look. Above, I was specifically referring to formal recital attire. This doesn't necessarily always mean to dress in your finest evening gown. Look at this group: They look adorable, and clearly they planned to coordinate their outfits. My guess is they were performing somewhere a little more low key, such as a festival or a park. Another fashion tip: Try to coordinate your outfit with the piece you're playing. For example, if you're playing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," how cute would it be to choose something in your closet that looks like this: I GUARANTEE if you did that, everyone would remember you the following year! I loved how one student at my mom's recital wore a hat and his outfit went so perfectly with the piece. I'll try to post a picture of him on here soon. Say you're playing a Frank Sinatra piece...wear something like this: Always dress the part! ~Regina
I will be honest: There are some people who are just naturally more gifted in playing the violin than others. It's not fair but that's just the way it goes.
Let's look at two true scenarios of two highschoolers (that I have witnessed, but I will change the names to respect their privacy.)
The first violinist, Sandy, is simply one of those girls who are amazing at the violin. She is the concertmaster of her high school orchestra and she is naturally gifted. While she does enjoy her violin playing, she is also a straight-A student and an excellent softball player. When she goes to college she still continues to play violin but only as a hobby. She pursues an education to become an environmental scientist instead.
The second violinist, Amanda, does not possess natural playing talent, but boy does she love music. She practices consistently and works very hard, but she just doesn't have the same gift as Sandy. Amanda dreams of becoming a music major. However, Amanda sees how wonderful Sandy is (after all, they are in the same orchestra), and feels discouraged. She feels if Sandy is that talented and she's not even majoring in music...how in the world would she have a chance? Amanda wishes she could do something with her violin as a career but starts to consider other (less appealing) options after losing confidence.
Is Amanda right? Should she find a plan B to aspire towards since Sandy blows her away at playing?
The answer for Amanda is NO. Here's what people like Amanda need to remember: there are MANY fields of music you can go into, and if you love it and music is what you want to pursue, YOU WILL BE SUCCESSFUL! In fact, Amanda could very likely be cut out better than Sandy for many of these musical professions. This reminds me of my undergrad law course I took. We had a professor who was a very successful lawyer, but he was the worst professor I've ever had. He did not know how to teach and his class was dull. Just because someone is a great player does not mean they can succeed in every other music career opportunity.
Many people are under the misconception that unless you are a performance genius you are not good enough to major in music. Now, it might be true you may never be cut out for violin performance. Most people are not...at least in a professional level. The one's who succeed in violin performance are the best of the best, especially in the symphony. It's very competitive. Now, there are other district orchestras and of course you could try to do your own gigs (or network with other musicians for gigs), but you still must be very talented to be successful as far as making that a profession.
But, there are soooo many other cool professions that pay well and will still allow you to pick up your instrument every single day!
Let's go through some.
Music education: You would not be the one performing, so as long as you have a solid musical education you don't have to be a superstar performer. And in this field you are often required to learn every instrument for a short period of time! Music would be part of your every day life and all of your hard work would pay off.
Music therapy: This job is in demand! Not only would you be able to play your instrument every day...it would actually contribute to improving someone's health. What a difference you (and your violin) would make!
Conductor: Conducting is something I always wanted to do! I bet it would be fun. There are many youth orchestras who need conductors, and just think: you'd be the most important person in the performance.
Composer/Arranger: I wouldn't recommend anyone relying on this for a full-time career until they become steady with it. However, once it takes off, you could easily make a lot of money selling your music all over the world. Many people who aren't necessarily the best at playing still have a magnificent ear and talent for composition. This is not something I've ever personally been interested in, but if you have the passion for it-go for it. Just think. Your name could become famous in the music world. You could be the next Beethoven!
Retail Sales/Management: I personally love going to the music store and looking through all the different music and seeing all the instruments. Any music store would love to hire you if you're able to demonstrate some instruments to the customers, are familiar with written music, etc. You'd be able to talk music all day with people who have the same interest as you. Imagine the friends you could make, and the people you could meet who come into the store. I bet if you worked at a music store there are also perks for concerts and events and such. You probably could also get a good discount on the store items. Music accessories and music can get expensive so I'm sure you'd enjoy that!
