Mulan completed her second year at the music centre, learning first-year flute and second-year recorder. Miya completed her first year there, learning recorder. Both girls would like to continue learning these instruments next year, with Miya also wanting to pick up the violin.
(As well as having lessons at the Music Centre, both girls are also learning ukulele and guitar from Yeye -- these lessons haven't stopped yet.)
Four bands played on Saturday at the concert. Mulan was in the Junior Wind Band, and played three pieces, while two of her cousins also played in bands. It all went very well, and we were all very impressed.
At the small prize-giving after the concert, about a dozen or so children received special recognition (and a medal) for their achievements during the year. I think I am right to say that each teacher picks out one or two students from their classes who are doing exceptionally well. Mulan got an award for her flute and recorder, and two cuzzies got awards, too. (It seems that Miya's first-year introductory classes don't get awards.)
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Practicing:
I think the key to the girls doing well with their music is firstly that they are enjoying it, but secondly that they practice out of class a few times each week. When the children are enjoying it, they are happy to get their instruments out to practice. Mostly, all I need to do with the girls is occasionally say, "how about you have a music practice after you finish this," and they will happily play their instruments for 20 or 30 minutes. They know what they need to do, and I simply listen to them playing from another room. (As much as they enjoy playing the music, I notice that if I don't gently remind them, they just won't get around to practicing, as they will get caught up in other activities.)
When it comes to the lessons at the music centre, it really is this sort of practice that makes the difference. I almost always sit in on the children's classes, quietly observing what is going on, and it is very obvious to see who practices and who does not. By the end of the year, many of the classes are very split, with the non-practicing students half a year or more behind those who practice.
Unfortunately, I don't see that the teachers are strongly encouraging out-of-class practicing. And most parents clearly aren't helping either. I really do think that children this age need adults to create the supporting environment for enjoyable practice to happen. Children will rarely do it themselves, without adults first taking the initiative.
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Which music centre:
There are three other similar music centres in our local area (Glenfield, Birkdale and Mid-Bays). We initially chose to go to Belmont Music Centre because the cuzzies go there (it is within walking distance of their home), and it is also fairly convenient for our other activities. (It is also the music centre I went to as a child, when I learnt the recorder.)
Lately, though, we have been wondering about going to one of the other local music centres. To put it bluntly, recently there have been some issues at Belmont which, as we see it, have not been good for learning. And we have been wondering if other places would be better.
For us, the key practical priorities are that the children enjoy music and their learning goes well. I understand that running a school is a complicated business (Mama was HOD of a language school in China for several years), and there can be all sorts of other management concerns, in addition to these primary purposes. So, I can be fairly sympathetic to management that they have to balance many things, and these primary purposes can't always be completely satisfied.
But having said that, we have been a little worried about Belmont. The main practical things for us are:
Firstly, it is essential in a school that the junior teachers are getting adequate professional development and mentoring to improve as teachers. Teaching is not something that can simply be done if you know your subject. Teaching is a separate skill in itself, that needs separate training. We are concerned that the junior teachers at Belmont Music Centre are not developing as teachers, and are still unguided in classroom management, lesson planning, etc. At the beginning of last year, I saw the previous manager getting involved with mentoring the junior teachers, by sitting in on classes and giving practical advice; clearly the previous manager was an experienced teacher and knew what to do in the classroom. But since then, and since the current manager took over at the end of last year, I have seen no further assistance to these junior teachers. Consequently, these teachers are stagnating as teachers, continuing to make the same mistakes, week after week, month after month.
To be clear, most of these teachers seem very nice people, and I have no reason to doubt their musical competence. But I do think that with some of them their classroom teaching is not up to standard. And this needs to be addressed by management.
Secondly, some of the instruments taught at the music centre are very expensive to buy. Typically, music centres hire out decent quality instruments to students to make learning more affordable. Unfortunately, the new management is making hiring instruments more difficult. (a) They are suggesting that they will stop hiring out their instruments. (b) They are significantly putting the hiring fees up. (c) They are stopping hiring over summer, meaning that for a couple of months each year students cannot practice. (d) They are encouraging students to hire from private businesses that are not government subsidised (as the music centres are), meaning higher costs to learn.
Thirdly, there seems to be far too many weeks during the year in which there are no lessons. (a) Finishing classes in November is surely too early. (b) They have three weeks break between terms instead of the standard two. (c) The entire third term is disrupted because of recitals, resulting in many lessons missed. I have found that it is best not to choose classes at the 10:30 time, as these are the ones that get cancelled in favour of recitals.
Fourthly, even though theoretically the lessons are 45 minutes long, often in reality they are much shorter, with teachers starting late and/or finishing early.
Fifthly, there doesn't seem to be an adequate relief-teaching system. On some occasions when teachers were sick, and they could not find any relief teachers, classes were lumped in together or taught by teachers who did not know the instrument being learnt. On their website they even say that if they cannot find relievers then they reserve the right to simply cancel the class -- I find this unacceptably unprofessional, when students are paying for these classes.
But there are also several things favouring Belmont, including:
- Two of the other music centres appear to have stricter age restrictions, meaning that Miya would be too young to join their classes.
- It appears that none of the other music centres teach the recorder beyond an introduction; both Mulan and Miya want to continue with this instrument.
- We are beginning to know the good teachers at Belmont. Three of the four classes that Mulan and Miya would be in next year are taught by teachers we trust (we have not yet met the teacher of the fourth class). We think that the recorder teacher, Kevin, is brilliant at teaching music creativity. He teaches an ability to play with music, creating something out of seemingly nothing. His classes are always fun and exciting. We also like the way the flute teacher, Susannah, teaches an awareness of the feel of a composition, understanding how the background history and composers' motivations influence the feel of the pieces as they are played. Her classes are calmer, and, for more mature students who are prepared to sit more still, provide a good contrast to Kevin's dynamic playfulness.
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