Listen, Sing, Play

From Ms. Lois:
I was sad to hear that children and teachers will not be going back to school this school year. So for the time being we will be continuing our remote classes and videos. It’s tough knowing that we won’t be together live although I have enjoyed doing the videos and the FaceTime/ Zoom teaching. It lifts my spirits to see you all.

I wanted to put in a couple of thoughts I have about our classes. As you know when you signed up for lessons that our courses are time sensitive. Your children are passing through a critical time of their life for ear training. A time in their lives that won’t come back again. You can always learn songs, and words, theory, repertoire. Those are not the critical things. What matters is the listening and singing. Be sure your children watch the videos, watch their DVD’s, listen to their cd’s, or however you are listening. Encourage them to sing with us. You join in if they are feeling shy. We are trying to give them this gift for their lifetime, but we depend on you to help us.

Don’t worry if they are not playing everything up to speed, or hands together. The important thing is to Listen, Sing, Play. That’s what seals the deal. Even if it is one hand slow, that helps set the ear training.

I also want to encourage you to hang in there with patience and love. What we all remember are those incidents that carry an emotional charge, happiness, anxiety, stress, embarrassment, That’s what we remember. So work at creating warm, supportive, loving experiences full of discovery and joy. The rest they can do later.