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Showing posts from March, 2014

Review of Rhythm Solitaire

Michiko Yurko has expanded Music Mind Games to new technological heights!  Rhythm Solitaire is exactly what you would expect: solitaire with musical rhythm cards instead of a standard deck.  In order to create stacks the notes and rests must be put in order from fastest to slowest. The app itself looks very sleek.  Everything is responsive and the menu buttons intuitive.  I was impressed by the design and catchy little main menu tune.  It's obvious that quite a bit of work went into making the game look fun and engaging.  This is not your Windows '98 solitaire game, folks. The play is quite challenging.  I had to start over the first few times I played after having worked myself into a stalemate.  While there are how-to instructions built in, young music students might need some initial help before they catch on.  The dotted rhythms were a little confusing.  The notes have dotted rhythm options while the rests do not.  I didn't realize this right away an

15 MORE Strategies for Practicing with Young Musicians

Dislike of practicing is not the same thing as dislike of the instrument. With a few exceptions, most young students are not mature enough to form a reasonable opinion about their instrument. Therefore, it is a waste of effort to quit one instrument and start up something else with the hope that the student will have greater success with the new instrument. Starting instrument after instrument accomplishes nothing. What needs to happen is an examination of the true source of the issues: practicing. There are two sides to a young child’s musical development. One side involves the actual activities that are done during the practice. For example, thinking of ways to make the child sit or stand with a certain posture for a prolonged period of time. This is the physical practice. The other side to practicing is mental development. Enjoyment of music is something that is cultured over a prolonged period of time. External factors should always be taken into account. You can