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!

Two Line Design

By now, I'm sure you've all noticed the beautiful works of art adorning the walls of our studio space. Well, I would like to officially introduce you to Luke Lusk, the artist behind Two Line Design. Luke has been a good friend of Katie and me for many years.

We have received gifts of art from Luke for numerous birthdays and holidays. On a few occasions, we even commissioned him for custom art projects. Our house is full of his work including urban and nature photography, calligraphy, and most recently, a stunning painting for Clara's nursery (see below)! Also, in addition to being an accomplished visual artist, Luke is a musician. He plays a mean clarinet! Perhaps you will hear him perform with us at a future studio recital.

All of the art in our studio that is marked with a price is for sale. If you see something you would like to take home, follow the simple purchasing instructions posted next to the desk in the large teaching room. Luke's art has filled our house with color and joy. We hope that it will do the same for you! Be on the lookout for new works of art coming throughout the year.

Also, be sure to visit and "like" his Facebook page: www.facebook.com/twolinedesign.

P.S. Credit goes to "Uncle Luke" for the beautiful photos of Clara in our last post.

Clara Marie!

WELCOME CLARA!

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of Clara Marie on July 3rd at 1:03am. She weighed 7 pounds, 12 ounces and was 20 inches long. We couldn't be happier with our little bundle of joy and so far she has been a very sweet and easy baby. She has already enjoyed listening to both of us practice during naps and has very long fingers, which will come in handy when she's playing octaves at Carnegie Hall.

Wanted: Your art!

Check this out! The "before" picture. What a blah studio space...

We clearly need your help to add some color and life to our two new studios.

So will you help us? We are asking that you or your child create some colorful music-related art that we'll put up around the studio.

It could be a photo, a drawing, a painting, or some creative art project from school.

You could use an instrument, a composer, or your thoughts and feelings about music for inspiration.

Do your best to make it colorful, creative and fun! Family and friends are welcome to make art, too.

Just bring your creation to your lesson and we'll hang it up!

New studio space!

Mattix Music Studio is expanding!  

After teaching for two-and-a-half years at the Federated Church, we are moving into a new office building 
as of next week. 

The address is 515 DeKalb Ave., Sycamore, just east of the police station between Beltone and Wolff 
Financial. (Click here for a map.)

Beginning Monday (4/30), we will hold all lessons in our studio, so don't go to Federated Church looking 
for us! We'll be at our studio all day on Saturday setting everything up, so feel free to drop by and say hello 
if you're curious to see the new space.


We're so happy you're a part of our grand opening! 

"I have to memorize it?!?"

You may already be hearing grumblings at home about how students are required to memorize the pieces that they will be performing at our Spring Recital, but you might not know why we're putting you and your kids through this "torture."

The practice of memorizing music for performance began during the Romantic Era (1820-1900) when Nicolo Paganini, Franz Liszt, and Clara Schumann were touring around Europe performing. Before that time, performers often used music in concerts and recitals, partly due to the fact that they didn't typically have very much time beforehand to prepare. New music was written and performed so quickly that memorizing it all in a short amount of time wasn't realistic or expected. But beginning in the Romantic Era, music was written and prepared for more slowly, because composers were often writing "art for art's sake" instead of for a quick paycheck.

  Listen to Paganini's music

Nicolo Paganini (1782-1840), one of the greatest violinists of all time, spent most of his adult life on tour performing his own compositions and those of other composers. His ingenuity and skill developed the way the violin was played and the music that was written for it. And he performed most of his music from memory.

  Listen to Franz Liszt's music

Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was quite the lady's man and rock star in his day. He was one of the greatest pianists in history and also quite a sensational performer. Ladies would often swoon and faint during his concerts (picture Beatlemania in the '50s).  In his youth, he saw Paganini perform and wanted to be the pianist version of Paganini. Liszt wrote his own pieces, but also transcribed many classic pieces by other composers for piano... and he performed most of his concerts from memory.

