Christmas and New Year’s is a fabulous time of year to foster music appreciation. Whether it’s a full-blown production of Handel’s Messiah, children’s school choirs, or piano and organ recitals, the joy of the season will be communicated through music. This is the time to look ahead to concerts being offered throughout the next year, and make some tentative reservations before tickets sell out.

But if your family is anything like mine, a little prep work will go a long way toward the parents, at least, enjoying the concert. Give the kids some pre-concert tips and you’ll be good to go. This is what I’ve told mine, and because they’re not yet adults, we can only hope that they have not been scarred for life….

1. Observe the pianist’s fingers, arms, and posture. Try to duplicate the same when doing your own practice sessions. Please refrain from practicing any imaginary piano during the concert itself. (That includes air guitars, as well.)

2. Watch how all of the performers keep to the beat of the music. The conductor’s baton may signal 4/4 time, for instance. The conductor is a skilled musician and truly does not need your help keeping time, particularly in tapping your foot next to the person’s ear sitting in the tiered, theater seat in front of us.

3. During a concert, distractions are frowned upon. Slinking down in the pew, getting up to go to the bathroom, asking questions or talking during a selection, noisily umwrapping a candy, or feeling the need to yawn loudly should be squelched. If you cannot squelch yourself, I am here to help.

4. Other patrons have either paid, or simply arrived and scheduled their time to watch and hear the performance promised them. No matter how entertaining or cute you may perceive yourself to be, you will not turn around in your seat, make silly faces, nor go into any other type of dramatic displays. Should this occur, there will be great drama when we return home….

5. We will respectfully dress for the occasion: no pajama look-alikes, flip-flops, or uncombed hair. If the orchestra is dressed in formal-wear, or the chorus’ black-and-white outfits match one another, we can make some effort, as well. And no matter how hard you try, you will not convince me that you should go to the concert dressed as a runaway ballet dancer from The Nutcracker Suite. No tutus, and no heavy stage makeup, even if every person you see on stage is sporting such.

6. Our family will plan to arrive early, in order to be on time. Parking the car, using the restrooms, and finding our seats can all take time. I may bring notebooks and pens for you to use pre-concert and you can sketch anything new and unique around you, except the people seated nearby. Write your impressions of the instruments tuning to the first violinist, or the almost-palpable feelings of excitement in the concert hall. During the concert, the notebooks go away, along with the clicky pens or sharp pencils that might drop and roll down, down, down the aisle.

It’s been our experience that well-rested, and well-fed children (not to mention adults) do best at concerts. Schedule one sometime this season… and enjoy!

—————-Copyright 2011 – Alexandra Bartologimignano

(Alexandra jets here and there with her two boys, two girls, one husband, and two dogs, while chronicling their larger-than-life adventures at www.destinationsdreamsanddogs.com.)

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Is a music education really necessary or even beneficial for children? With American schools aiming to increase their standardized test scores and decrease their annual spending, it’s no wonder that electives such as music have been erased from the board. Music is considered a fluff subject that often falls by the wayside.

But is it? Statistics seem to indicate that an exposure to music can actually increase a child’s math ability, not to mention reasoning, creative thinking, scoring better on standardized tests, and making higher grades in high school. If it helps them brush their teeth, too, I’m all for it.

The reality is, in this day of slash and burn budget cuts, you may have to provide their music education in your own time, and on your own dime. If my early years of Intro to Music are any indication, that would not be entirely bad. You could direct their studies, and gain much more than the odd bits and pieces we learned way back when.

It was that turbulent time in history when all was being questioned in American society. Mainstream composers were not studied so much as slave work songs and Negro spirituals. How our grey-haired, white music teacher came to warble “Pick a Bale of Cotton” was anyone’s guess. To this day, I recall the lyrics, “Me and my partner can, pick a bale of cotton, Oh, me and my partner can, pick a bale a day. Oh, Mammy, pick a bale of cotton! Oh, Mammy, pick a bale of hay!”

