wjones, Author at Wendelken Piano Studio

Making Good Practice Habits That are Fun and Satisfying for Your Child

wjones — Thu, 16 Sep 2021 12:45:44 +0000

It is a fact that all great musicians have good practice habits. Talent is never enough; we all must spend time on the bench.

Given that many students of classical piano begin young, how do we, as parents and teachers, help our young ones to establish the kind of practice habits that ensure progress is steady and rewarding?

First, it is important to determine the minimum amount of practice time per day that would be required to keep the student on pace. In order to do that, we must consider three things: The age of the student, the level of difficulty the student is at, and the nature of the student based on how they learn best.

Let’s first discuss the age of the student: it is rare that a child of 5-7 years will practice an hour a day. Sure, there are examples of children who will do this, and I have a few young ones who will sit for an hour a day with parental supervision. However, it’s rare for early elementary school children to have the endurance for an hour of practice each day.

A rough estimate of how many minutes of practice each day, based upon age group, is this:

5-7 year old- Between 25-45 minutes per day.

8-12 year old- Between 45-60 minutes per day.

13-15 year old-between 45-75 minutes per day. More, if the individual student wants to.

16-18 year old- between 45-75 minutes per day. More, if the individual student wants to.

Now, within the age group, the level of the student will determine whether, say, a 12 year-old should practice 45 minutes or 60 minutes daily..

A 12 year old who is still in beginning stages may do exceptionally well with 45 minutes per day. A 12 year-old who is of intermediate level and playing longer pieces, and maybe learning a concerto or playing in a duo, will find they need the full hour, or maybe even a bit more- especially during competition and exam season.

The final thing to consider is how the child learns best. Many children will naturally develop a “come and go” approach to practicing, where they visit the piano several times a day, play until content, then leave to do homework, eat, and then wander back to the piano, and so on. Students of mine who use this approach are among the best-prepared students I teach, yet no one knows exactly how much they practice.

Other students find that right after school, between having a snack and homework, is the very best time for practice. This was the pattern that worked for me in middle school and high school. The idea of coming home from school and doing more…school! … was exhausting. I needed a change of pace, I needed some right brain time.

After a snack, I’d race to the piano and hit my second wave of energy. Practicing for an hour or three was an amazing treat in the middle of my day. It allowed me to do exactly what my teenage brain and spirit needed- I expressed myself, purged my emotions and moods with Beethoven’s Tempest and Chopin’s Ballade in F Major. I cleared out the clock gears of my mind with Bach. And when I reluctantly got up from the piano to go do my homework, I was peaceful as a lamb, mentally refreshed, ready for homework.

Time-management is something young children struggle with, and nothing will help them better than learning to reserve, and defend, their piano time.There’s always a point with each of my students where they come to a lesson and tell me they are struggling to find time for their music. After listening patiently for a bit, I ask them one question: “What is the difference between people who manage to keep learning piano and those who quit because they are too busy?” Most students will guess that the people who continue their piano studies don’t have as much homework. “Nope. The difference between those who continue piano and those who quit is this: The ones who continue their music do so in spite of not having the time. We had all the right reasons to quit, and we chose to keep playing anyway.”

Of course, there are always exceptions to any rule, and these are just suggested guidelines; a place to start. The exciting thing is that every bit of extra time you add to your daily practice is going to bring big benefits! The more you practice, the better you become and the better you play, the more enjoyable it is. It’s incredibly rewarding to be in an upward cycle, growing and blossoming with your music.

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Wendelken Studio of Musical Arts co-hosts two Helping Hands Fundraisers

wjones — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 09:49:58 +0000

On November 16, the studio co-hosted two Helping Hands Benefit Concerts to raise donations for Metropolitan Ministries at Grace Episcopal, raising more than $7,000 in ticket sales, donations and sponsorships for people who are in need in the Tampa Bay area.

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New Asheville Neighborhood News

wjones — Tue, 22 Sep 2020 09:49:25 +0000

For nearly 20 years, the Wendelken Piano Studio in New Asheville has been a popular destination for pianists of all ages who want that European conservatory-style training with a 21st century twist.

But now, with its new home within Grace Episcopal Church, founder Mary Wendelken’s studio has expanded its services to include quality musicianship training in stringed instruments and voice, as well as piano, under a new name: the Wendelken Studio of Musical Arts.

Wendelken has always prided herself on offering students in the Asheville area and beyond a place to master traditional classical piano repertoire, technique, theory, and ensemble and concerti. This year, Wendelken is excited to announce the addition of training in cello, guitar, violin, viola and voice, all of which are taught at the studio location at Grace.

“We’ve received calls for strings lessons for years, on the strength of our piano program,” Wendelken explains. “I never knew who to recommend before. Now, we have the best teachers assembled to offer instruction for all of these different instruments.”

Students from age 5 through professional level adults benefit from the studio’s faculty of nine concert-trained instructors, each of whom, Wendelken says, have (or are in the process of earning) a Master’s degree in their craft and hold extensive experience in musical education. The studio’s staff includes: classical pianists Ines de Erausquin (Webster University, St. Louis, MO) and Shawna Stushnoff (Concordia College, Morehead, MN); classical violinists Roy Meyer (University of Wisconsin, Madison); and Bonnie Deeds (State University of New York, or SUNY-Fredonia); classical cellist Mikel Thomas (Boston Conservatory of Music); guitarist Cameron Schmitz (Berklee College of Music, Boston, MA), musicianship instructor Natalya Kushnir (Moscow Conservatory of Music, Moscow, Russia) and, of course, Wendelken herself, who teaches intermediate and advanced piano.

Wendelken began her education as a pre-med student at Kent State University in Kent, OH, before deciding to pursue a career in music education. She graduated from SUNY-Purchase with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Piano Performance in 1990, before attending the Royal Academy of Music in London. After graduating in 1993 with a Master’s degree in Piano Performance, she says that she remained in England before moving to Tampa Palms in 1994.

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