Listen to Clara Schumann's music

Clara Schumann (1819-1896) was one classy lady. The wife of famous composer Robert Schumann, she was also a renowned concert pianist.  She liked to perform the works of famous composers before her like Bach and Mozart, her husband’s compositions, and those of her close friend Johannes Brahms. After her husband Robert died, she concertized throughout Europe and ended her career as a celebrated piano teacher. She taught her students to play all their solo piece from memory so they would perform better.

These famous musicians changed the way music was performed. Other musicians wanted to emulate them and began memorizing their pieces as well, until the tradition of memorizing solo music became commonplace. Today, we musicians spend a lot of time memorizing our solo music in order to perform it better. 


Here are some of the practical benefits of memorizing music:

·      Better note accuracy

·      Better expressiveness and artistry

·      Better ability to engage with the audience

·      Faster speed

·      Comfort performing at the drop of a hat

·      Develops performance skills under pressure than can translate easily to presentations, job interviews, public speaking, and many other aspects of non-musical life

So if your kids are complaining about memorizing music, feel free to blame Paganini, Liszt or Schumann, but their performances really will be significantly better once the music is safely stored in their memories.

What is music theory, anyway?

Many of you piano parents have seen your kids carrying around a theory book and have probably helped them on their theory homework at some point, but you might not know why we bother. The string player parents out there might not even know what music theory is, or how their students use it in their playing, since there isn't a standard theory textbook that we use.

Music theory can be a very intimidating subject for newcomers to the music scene, but it doesn't have to be. Theory is simply the study of the nuts and bolts of music. In English class we learn about nouns, verbs, adjectives, and sentence structure, and music theory is pretty much the same thing. We learn about the basics of how music is created, terms we need to know to play it, and we analyze the harmony so we can better interpret the music. In fact, without music theory, we would have no idea how to play any of the notes on the page.

As a professional musician, I use my training in music theory (which involves years of study in college, by the way) to inform many of my artistic decisions. I can also better appreciate high level music if I take the time to examine how the composer created it. Just like admiring the architecture of a beautiful building, we can admire the craftsmanship of a Bach Partita or a Beethoven Sonata.

So keep helping your pianists with their theory homework (if you can still keep up with them!) and quiz the string players you know on their music theory. All of our students should know about note names, clefs, dynamics, slurs, ties, sharps, flats, tempo markings, chords, and many other aspects of music. You will probably be surprised by how much they already know about the inner workings of music theory!

Big News!

If you've seen me lately you might be thinking to yourself that I really overdid it on the Christmas cookies this year, but Dan and I are very excited to announce that we are expecting a baby! Baby Mattix will be arriving around June 28th this summer. We couldn't be happier and are having fun picking out strollers and debating over baby names.

Our plan for lessons after this school year is to hire well-qualified substitute teachers for the summer and fall, and I will resume teaching next January. Dan will take the summer off and teach again in the fall. We will be interviewing teachers this spring to find people who are a good fit for our studio.

Thanks for sharing in our good news and see you soon!
Katie

Welcome to Our Blog!

We’ll, we’re finally starting a blog on our website! Our hope is that this blog will serve as a place where students and parents can interact with their teacher outside of their normally scheduled lesson. Feel free to post questions or comments anytime and we will do our best to answer them. We are going to start with one post a month and hopefully we will be able to write more once we get off the ground.

Here are a few fun facts about Mattix Music Studio:

Did you know?

-Mattix Music Studio has grown over 600% in the last three years. Name another company that’s done that during the recession, we dare you!
-We currently have 50 students taking lessons each week.
-We have four studio locations: Sycamore, Western Springs, Chicago, and Vernon Hills.
-Our students range in age from preschool to retirement.
-Our students are about half and half piano and violin/viola.
-We started a Facebook page. Please "like" us on Facebook to see posts, pictures and comments from other students.

See you soon!
Dan & Katie