Month: March 2014

music time

by catherinejjones

well done to all my students who took examinations with London College of Music! 5 distinctions and 1 high merit (so close!) you stars!

Easter piano party time is here again- we’re making Easter biscuits, playing piano and singing, playing games and having fun tomorrow, Saturday.

And my music students’ art work will be on show as well! Their work “music and me” will be at the gallery at the end of the lane tomorrow, Saturday, afternoon.

Don’t forget the clocks go forward an hour as well this weekend- so lessons start even earlier on Sunday!

Frustration

by catherinejjones

I felt so fed up angry and stressed by this afternoon.

I don’t feel totally comfortable in the space we’re doing our residency in, I was saddened that one of my students who had been making really good progress, has given up piano- having lost interest recently (this seems to be a common problem for people taking 11+ exams- why do they give up on all their hobbies and interests? Is it the stress of taking the exam, is it teenage hormones kicking in…?)  my relaxed holiday mind has been replaced by “normal” anxiety ridden persona so I went and bought a load of cheap acrylic paints (thanks to The Works) in reds, bronze and black as well as some more extender and I’m going to throw it at a large canvas tomorrow morning (literally- going to mix paint in pots and tip and throw it….) and then set fire to it, using some of the pages from the dictionary I’ve been working from. I hope that the physicality of the actions will make me feel a whole lot better…. and will have it to exhibit at my show in the horsebox on 15/16 March….

Music & Me Time to learn Piano piano party

by catherinejjones

My younger students had a great time today at their piano party- the plan is that they do some art & craft, play the piano to each other and then have tea!

Today we decorated fairy cakes (which if they were too full after tea, they could take home) and we looked at 20th century and contemporary art about music and musicians. Then they created their own pieces of art which will be exhibited at a special exhibition at The Gallery at the End of the Lane on 29th March. My older young students (ie age 8 and up) will be doing the same next weekend so we should have a fantastic selection of individual responses to show you. By the way, they all played beautifully, (and sang) and most of them ended up playing at least 2 pieces as they loved sharing their music with each other. Exhausting but well worth it! The kind of experiences that will create lifelong memories…