|
Welcome
to Music Teachers Insightful Practices (MTIPS)
Newsletter!
February
9, 2000
Table
of Contents:
1.
MTIPS Theme
2. Welcome Notes
3. MTIPS Development
4. Notable Quotables
5. Notable Birthdays
1. MTIPS Theme
Today,
students are barraged by decisions; perhaps life was a
bit simpler 50 years ago. Yet in the decisions also lie
the ability not to act. And in this ability not to act,
lies the "opportunity for lack of success". If
repetition is the mother of skill, then action, is the
father of success!
2.
Welcome Notes
Welcome
to Music Teachers Insightful Practices (MTIPS)!
Welcome
to our 37 new subscribers! And thank you to our friends
and colleagues who forward MTIPS to their friends!
Sorry
for the 6 day delay in sending the newsletter this
month. The flu bug finally caught me (I've been avoiding
it quite nicely for the past 3 months!) and it hit hard!
MTIPS
is a free monthly newsletter that's goal is to provide
piano teachers, (hopefully you!) with insightful
practices that will make the career of sharing music
with soon-to-be musicians a more rewarding and
successful one. I hope that this electronic publication
assists you in creating a more enjoyable and successful
lesson for you and your students. Please let me know how
I can be of service to you in reaching this goal. You
may contact me at NickAmbrosino@musicsimplymusic.com.
I
look forward to playing with you through this
newsletter. Let's have some fun!
Be
sure to check our web site at: http://www.musicsimplymusic.com.
We have lots of information, and resources you can use.
We're constantly adding and up-dating, so check it
often!
3.
MTIPS Development
Recently,
I have been experiencing some challenges with a couple
of my adolescent male students. The challenges show
themselves in the lesson as lack of motivation and a
general feeling of frustration on the part of the
student.
What
made these challenges most intriguing was that the
students with whom I was working were very musical
students. They loved to create their own arrangements of
popular songs of popular songs. They, respectively, play
baritone and drum in the school band. Yet across the
board, throughout the student's lives a theme has been
arising for the past year …low or no motivation to
practice.
Despite
many problem solving session with them, as well as
several changes to the approach and music I was using
with them, they continued to avoid the weekly practice.
The
answer we found as student/teacher teams, lied in the
word "non-negotiables". It occurred to us,
that many of the young people of today have to many
options, to many chances to not follow through. Yet, if
you look at the clues that success leaves behind, having
options, or rather ways out, are not one of the keys to
success.
The
employee who starts a new business "on the
side" is less likely to be successful than the
person who leaves his job and leaps into his new
venture. The person looking for better physical health
through exercise is more likely to succeed when he is
committed to meeting a partner each day at a specific
time. The key in both situations is the
"non-negotiability" of the decisions.
As
a side note, one of the student brought up the
"non-negotiableness" of a person who is a
recovering addict of some sort; there simply isn't the
option to have a drink or try "just one hit"
of a drug.
This
mentality of success is a key factor in stability and
achievement for any music student; the
"non-negotiability" of practicing every day
from 4:00-4:30. It is not a matter of choice, it is not
a matter of having something better to do. You, very
simply, do it without thought.
Today,
students are barraged by decisions; perhaps life was a
bit simpler 50 years ago. Yet in the decisions also lie
the ability not to act. And in this ability not to act,
lies the "opportunity for lack of success". If
repetition is the mother of skill, then action, is the
father of success!
4.
Notable Quotables
"The
purpose of art is the gradual, lifelong construction of
a state of wonder and serenity." -Glenn Gould
"The
pianist is in trouble who believes that only perfection
can represent quality." -Dale Reubart
5.
Notable Birthdays
Georg
Friedrich Handel - 2/23/1685
Felix Mendelssohn 2/3/1809
Gioacchino Rossini 2/29/1792
Copyright
© 2000 Nicholas Ambrosino. All rights reserved.
Permission is granted to reproduce, copy or distribute
MTIPS so long as this cop1yright notice and full
information about contacting the author is attached. The
author of this article is Nicholas Ambrosino and he may
be contacted at:
http://www.musicsimplymusic.com
director@musicsimplymusic.com
To
subscribe/unsubscribe, send an email to: Mtips-list@musicsimplymusic.com
With either words "subscribe MTIPS" or the
words "unsubscribe MTIPS" in the body of the
email.
"We
enjoy what we do, and so will you!"
phone: 631-863-2354fax: 631-471-8311
Click
here to return to MTIPS archive page
|
