First Grade Concert

My youngest student is in the first grade at my son's school. I often see my student and her mother during the long line of parental pickups. Last week, with my back turned toward the school exit door, my student's mother approached me and said, "You might want to turn around, Linda. Look at what Tori brought to school."

As I turned, all I could see was the flat bottom of a pink and purple keyboard with walking legs. Tori was carrying it out of the school with mighty muscles. She was the Star Student of the Week and chose to bring in her keyboard to show to her class.

After ruffling her bangs and telling her what a fun surprise to see her keyboard at school (!), I asked her what song she played for her class. Tori replied, "All of them!"  Well, of course!

Her first concert given to her first grade class of twenty-two. How great is that!

Thank you to all who have donated to The Book Exchange. I have a lot of piano books for kids to choose from when moving up a level, or requesting to add books to their current lesson plan. Each student is welcome to take a look and talk to me about the books. I appreciate every book donation.
Thank you, Elania, Brody, and Ana!!

Wiphan

Compassion in Music For Compassion is being part of Sole Hope and Wiphan. Working directly with Wiphan Care Ministry's, Sole Hope will soon travel to Zambia to start the process of shoe education and shoe development with the Wiphan Widows. I am so excited for their journey. They will be making a huge impact on the lives of women and children.

It has been brought to my attention that Wiphan continues to receive children that need sponsorship to attend school in their program. This is encouraging because it means that the word has spread among the villages with more and more families being drawn to seeing the need for education. They want their children to learn and grow. They want their children to have a more secure life with an education and future trade. They long for their children to be able to sustain themselves with a job as they become adults.

This video explains all about Wiphan and the need for sponsors. The last clip is of an American Woman with two African children. That woman is the founder of Sole Hope. She is an inspiration to me and to many others. Please watch and contact Wiphan if you feel lead to sponsor a child.

Music For Compassion T-shirts are now here!!

I am thankful for Mike at Hren Design for working so diligently and quickly on creating a logo and tshirt design for Music For Compassion. He is a fantastic Marketer because he quickly saw the vision of my cause and had so much to add - that it was hard for me to choose a starting point - I wanted to do it all right now. But I first jumped on the idea of the T-shirt. Thanks, Mike, for the partnership you have given to my cause!

If you would like to sport a Music For Compassion t-shirt, then simply click on the T-shirt Shop page above. Read the information on that page and click on CHECK OUT OUR SHOP at the bottom. 

You will then be at my T-shirt website where it will walk you through the selection process of your shirt, and take your necessary information to purchase. Once you get to my Music For Compassion Tshirt Shop via Spreadshirt, you are dealing directly with this reputable Tshirt company.

All profits from the sale of my Music For Compassion's Tshirts will go directly to Sole Hope. 

Check out T-Shirt Shop. It would be fun to see some Music For Compassion T's walking around my local town, and in towns no where near mine. Send me your favorite photo wearing your Music For Compassion Tshirt - and I will post the photo and write about you!

Practice Pointers

I have vivid memories of practicing the piano in the dark hours of the morning growing up. I would set the twist dial timer, the kind you could hear tick down the seconds until it would give out its piercing ring, and I would begin. I will admit that there were days that I would cheat. I would fast forward the dial half way through my lesson, and depending on my mom's attitude that morning, she would or would not call me on the carpet about my cheating.

Those were the early years. Then piano clicked for me and I wanted to practice for me. I found that with more practice, the lessons were more fast paced and I could get more music under my belt to practice. I also found that the speed in which I could go through music increased, and it was always fun to get new books in the genre that I loved. My sight reading improved dramatically, and I was really having fun.

But until I could get to that level, I had to go through the mandatory practice expectations of my parents and my teacher. I would not have ventured on my own to the piano in the early years, but I am grateful that my parents expected it of me in order to travel the road to a better quality piano experience, and ultimately becoming a better player.

I encourage parents and students to set a specific time of the day to practice piano. Sometimes it takes consistency in one's schedule to make it work.  Whether it is before school, the first thing done upon coming home from school, or the last thing accomplished before bedtime - there usually is a time of day that is consistent enough for each student to insert piano time.

The amount of time to practice is up to the student. How much do they want to get out of their lessons, their books, their learning?  It will also depend on the level of the piano student. A beginner will certainly not have enough items to practice for 30 minutes, whereas an intermediate or advanced student should have enough music to last 30 or more minutes.

Practice time is not just about playing the music, but playing sections of the music and fine tuning technique. Not only should the notes be consistently accurate, but the phrasing, dynamics, and beat should be as well.  Putting it all together takes time, and practice.

I found this quote during an informational parent-student meeting when my daughter was joining 5th Grade Band. It reads: Practice only on the days you eat. That makes me smile.

Sponsorship Makes A Difference

I first heard of Wiphan Care Ministries in January. I thought the name was creative ... Widows + Oprhans = Wiphan. But I also thought their shirt design was equally creative. The front was fun because it shared their organizations name, but my favorite part was the back. The back reads: This shirt fed and educated one orphan for a month. Wiphan.org. Ndola, Zambia. 

