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BSM Music Notes The Monthly Newsletter of Birmingham School of Music September 20, 2011 Issue 1
BSM to Offer Unlimited Make Up Lessons Birmingham School of Music has forever been in a quandary over the issue of make-up lessons. “It’s always been difficult to find a good balanced solution that provides a fair offer to the students and still remains manageable by the school and teachers,” said Russ Maddox, Director of the school. “We’ve not been offering make-up lessons because of the daunting task of finding hours in the day to accommodate the large number of students that attend BSM. But I’ve created a solution that I know will make our students happy.” Starting in September 2011, Birmingham School of Music will begin to offer unlimited group make-up lessons. If a student misses their weekly lesson, all that is necessary is to call the office and make a reservation to attend a group make-up lesson for their respective instrument. These group lessons will be held each Saturday. “And since there is no limit to the number of make-ups our students can attend, this makes it easier to continue their lessons during the busy sports seasons or during the summer when schedule conflicts more often arise,” said Russ of the new plan. For more information about the new Unlimited Make-Up Plan, speak to the office staff at BSM.
BSM IS OFFERING NEW CLASSES Due to the increased popularity of our ensemble classes, we are adding several new opportunities for our students to participate in making music.
Our Rock Ensemble classes are for students who want to learn all about playing in a rock band. The Rock Ensemble is a performance group that learns everything from how to learn to play songs to how to perform on stage. Our Rock Ensembles rehearse for 1 1/2 hours each week and perform concerts regularly. This is a great class to apply the skills learned in your private lessons. And in September we are starting a new ADULT ROCK ENSEMBLE. To find out how you can start rockin’ out, contact one of our office staff for more details.
Due to the tremendous success of our Musical Theater Summer Camp, we are adding this weekly class as an extension to our voice lessons. This is a performance class for students that would like to learn how to perform on a stage. These students will perform excerpts from popular Broadway musicals and also “Glee style” show choir numbers. This is a great class for our voice students to take their lessons to the next level. Give our staff a call for more info.
For the past couple of years “street drumming” has become a fun way for anybody, drummer or not, to have fun banging on buckets. This is a relaxed, expressive class focused on learning rhythms while playing unusual instruments like pickle buckets, metal cans, trash cans and even beer kegs. Grab some sticks and come create some unique rhythms and sounds with us.
Parents are always concerned about the amount of time their young musicians practice their instrument. Quality of Instrument I’ve often heard of students who have an entry-level guitar that simply won’t stay in tune. Lesser expensive guitars often don’t have strong enough tuning keys to hold the correct tension that keeps the instrument in tune. Or the drummer who hasn’t replaced or tuned the drumheads on his drum set in such a long time that it no longer sounds pleasant. And then there’s the piano that Grandma gave us that hasn’t been tuned since it was moved into the house. All of these issues are a huge factor as to whether a student wants to play or not. If the instrument doesn’t sound correct, or is broken such that it won’t function in the way their teacher suggests, then the student isn’t motivated to play it. You don’t have to be a musician to understand that playing any musical instrument that doesn’t sound pleasing is de-motivating regardless of the musician’s desire to play it. And then what is misinterpreted as loss of interest is really lack of fulfillment. This is a difficult issue to address for a parent who isn’t a musician. Here are some suggestions that can help. Start by periodically asking the student if they enjoy playing their instrument. (This is not to be confused with “Do you enjoy playing music?” That’s different.) Does it sound good to them? Does it work like the teacher shows in lessons? Is there anything broken that needs to be fixed? Have any of the parts gone missing? If any of these issues pose a problem, ask their teacher to suggest a solution. It could be anything from a simple adjustment to a needed repair. Remember, your child wants to learn to play music. Don’t misinterpret lack of fulfillment on the part of the instrument as loss of interest. And keep in mind that the most important goal is to make sure the instrument is making music, not noise. Visit www.birminghamschoolofmusic.com for future articles on this topic.
IS YOUR TEACHER SOLD OUT? TEACHERS WITH WAITING LISTS Russ Maddox - All Times Sold Out
Where’s Your Teacher Playing?
Welcome New Students
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Birmingham School of Music 800 Olde Towne Road Vestavia Hills, AL. 35216 205.969.8763 |
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Rock Ensemble Class
Musical Theater / Glee Club
The Bucket Brigade
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