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.
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
The Suzuki Association of the Americas Violin Committee announced that the Revised Book 6 of the Suzuki Violin School is finally in print. Included in the mailing of the next SAA Journal is a list of Suggested Repertoire for Books 6, 7 and 8 to accompany those volumes.
By mandate from the 2009 International Teacher Trainers Conference, the ISA Violin Committee was to compile a list of suggested repertoire from different style periods appropriate for each book level to be published in the Revised Books 6-8. It proved a difficult task for all the Regional Association Violin Committees to arrive at consensus over a specific list. As a result, each Regional Association is to assemble its own list for distribution to its members. This is not to create an alternate repertoire but to suggest additional pieces to fill out the depth of the current books, in many instances with pieces Dr. Suzuki himself used in lessons and concerts. There will be a paragraph published in the Revised Books 6, 7 and 8 explaining this procedure. (See pg. 32 of the newly published Revised Book 6 for this paragraph.)
Beginning in 2010, the SAA Violin Committee, in collaboration with the SAA violin Teacher Trainers, began compiling such a list. The Committee appreciates the generous input from the Trainers in that process.
This list is organized by category: Tone pieces, Kreisler pieces, Concertos and Sonatas, Bach, “Show” pieces, and Modern pieces.
The list you have received today does NOT preclude any teacher from using their personal favorites, nor a Trainer from presenting a more comprehensive list for each book or distributing their own list. This list is meant as a guideline for our membership and provide a baseline resource in our training courses. This list is NOT immutable and will be revisited and revised as we work with the list in our teaching and training over the next several years. We look forward to your feedback.
SAA Violin Committee:
Allen Lieb, Chair; Ronda Cole; Lorraine Fink; Karen Kimmett; Sandy Reuning
If you are already aware of all the academic benefits that Suzuki violin lessons will bring to your child’s life and know how the Suzuki Method works, congratulations! You are one of the many happy parents who experience the joy of nurturing your child’s efforts and wants him/her to succeed in music, academics, social life, and beyond. Here is how to get started:
If you started music lessons in grade one, or played the recorder in kindergarten, thank your parents and teachers. Those lessons you dreaded — or loved — helped develop your brain. The younger you started music lessons, the stronger the connections in your brain.
A study published last month in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests that musical training before the age of seven has a significant effect on the development of the brain, showing that those who began early had stronger connections between motor regions — the parts of the brain that help you plan and carry out movements… READ MORE
Schedule an observation and see for yourself
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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 Love Nurtured Music program embraces the ideals and philosophy of Dr. Shinichi Suzuki, founder of the Suzuki Method. The student, teacher and parent are the solid foundation of a learning triangle. The parent attends the lessons, creates a positive home learning environment, and organizes the daily listening and practice sessions.
No previous music or teaching experience is necessary.
More than forty years ago, Suzuki realized the implications of the fact that children the world over learn to speak their native language with ease. He began to apply the basic principles of language acquisition to the learning of music, and called his method the mother-tongue approach. The ideas of parent responsibility, loving encouragement, constant repetition, etc., are some of the special features of the Suzuki approach.
Parent Involvement
As when a child learns to talk, parents are involved in the musical learning of their child. They attend lessons with the child and serve as “home teachers” during the week. One parent often learns to play before the child, so that s/he understands what the child is expected to do. Parents work with the teacher to create an enjoyable learning environment.
Early Beginning
The early years are crucial for developing mental processes and muscle coordination. Listening to music should begin at birth; formal training may begin at age three or four, but it is never too late to begin.
Listening
Children learn words after hearing them spoken hundreds of times by othe rs. Listening to music every day is important, especially listening to pieces in the Suzuki repertoire so the child knows them immediately.
Repetition
Constant repetition is essential in learning to play an instrument. Children do not learn a word or piece of music and then discard it. They add it to their vocabulary or repertoire, gradually using it in new and more sophisticated ways.
Encouragement
As with language, the child’s effort to learn an instrument should be met with sincere praise and encouragement. Each child learns at his/her own rate, building on small steps so that each one can be mastered. Children are also encouraged to support each other’s efforts, fostering an attitude of generosity and cooperation.
Learning with Other Children
In addition to private lessons, children participate in regular group lessons and performance at which they learn from an are motivated by each other.
Graded Repertoire
Children do not practice exercises to learn to talk, but use language for its natural purpose of communication and self-expression. Pieces in the Suzuki repertoire are designed to present technical problems to be learned in the context of the music rather than through dry technical exercises.
Delayed Reading
Children learn to read after their ability to talk has been well established. in the same way, children should develop basic technical competence on their instruments before being taught to read music.
How do I get my child started on Suzuki Violin?
Very young children can be taught to play an instrument using the Suzuki approach. The child learns by listening, imitating, and repeating sounds, just as we learn to talk. The Suzuki music method takes children through music learning from infancy to excellence in music performance. The main purpuse of the Suzuki music lessons is to teach discipline, hard work skills, and a noble character to children.
The Suzuki Method creates a partnership between the teacher, parent, and child, inspiring a fine musical ear, self-confidence, and a lifelong love of music. The “Suzuki Parent” attends all individual and group lessons. Your Suzuki music teacher will give you all the necessary tools to help your child with daily home practicing, as well as providing instructions for the Suzuki music listening assignments. No previous music or teaching experience is necessary.
