They did it!

The 100 Day Practice Challenge is over and we would like to congratulate Devin Bogolin, Trent Englum, Austin Iturralde, Evelyn Iturralde, Hannah Kirby, John Kloosterman, Megan McConnaughay, and Avery Neff on completing 100 consecutive days of practice! Altogether, those students practiced a minimum of 24,000 minutes or 400 hours! Wow! We're so proud of you!

I took a video of Evelyn a few weeks ago, before the Practice Challenge ended. Here's what she has to say about practicing...

Congratulations, Kaelynn!

We want to offer congratulations to Kaelynn Clark, 

a voice and piano student at 

Mattix Music Studio!

Kaelynn received First Place for singing "Memory" from Cats at the Clinton Rosette Talent Show recently and also got a perfect score at her Solo and Ensemble Contest.

Way to go! We're so proud of you!

Maybe you should dress up like this next time, Kaelynn!

Want to watch the original cast? Check out this video.

Spring Break Practice Ideas

Hi everyone!

How is your Practice Challenge going? Have you been able to practice 10 days in a row? Did you make it to 50 days? How many will make it to 100 days of practice? We'll find out soon, since we're over halfway there!

Many of you are thinking about the upcoming Spring Break and wondering how to fit practice into your vacation, especially if you are traveling. I'd like to share some general ideas with you today. Next week I'll share some advice for pianists who obviously can't take a baby grand with them to Florida!

1. Set specific goals.

Goal-setting is one of the most important ways to ensure you become a better musician. This is a good principle for everyday life, but it is especially important when schedules change (for example, going on a vacation). In your case, a current goal has already been established by the 10-, 50-, or 100-day practice challenge at Mattix Music Studio. Going into vacation with a specific goal gives you a huge head start towards success.

2. Establish a specific time.

Another important element is choosing a specific time of day to meet your goal. Some ideas:

--Reserve 30 minutes for practice right after lunch before heading to the pool. Swimming on a full stomach should be avoided anyway, so a post-meal practice session is always a good idea.
--Practice first thing in the morning. This can be a meaningful way to start out your day. Wake up your mind and body at the same time by enjoying some early-morning music.
--Practice when you have a lull in your schedule. For example, if you need some downtime after a long day in the sun, setting aside a block of time for music is a really effective way to unwind.

3. Choose "vacation music."

Why not choose some "vacation music?" For some personality types, selecting something different to work on while on vacation can be highly motivating. Our Practice Challenge is to accumulate as many consecutive practice days as possible, up to 100. As long as you are meeting your 30-, 45- or 60-minute goal, you may work on some "fun" music during vacation time. Brainstorm some new music ideas with your teacher if this idea appeals to you. This will make your practice seem different and can give a lot of energy to your practice during a break.

4. Try some "out-of-the-box" practice. 
You may already know about some ways to practice that are useful when learning notes or memorizing music. Here are some specific ideas:

a. Sing through the melody and harmony parts of your piece.
b. Clap rhythms in your music, focusing on especially challenging passages.
c. Review flashcards.
d. Work on memorizing away from your instrument. Think through the melody and tap each note with the correct fingers.

5. Remember why you're doing what you're doing. 

Anyone who studies a language quickly learns the axiom "use it or lose it." This means that if I'm not practicing the new words and grammar I'm learning regularly, I will never be able to truly master the language. Many people compare learning music to learning a language. The goal of our Practice Challenge is to provide motivation to practice the language of music each day. At the end of this Challenge, you will notice a greater fluency in how you "speak the language" of music. This increased fluency is largely because of the hours you have invested with your instrument.

***

Best wishes with your vacation practicing! Keep up the good work!

Do you have any other ideas about how to fit in practice while on vacation? If you do, share it in the comments section below!

I admit it, I'm a lazy violinist.

Yesterday I told my student Adam that what he really needs to play his piece well is to be lazy. His eyes bugged out and he definitely could not believe what I just said. Yep, he needs to be more lazy.
But here's a big secret that nobody knows: Musicians are jocks. We're all athletes who are working out very specific parts of our muscles everyday. The stigma of the nerdy musician who is as pale as a vampire because we never see the sun, wearing glasses while squinting at small music notes and whose backside is shaped like the chair on which we practice may have some legitimacy, but we're actually pretty amazing athletes. I dare you to challenge me to a thumb war!

When I was in college I practiced violin for 6-8 hours a day, which is pretty standard for strings and piano majors. By my junior year I developed severe tendonitis and carpal tunnel syndrome in both of my hands due to overuse and bad technique. I literally couldn't hold a fork for a while, or even turn a door handle. The doctors told me I couldn't play violin again and that I should just quit and do something else with my life. Well, tell that to someone who is in their junior year of college, only has one legitimate skill and 3/4 of their music credits done, and watch them dissolve into a puddle of despair. I stopped playing for about 9 months and slowly worked myself back up to practicing as much as I could. Not 8 hours a day, but several.

The way that I got my violin back was through being "lazy," believe it or not. In the past I had tried to muscle and power my way through playing violin for hours on end, but the real trick is to simply relax and not move any muscle you don't have to. Now I teach my students to maximize their body's natural shape and movements, and to let gravity do the work for them. String players can relax their shoulders and let the natural weight of their arms drop into the strings through a relaxed bow hand. Piano players can let gravity help them drop arm weight into the keys for a beautiful, strong tone without unnecessary effort. Singers and wind players can use their core muscles to relax and control their breath without tensing up.