Personal Manager/Agent: Imagine how much you could learn from a professional just by managing them and listening to their playing all the time. And instead of you paying them, they'd be paying you! Plus you could see all the concerts for free.
There are countless other music careers we could talk about...but these are the main ones. If you'd like to hear about more please feel free to contact me in the comments section and I'll address them.
So...Amanda's dedication, practicing, and love for her music was anything but a waste! She would not be able to succeed in any of the above mentioned professions if she had not worked so hard at learning an instrument.
Playing an instrument is a journey from the moment you pick the
instrument up until the last note you’ll ever play. Keep the word “journey” in mind. It’s like everyday life: although you can make plans ahead of time, not
everything will always go according to plan no matter how organized and
responsible you are.
You don’t expect the weather to be a
thunderstorm the same day the weather man tells you there’s not going to be a cloud in
the sky. You don’t expect the car
accident a half a mile up the street will delay traffic by a half an hour. You don’t expect to get food poisoning after
going to your favorite fast food restaurant that you’ve been to 100 times
previously.
Sometimes situations
beyond your control occur in a way you didn’t foresee and there’s absolutely
nothing you can do about it. Ultimately,
rolling with life’s punches makes you a stronger person and each time life
throws you for a loop, you’ll get better at handling it. I think that’s where
the expression “older and wiser” comes in.
As you grow older, every day you have more life experience under your
belt than you did the day before, and that shapes who you become. Do you
notice a lot of times when people are older (such as grandparents) they tend to
not worry about little things that we worry about so much? They
are overall more content, mellow, and confident. Now,
of course I can’t stereotype all elderly people; we all know the cranky
old man who lives down the street.
Perhaps my theory is incorrect.
Who knows. I think you understand
what I’m trying to say though.
With the journey of the violin, I've had to face the same hurdles.It’s
inevitable.The trick is to figure out how to deal with it and then focus on the silver lining of the situation! I know it's easier said than done, and it might not make complete sense at the moment, but in the big picture, it won't be a big deal. I promise. In the interim, find that silver lining because IT IS THERE. But only YOU can find it.
There will be different judges for different
auditions. One might think the world of
your playing and another might be more focused on what you lack. This goes for everyone INCLUDING
professionals. When I went to see Sarah
Chang perform I thought the concert was great. Her playing is absolutely beautiful, and if you don't believe me, see for yourself:
Told you! Anyways, a couple weeks after the concert, I read an article negatively critiquing her playing during that tour.I was
shocked.Even Sarah Chang has to face
criticism!It happens to the best of us. Take a look at those singing competition shows such as X Factor (I know I reference that show often, but it works with a lot of my posts): There are MANY times judges completely disagree with each other in terms of who sang well and who didn't. THE SAME GOES WITH VIOLIN OR WHATEVER INSTRUMENT YOU PLAY. YOU WILL NEVER PLEASE EVERYONE. EVER. EVER. EVER.
You should aim high but always be prepared for something
unexpected to happen. You might not get
the seat in the orchestra you were positive you were going to get, but hey: next year when you do get that seat you'll appreciate it that much more! If it were easy, everyone would be able to get it. There's no better feeling than achieving a good challenge, even if it's a year later.
You might think your audition went well only
to find out your score was mediocre. So, you'll learn what you lack and focus on it. Or maybe the seat you land in the orchestra from that audition will give you a lifelong friend you met as stand partners. You just never know.
This has happened to me plenty of times: I would prepare for my recital performances and nerves would get the best of me which interfered with my playing. Then I'd scratch, squeak, and my hands would sweat and shake during my piece.
Now I can say I've gotten over that stage fright (for the most part...it definitely still kicks in now and then. ) If I haven't gone through that, I wouldn't be the confident player I'd like to say I am today. That's helped me in other areas of my life, too, such as public speaking.
Not all scenarios are
that serious. True story: In an orchestra I was in, while we were in the middle of a piece, the conductor puked everywhere! And let’s
just say it wasn’t pretty. Being fortunate enough to land the concertmaster role at the time, I really didn’t know
what to do...a bunch of options were running through my mind. Should I stop playing? Should I get up and conduct? Should I pinch myself to make sure this isn't some weird, twisted dream? Should I point and laugh at his face? (Just kidding on the last one...I wouldn't consider that! I'm not that mean...)
