Violinist Nicola Benedetti
In this interview, world-renown violinist, Nicola Benedetti talks about her upbringing as a Suzuki violin student and as a member of the Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
She also talks about getting into the Yehudi Menuhin Music School and the importance of youth music programs.
Photo by Rigo Murillo
As we plant a seed in the ground, we can’t see the development of the plant as the sun shines on the earth and the rain nurtures the seed, but one day a flower appears. Similarly, we can’t see the development of a child’s ability but we must keep nurturing until the flower unfolds. It is an example of the universal law of cause and effect. As the Bible says, “As you sow, so shall you reap.”
~ Shinichi Suzuki
Photo of Sacred Lotus Flower by T.Voekler
A child will learn from whatever is put in his/her environment. Most children enjoy learning music by ear if given the opportunity and proper surroundings.
Gradually, children learn to assume responsibility for their work as they mature, but it takes time.
Children become responsible, cooperative, and disciplined, not because parents tell them they should, but rather because they see their parents behaving this way and follow their example.
The beginning foundation you provide for your child’s music education is the most important step. Music education that includes a positive learning environment will greatly increase the chances that your child will enjoy learning music and is motivated to practice.
The Love Nurtured Music Program is based on an excellent musical foundation and skill-building blocks for your child, leading to excellence in both musical and human levels.
Every child can play! Every child is capable to achieve musical excellence and appreciation for the beauty of music if given the proper environment, masterful instruction, and parental guidance.
Would you like to give your child the gift of music?
Congratulations to Anna Victoria Lavelle and Alondra Flores for completing their 100 days of practice in a row chart this week!!
They have made tremendous improvements due to their increased practice discipline.
They were awarded their well-deserved Love Nurtured Music “Practice Champion T-shirts.”
If you want your free T-shirt, complete the 100-Day Challenge Chart here.
Congratulations to everybody who came to our workshop! Frances, Alondra, Ailyn, and Alejandro did a great job performing in the recital. Next time, we will be glad to have others who are prepared perform, as well. Well done!
A warm salute to celebrate our country, our home, sweet home!
Download this song here:
Listen to Rigo Murillo Play “God Bless America”
May 20, 2013 — Turns out, that old “practice makes perfect” adage may be overblown. New research led by Michigan State University’s Zach Hambrick finds that a copious amount of practice is not enough to explain why people differ in level of skill in two widely studied activities, chess and music.
In other words, it takes more than hard work to become an expert. Hambrick, writing in the research journal Intelligence, said natural talent and other factors likely play a role in mastering a complicated activity.
“Practice is indeed important to reach an elite level of performance, but this paper makes an overwhelming case that it isn’t enough,” said Hambrick, associate professor of psychology.
The debate over why and how people become experts has existed for more than a century. Many theorists argue that thousands of hours of focused, deliberate practice is sufficient to achieve elite status.
Hambrick disagrees.
“The evidence is quite clear,” he writes, “that some people do reach an elite level of performance without copious practice, while other people fail to do so despite copious practice.”
Hambrick and colleagues analyzed 14 studies of chess players and musicians, looking specifically at how practice was related to differences in performance. Practice, they found, accounted for only about one-third of the differences in skill in both music and chess.
So what made up the rest of the difference?
Based on existing research, Hambrick said it could be explained by factors such as intelligence or innate ability, and the age at which people start the particular activity. A previous study of Hambrick’s suggested that working memory capacity — which is closely related to general intelligence — may sometimes be the deciding factor between being good and great.
While the conclusion that practice may not make perfect runs counter to the popular view that just about anyone can achieve greatness if they work hard enough, Hambrick said there is a “silver lining” to the research.
“If people are given an accurate assessment of their abilities and the likelihood of achieving certain goals given those abilities,” he said, “they may gravitate toward domains in which they have a realistic chance of becoming an expert through deliberate practice.”
Hambrick’s co-authors are Erik Altmann from MSU; Frederick Oswald from Rice University; Elizabeth Meinz from Southern Illinois University; Fernand Gobet from Brunel University in the United Kingdom; and Guillermo Campitelli from Edith Cowan University in Australia.
