Hello KCRB students!
Last month we began our series on effective practicing strategies by “cutting out friction” that gets in the way of our practice time. This month, we’ll focus on Practicing with a Plan.
A plan for your practice sessions will keep them effective and efficient. You’ll feel the great sense of accomplishment and know you’ve improved—and those feelings make practicing the next time even more attractive!
What plan should you use? This is where your teacher is so important—each lesson, we write in our students’ red folders what they are to work on that week. I am pretty specific with my students’ assignments. For example:
Page 16, Line #3. Play 10x per day SLOWLY and accurately. Gradually speed up, 5 bpm at a time. Goal tempo: 120
And I do that for 3-4 different exercises, songs, etc each week. This gives a very clear plan for students to follow at practice time and they know exactly what we’ll be doing at the next lesson. Does that mean students can’t explore and play other things? Of course not!!! We also want our students to play whatever they want for fun, going back over old songs they love, or just messing around on their instrument. But often new musicians don’t know how or what to practice, and just dink around playing random things without intentionally progressing. This can lead to discouragement and a very slow improvement path.
Some people need more structure like I listed above, others don’t as much. Let your teacher know if you want more structured practice plans. We want to help you reach whatever goals you desire in your music lessons. If you need help crafting a plan, I love talking about this stuff, so please reach out to me! Have a wonderful month,
Laura Lee Crandall
Owner, KC Rock Band & Guitar School of Music
(816)419-8526
Please welcome our newest guitar teacher,
Nathan Slinkard!
Nathan is a performing musician and teaches Rock, Pop, Jazz, and Blues on Guitar and Bass. He can take brand new beginners and get you rocking fast, and take advanced students to the next level!
-Bachelors in Media Production, Minor in Recording Arts, Missouri State University
-Performs and teaches on Guitar and Bass Guitar
-Proficient in Rock, Pop, Blues, and Jazz
-Knowledgeable in music theory, ear training, & musical notation
– Actively performing with several groups
Nathan is a positive, encouraging teacher and has lesson openings on Mondays–call today to begin, or continue, your musical journey!
Student of the Month – Chase Minton
Chase has been taking guitar lessons at KCRB for 6 months, with teacher Bryson Thomas. She’s been improving steadily and has a cheerful, ready-to-learn approach to her guitar playing! She’s doing a great job–Congratulations, Chase!
Age: 14
School: Lincoln College Preparatory Academy
Favorite song you’ve learned so far? Killing me Softly or Hey Ya
What do you like about music? There’s many different components and I like how they all come together.
What do you want to be when you grow up? A judge
Any advice for others curious about starting lessons? Keep going! Practice!
Way to go, Chase! You’re a rock star!