PARENTS CORNER

"Music gives wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness and life to everything"

-Plato

Parenting a musical child can be fulfilling  in so many ways.  You are giving your child the ability to find beauty in their world around them in a deeper and a more complex way.  Even stresses and hardships in life can be expressed as a creative affirmation in music.  This is true of all the arts but music surrounds our daily living in such a way that it demands that we pay closer attention.  Moreover, as a parent who has taken the initiative to give this wonderful gift to your child, we at Opus Music applaud you and want to give you as much help in this endeavor as possible.  Here are some quick hits on what we expect from the parents at Opus Music:

• Spend some time after the lessons when possible to discuss with the teacher what your child is working on and how much they should be practicing.
• Get their imaginations going with their instruments.  Going to concerts, listening to music and watching programs on television together can all get your child to start envisioning themselves playing better and enjoying their time with their instruments.
• Visualize!  With younger children, it can be so much fun to play games that allow them to visualize themselves blissfully performing.
• Teenagers can sometimes be so fickle and petulant when a parent gets TOO involved in their children's studies.  Particularly when it comes to things that they consider their own.  However, a hands-off approach is far from the best solution.  Their understanding of "cool" is absolutely an off-limits issue.  But your job is to make sure they understand that many are devoted to music, but few are devoted to putting in the work.  Their egos are so fragile at this age and the slightest error while practicing can sometimes devastate their confidence.  So the last thing they need is a parent who reminds them of all their failures before and demands perfection rather than enjoyment of music.  Allow them the room to dream big and teach them that the love and enjoyment of music is the most precious thing in their development.  Your Opus Music instructor will provide the proper encouragement and the highest quality music education your teenager needs
• Habit forming.  Some addictions are good for you!  Some children say they want to learn an instrument but absolutely hate practicing.  In this case, in the very begining get your child to form a habit of holding the instrument or sitting at the piano.  Then start with 5 minutes periodically on the instrument to get that  initial trepidation of not being comfortable yet with the instrument out of the way.  Increase practice times incrementally but always be careful not to move too quickly or to slowly.  But always reward good practice habits and your child will be on his or her way to great results!