I've got a big challenge coming up in February - I booked a gig playing violin for a furniture store, of all things, and I have to play solo music for four hours. I have breaks, but I still have to make it for four hours straight. I'm out of shape from the 8-hour college days, so the only way I can physically do that is if I am as lazy as I can possibly be. I'm going to try to be completely limp except for the few muscles that I have to move in order to play. And you know what, I should be playing like that every time I pick up my instrument! Not only do I protect my body, but it sounds a lot better, too. Wish me luck!

Check out how relaxed violinist Alexander Markov is playing the killer Paganini Caprice No. 5. You won't believe it!

Take a look at yourself and your kids and see if you are holding tension anywhere, and then talk to your teacher about how to relax and maximize your efforts for a beautiful sound. Be (the right kind of) lazy! :)

Practicing is Tough

As we're all settled into the school year and coming down the home stretch of the semester, you may be finding that practice time is getting to be more of a challenge. "Why does it have to be so hard to get my kid to practice?" you might ask.

I'm a new parent, so I'm definitely no expert, but one thing I've learned from being in charge of a baby is that generally, humans don't like to work hard unless they have to. This is most clear when Clara is doing "tummy time." She is supposed to spend a certain number of minutes per day on her tummy so she can build muscles and eventually learn how to crawl. Let me tell you, Clara does NOT like tummy time.

She starts off pretty happy...

  

Then she moves to concern...

Which turns to anger...

And finally, defeat.

Then Extremely Mean Mom flips her over and all is right with the world.

What Clara doesn't know yet, is that once she gets stronger, she'll be able to sit up and play, empty all the cupboards, and chase the cat, which is going to be worth it! I'm guessing that you all have seen or experienced this little microcosm in your own house when you're trying to get your kids to practice regularly. It's not always fun as a parent, but we try to do what's best for our kids.  By the way, if you are an adult student, you may not actually be crying by the end, but haven't we all felt frustrated at having to work hard for something that doesn't necessarily yield immediate results? Or procrastinated doing something because we knew it was going to be difficult?

If you're six or sixty-six, practicing can be tough, but here are some things to think about:

When we encourage our kids to practice (or struggle through all-out battles), we're teaching them how to persevere through difficult challenges; some things take a lot of work. But, what a great reward at the end! You and your kids will get to experience the joy of performing a piece of music well, conquering goals, achieving better focus and discipline at work and school, and being able to appreciate music and art on a much deeper level. In the wise words of Lyndsey, a 6-year-old piano student:

"I work hard at piano. If you work hard, you learn the music faster and it's easier!"

So, keep up the good work you guys! We get to model to our families, whether they are the ones practicing or us, that practicing pays off. I can't wait to go to the upcoming recitals because that is a great time to enjoy how far all the students have come. We teachers are so proud of you!

By the way, our Winter Recitals are coming up soon, so make sure to invite all your friends and family!

Sycamore Recitals

1:00 & 2:30pm on Saturday, December 15th 

at the Federated Church - 612 W. State St.

Western Springs Recital

2:00pm on Sunday, December 16th 

at the Western Springs Christian Reformed Church - 5140 Wolf Rd.

You're invited! Concert this Sunday!

You're all invited to a concert I'm doing with a friend of mine, Daniel Wilder, this Sunday. We will be playing a recital of cello/piano pieces.

This is what's on the program:

Beethoven's Cello Sonata #3 in A Major, 
Bach's Viola da Gamba Sonata #2 in D Major, 
Massenet's "Méditation" from Thäis

Cassadó's "Requiebros" 

Who: Daniel Wilder (cello) and Dan Mattix (piano)
When: Sunday, August 19, at 6 PM
Where: Western Springs Christian Reformed Church, 5140 Wolf Rd., Western Springs, IL 60558

Feel free to email me at dan@mattixmusic.com if you have any questions.

Hope to see you there!

Strike up the band instruments!

This school year our Sycamore studio is expanding and we are excited to offer flute, saxophone and guitar lessons, along with our usual instruments- piano, violin, viola, and voice. We would like to introduce you to two new teachers who have joined our faculty to help us out with band instruments.

Meet Pénélope!

Pénélope Turgeon is our new flute teacher. Not only is she a lovely person, she is a great flautist and teacher as well!
Pénélope is a native of Québec and has recently moved to Illinois from California where she obtained her Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Flute Performance. She is currently a Performance Certificate student at Northern Illinois University. Pénélope has been a dedicated flute teacher for nearly a decade and tailors her lessons for students of all ages and abilities. She focuses on technique and musicianship to prepare students for fluent musical control of repertoire for school assignments, concerts and/or competitions.

Meet David!

David McCray is our new saxophone and guitar teacher. He is super cool and jazzy, and is a recording artist, too!
David uses an integrated musical approach, incorporating music theory and history, singing, and aural skills, so that students are able to understand why they do what they do, and not only how. He earned his Master’s degree in jazz arranging at Northern Illinois University, studying arranging under Tom Garling and Rodrigo Villanueva; and his Bachelor’s degree from Cornell College, in Mt. Vernon, Iowa, double majoring in music and religious studies. David is interested in helping students learn many styles in the stream of American roots music - blues, folk, rock, funk, and R&B.

Maybe you'll see these guys around when you're at the studio for your lessons soon. (Lessons begin the week of August 27th, by the way.) Please tell your neighbors and friends who might be interested in flute, sax or guitar lessons that they can find a great teacher at Mattix Music Studio!