6 months ago I took a risk with my young musicians. I asked them directly for an opinion. I was keen to find out what they thought of me and the other music tutors. Some of the comments were put on the website, others were stored in my memory for use at dinner parties.
When you introduce yourself to a child you are greeted with complete honesty. They are either openly delighted to meet you, a little nervous or completely bemused. When I was younger I made decisions about ‘grown ups’ the second I laid eyes on them and my opinions of those people now that I’m an adult have not shifted far from my first impressions. I still think my first piano teacher has the largest eyes I’ve ever seen and looks much as though she’s about to cry even when she’s enjoying herself. I liked her because she was quirky and for some reason, even at 5 years old, I was intrigued by what she had to say. She also made me laugh, and that was very important. She once wrote in my practise book ‘Susanna is a very talented Musician’ which amused my mother, considering I had yet to master ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ played hands together.
Nowadays, when I tell someone that I teach piano it immediately conjures up a memory. ‘Oh really! I learned piano as a child. My teacher had an enormous be-hive and constantly blew her nose. She wore yellow shoes every day for 7 years and gave me a Kit Kat every Christmas. Music teachers are a certain breed and it would seem we remember them with either complete revulsion or adoration. I rarely come across people who thought their music teachers ‘normal’. Mine were all a little extrovert, at least 106 years old wore brightly coloured tights and cardigans.
The image of a stereotypical music teacher has changed dramatically since then. Most I meet in the Brighton and Hove area are polar opposites of how I remember my teachers to be. They play in bands, stretch their repertoire over numerous styles and perform as much as they teach. They write their own material, have opinions about everything musical and cant wait to share the skills they’ve been blessed with. I’m sure mine did too, but for some reason they never thought to tell me about it.
There were some very amusing testimonial slips returned from the youngsters. Some quite obviously thought they would gain extra gold stars for their flattery. One young lady referred to my being sad when she didn’t do her practise. One said I pulled a very wonky face when I played ‘War Drums’ from book 2. Another said I put them off when I sang along to their pieces. My personal favourite was as follows:
Susanna doesn’t have any pets at all! We have a rabbit and 2 guinea pigs. I love my piano because I play my favourite songs but sometimes I need more stickers.
It is heart-warming to hear feedback from your pupils. To set a child on a musical path that they enjoy whilst instilling a desire to improve and progress, ensures that whatever they say once they have grown up (about your hair, your rules, your wonky face), they’ll be looking back as musicians with fond memories. Everyone’s a winner!
Author: Susanna Cassam
SCMT Youth Competitions are proudly supporting Belltree Music Therapy Centre!
The SCMT Youth Competitions are not far away so here at SCMT we thought we would give you some info on the charity we will be supporting, Belltree Music Therapy Centre, Woodingdean.
Belltree provides music therapy for people of all ages who find it difficult to use words to express themselves, mainly due to illness or disability. The majority of Belltree’s work is currently with children and young people with a learning disability or autism, many of whom are extremely emotionally isolated due to their difficulties. Music therapy gives them a meaningful way of communicating and connecting with others without words, greatly enhancing their quality of life.
Music therapy uses the qualities of music and sound as a foundation for sharing emotions and enabling communication to take place non-verbally. It is based on shared-music making in which the therapist responds to a persons’ natural rhythms and sounds and helps them to build their own musical language – they can use this to discover new things about themselves and as a bridge for sharing experiences which are difficult to describe with words.
We are raising funds to help Belltree achieve some of the following desperately needed services and equipment:
• A subsidy fund to support families in need who cannot afford the full fee.
• Free assessments to help families access funding from charities.
• A music technology station to help some of the older children with emotional issues to create and record their own music.
• Some camcorders to assist the music therapists in their work and help us share the value of music therapy to local organisations.
EXAM RESULTS ARE IN!!!!!
Exam results are in and it’s another record breaking result!
Congratulations everyone, you’ve walked away with more passes than ever, plus 11 distinctions and 15 merits!!!
Amazing, enjoy the rest of your holidays…
SCMT Summer Concert Announcement!
Here at SCMT we are very pleased to announce that the SCMT Summer Concert will be taking place on Saturday 8th June and Sunday 9th June (the week before the SCMT Youth Competition) at St Nicholas Church, Dyke Road, Brighton.
Once again the Saturday Concert will be for the adults and there will be 4 concerts on the Sunday for all of our younger students.
We will be releasing more information over the next few weeks. But for now get thinking about what pieces you might want to play, remember your tutor is always there to help.
We can’t wait to see you all there and look forward to hearing you play!!
Happy Easter!!! But don’t forget, not long till the SCMT competition entry deadline!
SCMT would like to wish you all a very happy easter!!! But don’t forget about the SCMT Youth competitions. They will be taking place on the 15th and 16th of June, the deadline for entries is Friday 10th May 2013 at the latest! There are 4 categories, they are listed below:
Category 1: Grades 1 and 2. Maximum age 12 years. Time limit: 3 mins.
Category 2: Grades 3 and 4. Maximum age 16 years. Time limit: 4 mins.
Category 3: Grade 5. Maximum age 16 years. Time limit: 6 mins.
Category 4: Grade 6 and up. Maximum age 18 years. Time limit: 8 mins
SCMT is looking for more piano teachers!
