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!