Music Lessons

 by TPSMTS Team

Music Transcends Language

Ways that music narrows the distance between cultures

Written by Jane Hong

Music plays a big role in many people’s lives. From pop to classical music, everyone has their preferences.

Top music lists are no longer confined to songs in English, and often consist of popular songs from foreign countries. In many cases, people can enjoy songs in languages that they don’t understand themselves. This is a great example of how music transcends the boundaries of language.

 

Another example of how music transcends language is through translated songs. One of the most translated songs in the world is Amazing Grace. It has been translated into over 60 different languages including Zulu, Mandarin, Farsi, Filipino, and Arabic. Through these many translations, the meaning of the whole song is kept very similarly and faithful to the original that was first published in 1779.

Another song that has been translated many times is a very popular Christmas tune, Silent Night. It has been translated into over 100 different languages (originally in German as “Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht”).

In addition, Happy Birthday To You has been identified by the Guinness World Record as the most recognized English song, and has been translated into more than 30 languages!

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 by TPSMTS Team

Practicing and Intrinsic Motivation

Encouraging students to progress and grow in music lessons

Written by Tamara Leszner-Rovet

With the new year now upon us, it is a time for reflection and resolutions, including when it comes to music lessons. One aspect of music lessons that comes up frequently in conversation, especially at the beginning of a new term, is practicing.

In general, I have found that the key to long term progress, success, and enjoyment of playing an instrument is intrinsic motivation.

 

Intrinsic motivation refers to behaviour that is driven by internal rewards. The motivation to engage in a behaviour arises from within the individual because there are natural rewards associated with it. In other words, students practice because they want to progress (similar to playing sports, where there is a motivation to practice in order to develop the strength and skills to progress). In my experience, students who want to practice their instrument and continue to progress are the ones who reap the most benefits and rewards for themselves, and are more likely to continue lessons long-term.

 

Extrinsic motivation typically doesn’t work well as a long term solution. Rewards such as candy, toys, etc. may not be effective when it comes to music practicing. This is not to say that they won’t work in the short term, but often they satiate and eventually are no longer motivating. The point is that practicing equates to further progress, which is motivation in itself. While rewards may not be an optimal long-term way to motivate, positive reinforcement (strengthening an action with praising words, a pat on the back, performing for others, etc.) can help to further encourage growth and skills to develop intrinsic motivation.

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 by TPSMTS Team

Reflecting on 2019

In the midst of the craziness of holidays and winter break and also just the natural chaos that happens as we wind down (or up!) in December, it seemed fitting to write another reflection post as 2019 was a big, big, big year for us at TPSMTS!

  1. In May, we had Jane join our TPSMTS team as a music therapist/teacher!
  2. We capped off our incredible 2018-2019 year with not three, but FOUR end-of-the-year party and recitals in June. This year, we’ll get to continue with that as our recitals grow in number and in talent!
  3. Right after recitals, we moved to our new studio! For our students, clients, and their families, thank you for being so incredible during this move and for making this transition a smooth one. We’re so excited to be in our new space and be able to provide even more services to you, including…
  4. We ran out first ever music group sessions this summer! Gabriella hosted for the first time and it was fantastic. It is our goal to offer more groups in 2020 — stay tuned!
  5. In August, two of our associates were promoted – Silvia as the Senior Music Therapist & Administrative Assistant and Gabriella as our Senior Music Teacher!
  6. We welcomed Yu Kwei as she joined the team as a new music therapist/teacher!
  7. September kicked off our 2019-2020 school year!
  8. Two of our associates became newly NMT certified, which means our entire music therapy team are all certified in Neurologic Music Therapy!
  9. We re-branded and gave our website a refresh!
  10. One of our social media posts went viral and reached over 170,000 people on Facebook. We also joined Instagram!
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 by TPSMTS Team

Sharing the joy of music

How our music teachers and music therapists experience music with their students and clients

Written by Gabriella Serruya

I love my job!

Not everyone can say that, but I still can – even after 30 years! I consider all of my students as my “kids.” They and their families become a part of my extended family.