Candidates must be enthused, inspiring, great with kids (and adults!) and be available longterm to teach flexible hours within Brighton and Hove.
If you can teach from your own premises and have a car, this would be a great help but isn’t essential.
Please contact Susanna Cassam direct on 07720 771053 or email us at [email protected].
Springboard triumphs, round 1!
A huge congratulations to sisters Riya and Berniya for their weekend success at the Springboard competitions (piano and strings). We were all so excited here at SCMT when we heard the news from their teacher, Emily.
Here are their results:
Berniya won:
The Christine Pembridge Cup (Junior) for the winner of age 10-14 Junior Recital Class (and was the youngest!)
The Seventh Art Sonata Cup for the highest mark (91) for both sonatina/sonata age 10-12 and 13-14 classes.
1st place in J S Bach class for age 10-12 …..with medal.
3rd place in grade 4/5 violin, viola, cello an double bass class with distinction mark (88).
Riya won:
1st place in J S Bach class (age 9 and under)
2nd place in Jazz class (age 9 and under)
PHEW! Well done girls… We can’t wait to see you again and the Summer Concerts!
ABRSM exams start tomorrow!!!
Good luck to all our students taking their exams over the next couple of days.
By now all the hard work will have been done, here’s a couple of tips for the day itself. Make sure you are there with plenty of time before your exam so you can warm up. Scales are always a good warm up. Make sure you don’t forget your books and instruments. But above all remember the examiner is not your enemy, try to enjoy it as much as you can!! We look forward to seeing the results in a few weeks time!
SCMT Youth Music Competitions
Here at SCMT we are delighted to announce that we’re launching our ‘SCMT Youth Music Competitions’ with support form Ackerman Music. They will take place Saturday 15th June and Sunday 16th June at St Nicholas Church, Dyke Road, Brighton. It is free choice, classical or Jazz, Grades 1-8, split into 4 categories, with a maximum age of 18. It is open to everyone not just people learning with SCMT, but there will be discounted entry for our students. As well as cash prizes for winners and runners up, all entrants will receive a written evaluation and certificate, regardless of their placing!
This is a charity event with all proceeds going to Belltree Music Therapy Centre.
More information can be found on our Concerts and Events page, and watch this space for more news! The entry deadline is the Friday 10th May…….So what will you play?????
Not long to go till our students take their ABRSM exams!
ABRSM exams take place next week and by now all our students taking exams should be well practiced and ready to go. Here at SCMT we would just like to wish them all good luck, we have our fingers crossed for you!
Watch our new concert videos on You Tube!
I think it’s safe to say this year’s Christmas Concert was a great success. We had some fantastic performances and we have posted some of them on our youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/cassammusictuition please take some time to go and watch them they are all incredibly inspiring and give you a great insight as to what the SCMT concerts are all about!
We will be posting them on our facebook page www.facebook.com/susannacassammusictuition and our twitter page @susannaCassam too!
Some thoughts from Susanna, this week about piano lessons…
Piano Time!
A very wise old lady once said to me ‘If you sit here for long enough, your life will be so much more exciting than you could ever imagine’. Every week at half past 4 on a Monday afternoon, Mrs Johnson would sit on my right-hand side as I perched on my piano stool, legs swinging way above the ground, desperately trying to talk my fingers into co-ordinating properly.
Naturally, being only 4 years old at the time, I remember thinking that the most exciting thing I had ever imagined was being the queen and having a pet tiger, so her words stuck fast – at least for enough time for me to obtain the skills required to play all of my favourite music and thus fall in love with my piano. As a consequence, I never gave up or stopped improving.
With a combination of fun lessons, a talented and inspiring tutor, plenty of variety and some practise on the side, a child can learn to play the piano from the age of 4 and progress effectively. There are numerous benefits to learning the piano as a starting point for a child on their musical journey. They can play straight away, they can learn virtually any style or genre, they need no accompaniment and yet at the same time the instrument is big enough for a parent or teacher to play alongside. Many children begin music lessons at the piano and then add other instruments to their skills base having gained a thorough understanding of music, how it works, and how to make the most of it. Additionally, showcasing new-found talents at recitals and small concerts can massively boost self esteem, giving children that air of confidence and pride that is so fundamental to a full and well rounded education.
Being a pianist myself I am often prone to being biased, but I’ve seen the power of the piano being used as a platform for all kinds of musical adventures both for the individual and ‘teams’ of musicians in private and public environments alike. On that basis why not find out for yourself if it’s true. Unleash that pianist waiting to jump out of your child, and see how quickly they become settled on their piano stool. In fact, pull up a chair, join in, and see how addictive it can be. You might even find you want lessons yourself! Neither of my parents ever learned to play a musical instrument (something they both regret) and in fact they very recently gave our family piano to one of my 7 year old pupils who didn’t have one at home, after seeing him play so well in a concert. Hurrah, my piano back in action after all those years. Now I sit in his lounge, on the right, every Friday at 4pm, and say: ‘If you sit here long enough, life will be (let me think)… full of musical adventures.’ And that’s guaranteed (I can’t promise big cats on the lawn of your palace)
Thought of today
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Etiam luctus. Fusce lorem. Morbi sodales felis in velit. Phasellus a ipsum. Ut lacus. Nam at justo. Integer nec erat. Cras in enim id sapien rutrum tristique. Continue reading “Thought of today”