I decided to just continue playing. I played extra loud when it was
happening so the orchestra would follow my lead and just keep going. I guess you could say I took "the show must go on" approach. A minute later the orchestra assistant came
and conducted the rest of the piece as our conductor went offstage (and probably went directly to his car and drove far, far away).
Thankfully, I dodged the puke. I was about 5 inches clear of it. Thank God. Silver lining? Now I have a hilarious memory that I'll never forget. And if the situation ever happens again, I'll be ready for it. Haha. I'm sure it won't.
As for the silver lining for the conductor? (After all, he's going through his own musical journey.) He knows after that nothing he ever does will be as embarrassing for him as that day. I don't even need to know what else he's done in his life because nothing could top that. It was bad. Really bad. And I'm pretty sure he learned a lesson: don't risk conducting a concert in front of hundreds of people when you have stomach issues. Ever. Again. Ick.
Many parents assume they will "save money" by stopping music lessons for the summer. This is actually quite a short-sighted decision. If you take summers off, it's a fact that actually will set the student back at least two months. Therefore, during the entire fall period, the student would spend having to re-learn old concepts. If a student has to spend time learn something TWICE, then the parents have wasted their money. There are so many elements of learning the violin...technique, notes, rhythm, posture...it takes a long time to develop these things. It's exactly like learning a language: if you take a second language throughout the school year, then decide to drop it for the summer, you will forget a lot. Same with exercising...if you have a strict exercise routine during the year then take the summer off, your body will not be in the same shape as it was once you decide to resume your workout. During the school year, it's more difficult to practice consistently and be prepared every week for lessons because of school and other extracurricular activities. So don't be a fool-use the summer time WISELY! Use this time to get ahead and blossom in your music career! As a violinist, I progressed the most during the summer. I enrolled in private lessons once a week AND weekly group lessons. Many summers I also enrolled in an over night, full week string camp at Fredonia University, and it was fun! It was nice not having the stress of school to distract me and that allowed me to get ahead and focus on my violin lessons. It also made my violin lessons during the summer much more enjoyable since I didn't have to worry about anything else. By the time I went back to school, I was that much more ahead than the other students who did not take lessons over the summer. Growing up, I have seen other students in my orchestra majorly regress because they did not enroll in any type of lessons during the summer time. I do believe summer time should be a time to relax, lounge around, and simply enjoy the sun! Don't worry, you'll have time for that too and when fall rolls around you'll be learning, not re-learning!
In this day and age...many kids are so involved in multiple activities. The top two that come to my mind are sports and dancing, both of which I did as a child. I've done it all: ice-skating, soccer, softball, ballet, tap, jazz, Spanish dancing, swimming lessons, tennis lessons...you name it, I've done it. At one point, I went to dance class five days a week! All of these extracurricular activities were very beneficial and taught me a great deal about teamwork, practicing to achieve a goal, enhancing skills, etc. I will never regret all of the activities I've done and I'm grateful I got a taste of it all! So, in this article, I'm not taking away anything from being involved in these things. However, I do want to make a point: once I hit college, I didn't continue any of them. In most colleges you have to be a top notch sports player or dancer to continue it in the school. I would guess 99% of kids who are involved in these things will not be the next Michael Jordan or the next prima ballerina. Now, the same could be said about violin: maybe you won't become a music major. Perhaps you just took on the violin for another skill to add to your list. That's fine! However, YOU'LL ALWAYS be able to pick up your violin and play it, no matter how old you get. You will always have the option to perform for family or friends as well. Can you say that about soccer? Or even dance? It's important to think about the big picture. After it's all said and done, the violin (or whatever musical instrument you play) will always be there for you. With that said, don't let other activities take over your music lessons. It's not worth the sacrifice. And hey...maybe you will be the next Michael Jordan. But you'd STILL have the violin to play your entire life! What if Michael Jordan could play the violin or piano? Wouldn't that be neat. Think twice before quitting. Remember, long term, you'll be happy you stuck it out!!!!!
<--I love this group's choice of concert attire. They look very cute but still have their own fashion flare!! If you're performing in a group, even a duet, try to coordinate your outfits for a complete, clean look. 