 

Every day, I have the privilege of seeing students of all ages and abilities experience music. It’s still a wonder after all this time. When that lightbulb of understanding comes on in a student, I know it’s a great day for both of us.

 

There are so many things that go into a great lesson. Sometimes it’s the lightbulb, but that doesn’t happen every week. Sometimes it’s the laugh we share, the hard work at the lesson, or the home practicing. I always enjoy the time we get to spend together making music.

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 by TPSMTS Team

Real Lessons from Reality TV

How Kodi Lee continues to teach us…

Written by Yu Kwei Chan

 

 

Over the summer, you may have come across Kodi Lee and his achievement on America’s Got Talent (AGT) shared across the media. Kodi’s appearance on AGT highlights various lessons that we can all learn, especially in regards to how music helps and affects individuals with special needs.

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 by TPSMTS Team

Music in Tonal Languages

How music works in different languages

Written by Jane Hong

 

Many people in the world speak tonal languages – where pitch contributes to the meaning of a word. Tone in these languages are phenomic, meaning that a change in pitch or pitch contour of a word can drastically change the meaning of a word. For example, in Cantonese, altering the tone of “mother” (maa1) will result in you calling her “grandma” (maa4) or “horse” (maa5).

Since pitch is also a main component of music, many people wonder what happens when the two intertwine.

For some tonal languages, such as Mandarin Chinese, the melody usually takes over and the 4 tones in the spoken language are ignored. Mandarin speakers should still be able to discern the meaning of the song by the pronunciation of the word without the tonal information. However, some words may still be confusing on rare occasions.

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 by TPSMTS Team

Do I have to?

What our students and clients say about our recitals and what we reply…

Written by Gabriella Serruya

“Do I have to?”

I get asked this question often by students about our End-of-the-Year Party and Recitals and lessons/sessions over the summer.

The simple answer is no. I can hear the cheering from students as I write this! BUT, and that’s a BIG but, the answer is more complicated than that.

 

Our End-of-the-Year Party and Recitals give students the opportunity to show off their new skills.

A lot happens in a year – in and out of music class! We all learn, grow and, mature in terms of our music skills, as well as everything else.

At the End-of-the-Year Party and Recitals, we all get to celebrate that together!

Music is meant to be experienced in groups! We can cheer each other on, appreciate each others’ new skills, and conquer our nerves. We get to celebrate music! We get to be a part of making music and listening to music. What a thrill!

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 by TPSMTS Team

4 Apps for Developing Musicians

Using technology to our advantage…

Today, technology gets a bad rap.

By technology, we mean smartphones, tablets, and any gadgets of the sort. Often when we go out to a restaurant, or out in public with friends, we see tons of people, adults and children, staring at their gadgets. We have even seen entire families sitting together and not talking with one another!

 

In this day in age, technology is everywhere. We are practically glued to our smartphones and other devices; watching shows, videos, listening to music, and just about anything else you can think of.

 

Yes, we should put our devices down from time to time, as it is very important to take a break from our technology. However, we now have the opportunity to use our smartphones and iPads to our advantage.

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 by TPSMTS Team

Celebrating Incredible Wins

A reflection of 2018…and looking forward to 2019.

 

With the new year just around the corner, this season is often coupled with a LOT of different feelings, ranging from happy holiday-loving cheer to anxiety-provoking planning of getting together with family and/or friends, or maybe you’re not the biggest fan of this season or you absolutely love snow!

 

Wherever you are on the feeling range, it goes without saying that we all know that soon, we will be saying goodbye to 2018 and hello to 2019! What a year it has been!

Looking back on 2018, I would love to share a few of what I would call some incredible wins at TPSMTS!

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 by TPSMTS Team

The Power of Music

How music can change your mood or bring back a memory.

Written by Gabriella Serruya

Music is powerful.

Think of a time you were listening to music and a song affected you. Can you remember a certain moment? Maybe an old boyfriend/girlfriend? Do you have specific music you listen to at certain times? I have a cleaning the house playlist, a running playlist, car songs, even a wake up playlist to help us get up in the morning and a get-to-sleep playlist. Music can give us energy or calm us down.
 

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