Setting Goals in Music

English writer Aldous Huxley was quoted as saying: “Every ceiling, when reached, becomes a floor, upon which one walks as a matter of course and prescriptive right.”   Huxley was talking about the process of setting goals, attaining them, then setting new goals on the strength of what was already achieved. This “stepped” approach to skill development works because it allows us to celebrate the achievement of smaller, attainable accomplishments as we work towards larger, long term goals. Because of this, most music instruction series are “levelled,” allowing a student to “graduate” from one book to the next, celebrating the…

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Parents – How to Help Your Child Practice

Tips and Tricks for Practicing “The most crucial ingredient by far for success in music is… what happens in the practice room.”       – William Westney, Concert Pianist. We hear it time and again: “how do I help my child practice?” especially from parents who don’t play or read music. It can be a daunting task, trying to help your child practice properly in something you may not have any instruction in! At Crescendo we believe our parents are a critical part of students learning journey — our teachers aim to partner with the parents to provide the…

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Crescendo Practice Guidelines

A NOTE FOR PARENTS Parents and students, we would like to welcome you to fantastic year of music making!  We look forward to partnering with you to achieve success and a sense of accomplishment in your son or daughter’s music learning journey! Practice is SO critical to learning any instrument (and yes, this applies to our voice students as well)!  Don’t forget, “practice makes permanent.”  But there is more to this…smart practice should always be your goal (good use of time and well planned out practice)!  As a general guide, if you practice three times a week, you will retain…

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