At least that song was understandable, unlike “Jimmy Crack Corn and I Don’t Care”, which has, on the conservative side, I figure about 2,149 various interpretations. The song might refer to a mule eating the corn being trodden, or a slave’s corn rations being cut due to disobedience, or chitchatting among slaves who should have been working, or even has something to do with “gimme crack corn”, i.e., alcohol. As children, it was puzzling to be singing a song of dubious meaning and morals. Why was Jimmy Cracking Corn, and why didn’t anyone Care? We students didn’t seem to care much, either, but our then-master, the music teacher, wasn’t going away anytime soon.

While our vocal lessons plodded along as we sang gems like “The Age of Aquarius” and “Windy” at school assemblies, there was a bright light on the horizon when instrumental lessons were introduced as an elective in the Fourth Grade. Pupils had to demonstrate an interest in an instrument, which already flattened the playing field considerably.

We were given an overview of the brass, wind, and stringed instruments, and then allowed to try out an instrument or two. I settled on the violin. Let’s just say that some students were more suited to blowing hot air and marching in bands as football halftime diversions. They had me pegged correctly as more attuned to a string quartet.

By Sixth Grade, I was actually doing pretty well on my instrument of choice, and it was suggested that I audition for a Youth Symphony. The instrumental music teacher encouraged those of us from families with means to pursue private lessons, which we did, as well. I ended up with a teacher who accompanied me on the harpischord, making all of the practice time worth it. Her husband played trumpet in a large symphony and I remember him taking me, along with three of his Eastern European counterparts, to a huge concert hall where I watched them perform.

I can vouch that my reasoning and creative thinking abilities improved dramatically when having to figure out: if I went to the restroom during the concert’s intermission, would I ever find my way back to the proper seat as a preteen on my own? Along with my inflated standardized test scores, and high school grades in general, one has to ask: was this increased mental ability bordering on genius due to music lessons?

I don’t know, but it couldn’t have hurt.

Guest post —————- Copyright 2011 – Alexandra Bartologimignano

(Alexandra is a jet-setter trying to keep her head above water in several countries with several languages, several children, one husband, and two cute dogs. She is learning piano with one of Duane’s courses in her spare moments and generally chronicles their adventures at www.destinationsdreamsanddogs.com.)

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The goals of a music appreciation class are many. First and foremost, music appreciation students are encouraged to explore, understand, and appreciate all types of music, not just music of their own personal taste.

Rather than starting with the study of music notation, the instructor may begin with a look at the relevance of music (to culture) in both a historical and modern day context. In other words, why is music important and how did it become so important? Without understanding the role music plays in our lives, it’s difficult to measure it’s effect.

Another goal is recognizing music as an art form and a form of communication. Time will be spent on how instrumental music (without the advantage of lyrics) can evoke certain moods and emotions as well as how performers communicate with their audience.

The study of musical instruments, including those of a symphony orchestra must be part of the curriculum. Ideally, the student should be able to tell an instrument’s name by it’s sound. Instrument design and construction is sometimes studied.

A study of music appreciation must include a close look at how a composer (or songwriter) works and how a composition comes together. It’s important for the student to recognize that every composer works differently and to understand that there are many ways to arrive at the same destination. Great composers from all genres should be studied. It’s very helpful if a noted composer can lecture, take questions from students, or describe their own particular method of composing.

Various styles of music (folk, rock, Country, classical, Jazz, Hip-hop, etc) should be studied and their differences and similarities clearly defined. This often leads to a more complete and well-rounded understanding of musical styles. Studying the history of the Broadway musical may also be helpful.

Music is a fluid, ever changing and developing art from and the student must recognize and appreciate this. A good instructor will play many different types of music and help the student see how one has (or has not) influenced another. For example, rock-and-roll is deeply rooted in the Blues, where Jazz is considered a pure form of music (not necessarily influenced by other styles).

Time may be spent on learning how to listen to music and to a develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for great recordings and exceptional performances. A visit to a recording studio (particularly during a recording session) is of great help in appreciating recorded music. Beyond music, the class may include the study of the physics and the science of sound including recognizing various frequencies and wave forms. How a particular environment (a room, a city street, the outdoors) can affect sound may also be looked at.

Finally, an understanding the basics of music notation and arrangement is necessary as well as learning key terms and concepts. The student should be able to read and write simple sheet music and learn to recognize the common signs and instructions used in a performance.