by Robert Fisher, Catoctin School of Music With many music studios either launching or transitioning their students to online lessons full-time during this unprecedented pandemic, it has been a season of ingenuity and adaptability under pressure for music teachers. Most instructors have faced the new reality of embracing virtual lessons, through services such as Zoom, Skype, Google “Hangouts”, FaceTime and more. With most of...
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by Jamey Mann, The Catoctin School of Music Performance anxiety is something that all performers, students, and teachers will have to deal with at some point. For many people anxiety is manageable and a normal part of performance. However, for others performance anxiety is near crippling and may keep a musician from reaching their full potential. There is a multitude of literature on performance anxiety and how...
Read Moreby Alyssa Cowell, The Catoctin School of Music While everyone is at home under quarantine, now is the time to get in some extra practice! Build practice into your new routine: As the days at home feel longer and longer, try creating a new schedule that incorporates scheduled practice time. See how many days in a row you can practice without missing any days. If you have trouble practicing daily, try...
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Hi everyone, We are all in the midst of a challenging season of life right now. With COVID-19 spreading across the globe, each of us have had to adjust to a new, temporary reality of mandated home sheltering, limits on supplies from grocery stores, and social distancing from friends and family. But, through all of that there has been one consistent factor all over the world that hasn’t changed - Music....
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by Jennene Estes, The Catoctin School of Music Improvisation is the act of accessing creativity in the moment and under pressure, to resolve or direct the resolution of a situation to meet objectives. It is the ability to converge composition, creativity and execution to achieve success. And the benefits of learning improvisation have been proven in both young people and adults to improve and promote communication, decision making,...
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