Summary: <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> I love taking a break from the routine. Crossing the finish line of one thing and catching a breather before I start the next thing.Even as I type this, I’ve had a bit of a break from my routine over the weekend. My older children left for their summer jobs at <a href="https://www.pinecove.com/summer-camps/day-camps/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pine Cove Camp in the City</a> and <a href="http://allasoranch.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Allaso Ranch</a> and my husband was out of town on business. This left my youngest daughter, Tracy, and me to enjoy a girls weekend together. We were able to focus on our relationship in a different way that we can when everyone else is home.I think the same is true with breaks in piano lessons. Taking a short break offers students a chance to use the skills they are learning. They can play music they want to play just because they want to play it! The question is, “What should you practice between sessions?”Here is what I’ve been telling my own students as we wrapped up the spring semester.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Just play! <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> One of the easiest and most satisfying things to do in between sessions or semesters of piano lessons is to simply play the piano. Play your favorite pieces, play pieces from books you’ve already finished, play pieces you might have skipped in your book.This is why we take piano lessons, right?! To be able to play the piano?Sometimes students don’t realize how much they’ve progressed until they take note of where they’ve been. If your piano kid goes back to play music from an old piano book, he might be surprised that he can play a piece that he once <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> thought was too challenging. Now it’s much easier because his skill and piano fluency have grown.If, when you child reviews old music, they don’t seem to be able to play it, then this is a good time to review and build up skills that might be lacking. Sometimes students keep moving forward in their lesson books before they’ve really mastered previous concepts. Use this time to lay a solid foundation by reviewing music they once knew.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Get SMART with your music <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Once a child has mastered a piece of written music, give them the freedom to change the music in some way. This allows them to add their own personality and creativity to the music.
