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Whether your students have school or not, we’re open for lessons today. If you’re not, try to get a little extra practice in, even if it is playing something you like for fun. If you are, you’re probably learning more about Martin Luther King, Jr and we hope you enjoy the day.

I appreciate this King quote. There is a good feeling to doing what is right, even if it means practicing an instrument you want to play. I’ll be practicing guitar this afternoon; it’s been too long since I played. Don’t be afraid to share your King quotes today, and we’d love to hear what you practiced, too.

Composition: New Year, New Lab Stations! We will be focusing on video games! Listen to some of your favorite video game soundtracks and try to make some of your own! If you have any questions please feel free to ask a lab attendant.

Music History: Let’s learn about video game music! It’s some of the most famous music of all time! Listen to some famous music and read about the history! If you have any questions, please ask a lab attendant!

For our young students: This month, there are brand new coloring pages for our young students! We also have a fun and colorful new game, Blob Opera, where students can drag blobs to make different notes! This teaches them about harmonies and how notes interact.

It’s 2022. It’s all right if you haven’t completely settled on your goals for the year. There are all kind of people and all kinds of resolutions – so feel free to get a bit creative with the process.

The new year is one of the most common times to create and attempt change through resolutions. Whether you’re setting intentions to be better or resolutions for the entire year or simply lining up goals for a month or two, it is good to write them down. Be proactive in your goal-tracking.

What? I track my goals. I set reminders. I use every tool at my disposal to help me remember the things that I am attempting to change, though in my case you’ll also see daily reminders to go drop off and pick up my kids from school. I’m also picking up my guitar again, and maybe my daughter’s violin.

If you need more reasons to have more music in your life, here they are:
It feels amazing to be able to play music.
Learning music increases concentration.
Stress relief and building confidence happen when you learn to play music.
Music brings people together, and it is a lot of fun.

So whether you’ve played an instrument for years and you’d like to pick up a new one, or if you’ve never tried it but you’re curious – let this be your year! MTMS can’t wait to help you reach new musical goals.

Surprised they have a place in music and speech?

I was reminded of a phrase in a song this morning, “Around the rugged rock, the ragged rascal ran,” as well as the Dr. Seuss book Fox in Sox.

When we recite those tongue twisters, we get a rhythm to it. Singers use these to learn articulators (tongue, teeth, lips, and jaw) so their words are crisp and clear. When my daughter was tiny, we read Fox in Sox a lot, and that book now has a rhythm when I read it, because I learned to read it better with that rhythmic speech – meaning many, many fewer mistakes.

Looking for a few tongue twisters to try out?

Five effective tongue twisters for singers (ewabeachmusicacademy.com)

tongue-twisters-poster-full.jpg (3509×2480) (busyteacher.org)

Tongue Twisters For Singers – Successful Singing