In an age where musical instruction is becoming more and more industrialized by the public school system, the type of private lesson that we offer here at BMA is becoming simultaneously more important and unique.
Good morning, and thank you for allowing me to join in on your team breakfast. I want to take five minutes to encourage you all in the importance of your work, and I'll do so by sharing two Scripture verses with you and exposit each one just a bit.
Why do we practice? It takes a long time, it can sometimes be boring, and no one ever hears it (or when they do, they typically get annoyed after 10 or so minutes).
There's no such thing as a talented musician, especially according to you. Unfortunately, you believe in some unbiblical-genetic-determinism-like theory about how man becomes a musician.
Are you a parent who participated in music at all growing up? Think back to your middle and high school days. If you were in a band or orchestra program, try to remember what that was like. Did you enjoy the sensation of being immersed in a vast sea of sounds, the floor’s vibrations rippling through your feet?
But hymns have been an integral part of my life, and I’ve found that they’re relatively easy to memorize compared to poetry or prose even despite my memory trouble. Something about words put to music makes memory much easier, so here I’ll write about both why you should be memorizing hymns and how I think it can best be done.
Regardless of your past musical experience, your current musical ability, and your general ability to understand music, your role as the parent is integral for your child’s musical education.
A musician of 25 years got there by winning a long game of tug-of-war. A student who stayed in music lessons throughout his school years did so only because he and his parents refused to quit when the burning and bleeding came.
There’s more to the life of a musician than the practice room and classroom. He has to do things like eat, brush his teeth, clean, and help friends renovate.
An excerpt from a recent conference presentation aimed at music teachers. - Sean Bohnet