The above story is based on materials provided by Michigan State University. Journal Reference: David Z. Hambrick, Frederick L. Oswald, Erik M. Altmann, Elizabeth J. Meinz, Fernand Gobet, Guillermo Campitelli. Deliberate practice: Is that all it takes to become an expert? Intelligence, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2013.04.001
One of the most challenging tasks for a young child in learning the violin is to stay concentrated long enough to stay in place and hold the instrument. Here are some fun exercises that have proven highly successful for keeping pre-Twinklers on task and improve concentration skills.
Penny challenge
Let your child stand in play position and place a penny (or any other coin) on top of each feet. Let him/her be still while listening to music (Twinkle variations, etc.) The challenge is to stay still for as long as the music plays. You can ask your child: How long can you stay still? can you stay still during the whole piece?
Ready, aim, look!
Let your child stand in play position with the violin on the shoulder (no bow). Make sure the violin is placed correctly in place. Then, look for an object in the room that can serve as a bulls eye to where your child to aim the scroll of the violin. It can be a lamp, stuffed animal, or anything that’s the height level of your child’s shoulder. As you let your child “aim” at the object, make sure that the feet are lined up too, without twisting the playing position. Let him/her look and the object, aim, and, then, look at the violin and stay still. Count or play music for a minute or two. At the end, let him go back to rest position and take a bow. Repeat and then you can look for a different bull’s eye to make it more interesting and fun.
Candle, be still
With only the bow, let your child stand on her feet play position and let her hold the bow with a nice bow hand, pointing the tip of the bow towards the ceiling. Tell your child that we are going to pretend that the bow is a candle and that we need to keep still and pointing up. Let her hold it for an entire Twinkle variation.
Dig into some practice tips from other experienced parents of music students like yours. These are ways they have found that help during the “dreaded practice time” each day.
Time management
Remove distractions
Rewards
Praise the child
Child “in-charge”
Make it fun
Aug. 7, 2013 — Listening to music activates large networks in the brain, but different kinds of music are processed differently. A team of researchers from Finland, Denmark and the UK has developed a new method for studying music processing in the brain during a realistic listening situation. Using a combination of brain imaging and computer modeling, they found areas in the auditory, motor, and limbic regions to be activated during free listening to music. They were furthermore able to pinpoint differences in the processing between vocal and instrumental music.
The new method helps us to understand better the complex brain dynamics of brain networks and the processing of lyrics in music. The study was published in the journal NeuroImage.
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the research team, led by Dr. Vinoo Alluri from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, recorded the brain responses of individuals while they were listening to music from different genres, including pieces by Antonio Vivaldi, Miles Davis, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, The Shadows, Astor Piazzolla, and The Beatles. Following this, they analyzed the musical content of the pieces using sophisticated computer algorithms to extract musical features related to timbre, rhythm and tonality. Using a novel cross-validation method, they subsequently located activated brain areas that were common across the different musical stimuli.
The study revealed that activations in several areas in the brain belonging to the auditory, limbic, and motor regions were activated by all musical pieces. Notable, areas in the medial orbitofrontal region and the anterior cingulate cortex, which are relevant for self-referential appraisal and aesthetic judgments, were found to be activated during the listening. A further interesting finding was that vocal and instrumental music were processed differently. In particular, the presence of lyrics was found to shift the processing of musical features towards the right auditory cortex, which suggests a left-hemispheric dominance in the processing of the lyrics. This result is in line with previous research, but now for the first time observed during continuous listening to music.
“The new method provides a powerful means to predict brain responses to music, speech, and soundscapes across a variety of contexts,” says Dr. Vinoo Alluri.
The above story is based on materials provided by Suomen Akatemia (Academy of Finland), via AlphaGalileo.
Journal Reference: Vinoo Alluri, Petri Toiviainen, Torben E. Lund, Mikkel Wallentin, Peter Vuust, Asoke K. Nandi, Tapani Ristaniemi, Elvira Brattico. From Vivaldi to Beatles and back: Predicting lateralized brain responses to music. NeuroImage, 2013; 83: 627 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.06.064
Credit: Image courtesy of Suomen Akatemia (Academy of Finland)
