Practice Tip – Leave Your Instrument Out and Ready!

Hello KCRB Students and Families!
         I hope everyone is having a wonderful month.   Please notice our recital dates below—they are coming up soon!   About a month before recitals, I’ll send a sign-up email and students can choose which recital time they’d prefer.  Recitals are always optional, but I do hope everyone will consider taking part!  They are positive, low-pressure concerts where students get to share what they have been learning with friends and family.  No expectation of perfection—just sharing music!

Important Dates
March 31 – Make-up lesson,  6-8pm
April 21 – April Make-up lesson,  6-8pm
April 28 – SpringRecital – 6:00pm
April 29 – Spring Recital – 10:00am

—– Practice Tip of the Month – Leave your instrument out and ready! —–

Check out this extremely effective practice tip:  One way to get yourself to easily practice more (and enjoy your instrument more!) is to keep your instrument, music, and supplies out and ready!  Remove any friction that keeps you from practicing.   Imagine how much easier it is to stop and play if your guitar is out, your music is ready on the music stand, and everything else you need is within arm’s reach.  I encourage students to make a dedicated music practice space in their homes, if possible, and as soon as they get home from their lesson, set up everything they will need for the week:  Lesson folder open to the correct page, book open and ready, etc.  You may find yourself stopping to play more frequently just because you don’t have to spend any time hunting down drumsticks or a tuner, or even opening up a guitar case!

           This worked wonders for me–try it out for yourself this month and let me know what happens! 

—– Buying Your First Guitar —–

We’ve had several new guitarists join us recently—here’s a guide to buying your first guitar!

Adults and kids with almost grown hands
  Plan to spend $200-$400 for a beginner acoustic guitar.  Our teachers like Martin, Fender, and Alvarez guitars (to name a few!).  A model we highly recommend at the bottom of this price range in the Fender CD-60.   There are cheaper guitars for sale, but they usually fall out of tune quickly, are harder to play, and don’t sound very good!  Buying a used but reputable brand guitar is a great way to save money.
Younger Students
   For ages 6-12ish, depending on hand size, we recommend a ½ or ¾ size guitar, or a thin body guitar.  Fender 3/4 acoustic guitars are good ones to consider!  We’ve also recently discovered and really liked Loog Guitars, which makes quality guitars for the youngest players!
Also, nylon string guitars like Lucida – model LG510, Fender MC-1, and Fender FA-15 3/4N are great because nylon strings do not hurt in the beginning like steel strings and are easier to press down for young, growing fingers. 

   Happy Music Making! 

      Laura Lee Crandall
   Owner, KC Rock Band & Guitar School of Music
   816)419-8526 – lauralee@kcrockband.com