Student Surveys - what wisdom do our students want to share?

Every month in our Academy newsletter, we ask students a question. We love to hear the advice they have for us. Check out their answers below!

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We asked our students for their 2021 Musical Goals, and here’s what they had to say!

"One of my musical goals is to improve my rhythm when playing my pieces." -Arya C.

"One of my goals is to try to learn a wide array of different musical pieces." -Shaan C.

“I would like music to pour out of me all the time. I would like to be able to sit down, read a piece, and be able to play it.” -Aidan M.

"Have two really good Burgmullers by the end of 2021 and learn all my scales 3 octaves." -Liam A.

"Get my new orchestra pieces learned quickly." -Ada J.

"I want to get better at practicing this year." -Mia S.

"I want to learn a really hard song." -Benjamin S.

"I want to get better at remembering what some symbols and words mean." -Alexander L.

"I would like to get better with hand movements and dynamics while playing." -Carolina L.

We asked our students to share their best practice tips, and here’s their advice!

“Repeat it 3 times, do it hands separately then hands together. Study the music very carefully.” -Ada J.

“Try to get it right 5 times in a row.” -Benjamin S.

“Practice it a lot.” -Mia S.

“I re-read the notes and practice it over and over again.” -Sadie S.

“Oh my god repeat, repeat, repeat.” -Julie Z.

“Repetition and slow it down.” -Sienna L.

“Play it 3 times and if you make a mistake, try it again. Do it slow and build up tempo.” -Alexander L.

“When you practice, start with the challenging part first until you think it's more than perfect.” -Carolina L.

"My best practice tip is to remove distractions when sitting down to practice." -Arya C.

"Go slow and steady." -Izzie A.

“When you’re practicing, try to pay attention to only a couple of mistakes at a time. Do your song multiple times so you can get better at multiple things” -Liam A.

"Practice at a speed where you can actually get your notes right. And then when you’re playing really well, you go to a higher speed." -Sebi A.

"My practice tip is to start with the hardest part and connect that part with the rest of the song." -Carolina L.

"Start the new part slow then start to build up speed" -Alexander A.

We asked our students, “What are your musical wins?”

Being prepared and comfortable with live performances. -Max A.

Learning Musette by Bach so fast. -Sadie S.

I’ve learned to do the full Sonatina and also to finish Gavotte. -Charlotte L.

Being able to listen to a song and be able to put it with the music. -Izzie A.

Well, I finished Arabesque, a song with 16th notes. -Sebi A.

Learning Clocks by Coldplay. -Arya C.

Getting better at sight reading. -Sienna L.

My sight reading and scales have improved a lot. -Clyde K.