I am sure to always wear my long hair up on the days I wear my Wiphan tee so people can read the back. At the time I purchased the shirt, I was not even an official sponsor of a child. I just bought the tshirt knowing that all profits were going to help the general fund of feeding and educating a student at the Wiphan school. And I wanted to help spread the word through my community about this organization. That was enough for me to get started. 

But then I kept checking back on their website. I started communicating and becoming friends with a woman on the Board of Directors. Her enthusiasm and clear insight shown through, and it started to become the core of my thoughts and heart.  

I signed up to sponsor in May. While I could have made this a family affair; gathering around the computer screen to read all the bio's of the children left to sponsor and selecting one, I chose not to. This was my calling and while I was delighted to share (my kids would confirm I did this a lot!) I felt it personal when it came to following through with my personal choice to sponsor a Wiphan student. 

I put the picture of my sponsored child, Margret, on our fridge right alongside my other dear family members and friends. I wrote her a letter. She wrote back, and that too became part of the fridge.

At my daughter's recent birthday party, a party goer saw the letter and picture and asked me what it was all about. The person was talking directly to me, however, my daughter pipped up and answerd: "Well, we aren't adopting, but we are sponsoring her. She's like my sister in Africa." The party goer was still looking at me, and I was still looking at her, when my daughter just turned to walked away. The two of us remained smiling at one another, and that was that. Making a difference. 

As my daughter stated, Margret is part of our family. Distant at best due to land and water, but none the less close to my heart. I know Wiphan is a small organization in comparison to other like-minded organizations, but I also know they are doing mighty works because the benefit to me is that I know who is handling the funds, the time, the commitment, the dedication, the work, the tears, the everything. One day I hope to be among the Wiphan Mission Team jumping on a plane to Ndola to make a difference. 

Sponsorship doesn't just change the person who is gifted the funds and prayers, but it changes the dynamics of a family who supports another human being - whether local or across the world - making a difference is real. 

The Book Exchange

A fabulous idea has been suggested by a parent of one of my piano students. It was so brilliant that I am grateful that she spoke up and said something, so that I can make a difference.

For the most part, all of my students go through the same piano book series. As they advance they tend to get more specific in the genre of music they prefer, or they gravitate towards their favorite composer. However, in the beginning years of learning the piano, students will use the same network of books.

Insert The Book Exchange. I will have a specific basket in my piano room that will only be used for piano students who voluntarily would like to donate their used piano books. If you give a book, you get to take a book. Then, when you have graduated from the book through your lessons, you get to donate it back to the basket, and take another book. Each Book Exchange book will be labeled as such to help notify which books need to be returned to The Book Exchange basket. 

Not only will it make us more Green by limiting the number of new books purchased per student, but it will also limit the cost per family when it is time to go to the next level of book.

Brilliant? Yes!

Thank you, Joanna, for the great suggestion and addition!

The Formula

(1)2 Students = Compassion

My vision is this: to inspire other teachers of music to dedicate one student's monthly tuition to a cause that they believe in and want to support. It may or may not match with my Compassion in Sole Hope and Wiphan, but I hope that teachers will spread compassion in whatever their heart leads them.

To me the world is not ours. It belongs to a higher calling. To me it belongs to God. And with that we are not stopped by boundaries and borders. We have the choice to move and make differences among all people. It does not matter if your compassion lands you at your neighbors doorstep, or if it takes you half way around the world to a stranger.  I just hope I move, and you move, to inspire others to take action.

One student.

Just One.

And then,

it may grow

to be more.

But just start

with just One.

Will you?

If you add the Music For Compassion Formula to your music business, please contact me at musicforcompassion@yahoo.com and tell me about your Compassion. I will feature you in a Music For Compassion blog post, linking your cause, and your blog/website. 

Welcome 2010 - 2011 School Year

We have had a terrific start to our first month in piano lessons in the new school year.  I appreciate the enthusiasm students are bringing to their lessons, and their practice at home which shows they are prepared to learn their next lesson.  

I received an email from a new student's parents. This little guy is a first grader - and while I normally do not start them this young, I learn from the past.  Let me back up.

It was my first year in teaching and I received an inquiry call in January from a mom that was interested in having her Kindergarten son start piano.  While I advised her that it was pretty young to start learning, she assured me that her son was capable of handling it.  Knowing that tuition is month-to-month, we both agreed to give the little guy a chance.  

Brody is now starting Fifth grade and has always been an outstanding piano student. He practices during the week to be prepared to move forward the following lesson. While he may tear it up on the baseball or football field, he comes to piano calm and ready to learn. I am glad I listened to his mom and started him that one January day six years ago. 

Learning from my past I am giving another young one a chance this year. I received this email from his parents: 

Linda, thank you for making piano so fun for Carter. He is loving it. I heard him tell Tori, "Isn't it so much fun? It's like it's only 10 minutes long because you're having so much fun!"

I thought that was awesome and very cute. He obviously is liking it and he is practicing at home without arguing which is nice. 

Thank you, 

Chris

That is what I hope to achieve for every student. A passion for music - for fun, for purpose, for a bigger goal - it does not matter. I just hope that each student enjoys their time at the piano at their home, and at my home. Playing Music For Compassion - that's what it's all about for me.