Music

What a wonderful way to finish the semester! Our final week featured three assemblies, each highlighting a different aspect of our music program. It was fantastic to see so many students confidently sharing their musical talents with our school community.

Performing in front of an audience requires much more than simply playing the right notes. Students develop confidence, resilience, concentration and the ability to manage nerves while remembering their music and coordinating their instrument. These are valuable life skills that grow with every performance. The extra rehearsals leading up to the assemblies were time well spent, helping students build the "muscle memory" that allows them to perform more confidently, even when they are feeling nervous.

A special congratulations to our new band and piano students, who performed publicly for the very first time after only four months of lessons. Their courage, commitment and progress have been wonderful to see, and they should all be incredibly proud of what they have achieved.

Holiday Music Reminders

• Keep practising! Regular short practice sessions are far more beneficial than one long session. Encourage your child to revisit a variety of pieces they have learned this semester to maintain their skills and confidence. Students are also welcome to learn any pieces we haven't yet covered in their Accent on Achievement or piano books. However, please avoid moving ahead in the books, as many new techniques require explicit teaching, and it is much easier to learn good habits than to correct them later.

• Give instruments a polish. Every student should have a blue polishing cloth in their instrument case. A quick dry polish over the holidays will help keep instruments clean and in good condition. No water or cleaning chemicals are needed.

• Clean mouthpieces and headjoints. Trumpet, trombone and clarinet mouthpieces, along with flute headjoints, will benefit from a gentle clean. Soak them in lukewarm, soapy water for a few minutes and gently agitate to remove any build-up. Rinse thoroughly with clean cold water, dry completely, and return them to their cases before storing.

Thank you to all our students and families for your encouragement and support throughout the semester. We look forward to making more music together next term!