Gergely Szabo

Music for Life

As a Music School, we aren’t looking to create prodigies or to get kids into a career in music.  We are certainly open to these things, but our goals are more life-skills oriented.

What is real about Music Education?

There is a lot of cultural acceptance of Music Education and lessons as a strong foundation for children in life, but the benefits are seldom articulated in a way that we can understand in the modern world.  We know the standard lines that we refer to, such as “Music is good for the brain”, or “Music helps to develop hand-eye coordination”.  All of that is true, and we love referring to this video, which explains what the act of playing does to the brain:

That being said (and watched), there are the other specific things about music that we don’t describe well, but should.  Some of these things include and lead (=) to:

• Playing in front of people or in concert = effective presentation skills for educational and professional settings (think interviews, seminars, presentations, etc.)
• Communicating in a musical group = learning to listen, communicate, and lead effectively in social and professional settings (think peaceful, progressive, constructive, and successful approaches to working with others in any setting/environment, including home)
• Developing and expanding confidence in the process of personal growth and exploration = confidence as an adult to pursue goals
• Goal setting and achievement = Goal setting and achievement!

This really scratches the surface, but you can see that music lesson skills are truly life lesson skills.

The 11 year-old that is a natural

All of this notwithstanding, a little inspiration and watching for the sake of enjoyment is to be embraced whenever we can.  For some reason we revel in the magic of skilled youth, particularly prodigies.  And why not?  The brain and body are so complex, and through the miracle of randomness, some people do indeed find themselves with an astonishing and unexpected aptitude for not just a particular instrument, but a particular style.

Here’s a young gentleman playing jazz at the piano.  His playing is so natural, that you’d swear he’d not only been doing it since birth, but for decades.  You might want to protect your jaw, it’s going to drop!

Star Wars & Music Lessons

Unsurprisingly, Star Wars is all the rage at the moment, with the latest instalment having smashed box office records, and still going strong in theatres.

Musically, the main theme from Star Wars has always been a big deal, particularly with young kids learning musical instruments.  Thanks to ‘The Force Awakens’ this flame of interest is now a roaring bonfire.

In our music school, we hear Star Wars themes at least a few times a year, and always enjoy them.  They make a nice change from the traditional music learned in lessons.  We also believe that it is important for kids learning music to be able to play the things that interest them.  So, when kids tell us what they’d like to play, then we’ll find a way to get it into their lessons.

Star Wars on Organ, Played by a Young Woman

We also believe in sharing inspiration, so here’s what looks to be a teenage girl – who obviously knows how to practice – playing the main themes from Star Wars.  Pay particular attention to her feet – this is where most of the bass instruments (Bass, Tuba, Timpani, Bass Drum) are coming from.  Playing these parts with your foot is incredibly hard, but she makes it look easy!  You’ll also notice how accurate and fast her hands are with the quicker rhythms.  You may wonder why she has earphones in while playing, too.  This is likely because she has programmed extra sound effects into her performance, and there is probably a guide (a programmed metronome, called a click track) to help keep her synched with those effects.