Leena | Alexander Technique to Improve Balance

 Leena had studied with other teachers for about six years, loved Broadway musicals, and had memorized an enormous amount of material. Her mother reached out to me to help Leena overcome some vocal tension that had recently begun to affect the quality of her singing. Good listening “mom!”

Experience has taught me that a young student’s natural tendency to sing out with enthusiasm – often hampered by poorly written vocal material — can harm the developing voice. So, in our first lesson together, I asked Leena a lot of questions. I got her to sing a simple song, and then did more detailed work to find out her vocal range. It became clear that she had strained her voice doing a middle school musical. I examined her part, and immediately noticed its awkward lyric setting. Once Leena knew what to look for, she could deal with this challenge more easily and not strain.

It also turned out that Leena had stopped playing the piano. Once we had talked about how useful her piano skills could be, together we expanded her lesson time to include piano as well as singing. She learnt how to play the chords and melodies to the more lyrical songs I chose for her, and now she can accompany herself.

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Shaylen | Sing-play classes for children

I first met Shaylen in a music class I taught for three- and four-year-old's at a local Montessori School. What immediately struck me about him were the sophisticated questions that he would ask during class. He was quite clear about not accepting answers that did not make sense to him — answering him was a genuine challenge I appreciated.

Several years later, when his parents asked me to teach him piano, I was thrilled. It quickly became apparent that he had perfect pitch, and that he memorized very easily which seemed to be natural gifts, along with spelling and math. He was interested in astronomy and liked Harry Potter.

We have now been working together for about eight years. His family is supportive of his music, upgrading his instrument from electronic keyboard to grand piano. He also has taken up the cello, which he plays in the local orchestra. Shaylen has become very fond of J.S. Bach; when I asked him why, he talked about the patterns that he saw in the music and how they engage and challenge him. 

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Chair Exercises Can Help Those with Stability Issues | Sing-play classes for children

Sometimes Barbara Schutzman exercises while standing. Other times she does her workout from a chair, like during Mary Beth Perfas’ Sit & Stay Fit class at Northern Dutchess Hospital Women’s View Center at the Healthy Annex in Rhinebeck.

“The fact that she’s able to address almost the entire body based on using a chair is wonderful,” said Schutzman, 75, of Rhinebeck. “It’s quite a workout.”

Exercise and physical activity, reports the National Institutes of Health’s MedlinePlus, are good for seniors and nearly everyone else, including endurance routines for better breathing and heart rate, strength exercises for stronger muscles, flexibility programs to stay limber and balance training to help prevent falls.

And yet, while fall-related injuries send more than 2 million seniors to the emergency room each year, it’s a fear of falling that causes many seniors and others with physical limitations or balance issues to avoid exercising, even while it can improve balance and overall fitness. One way to minimize worry while working out is by doing so while sitting in a chair or holding on to one.

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What happens in a music lesson? | Award Winning Music Teacher

All music making that is led by the ear, and singing has a flow and ease that is deeply rewarding to the student, as well as to the listener. This is especially true when the student is thinking of giving his music to another person, as a gift. Both of these principles are embedded in my approach to teaching music.

Each lessonorganically develops as, I adjust what they are learning based on information that I get, using many of the methods listed below.

I will typically begin by asking what types of music theylike to listen to and who their favorite singers are.I will then go and listen to them myself if I have never heard of them, which is likely as there is so much music available. I suggest new pieces of music for them to listen to, or even better to watch on YouTube and find out what they like or dislike about the songs, pieces of music.I really like my students to play music that they have a connection to and they often bring in music that they want to learn. This encourages a collaborative approach to the lessons.

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