To all who participated in the 2007 Summer Music Olympics—well done.

The following students have reached the gold medal placement:

Samantha Royle—100-measure dash.
Jeremiah Rentschler—Hurdles (now a book 1 graduate—yeah!)
Hannah Shipp—High Dive
Josh Cheng—Free-Style
Annie Shipp—Uneven Bars

Way to go!

For sixteen years I have heard it. In fact, every private instructor in the country has heard it. You may have even said it yourself. Practice just isn’t fun.

In a world with instant gratification through internet and cell phones, it is a challenge to teach children patience, determination, and effort. I am talking about delayed gratification. If you were told, "you may have one brownie now, or 6 brownies in one hour," which would you choose? Many kids would take the brownie and then complain for the next hour about not getting the other five. It is no surprise that music is treated the same way. They want to play...NOW.

So how do we combat this growing issue? Let them quit? Force them into doing something and let them be angry the entire time? Try one of these:

1. Set smaller goals. Praise each little goal instead of withholding praise until the entire song is learned. Today, learn one phrase well.

2. Don’t over practice. Yes, you heard me. Set a timer for five minutes. Work on one song – focusing on one thing until the timer goes off. Once it goes off, move on.
3. Set acceptable quitting points. When the going gets tough, students get going… quitting that is.
4. Be understanding and set a goal. For example, after the May concert, if you still want to quit, you can. Or, when you complete this book, you can stop.

4. Basic mastery takes 1,000 hours. How you break that up is up to you. Knowing this concrete goal, it can be very fun and rewarding to fill in the time on a huge grid.
5. Use practice games such as rolling a dice to see how many times you will practice, using a practice bank, or giving a mini-recital for a band of stuffed animals.

6. Make practicing a routine. The results will act as furthermotivation and students will enjoy practicing more.
7. Talk to your teacher about adding a song that you select. Sometimes, practicing is easier if you are learning a song you always wanted to play.
8. Less is more. In addition to not over practicing, cut out the distractions. This includes TVs, phones, and siblings.
9. Make practice time quality time. Practicing can be a treat if it means one-on-one time with mom or dad. Parents, during this time, keep a positive attitude. This is a specialized set of skills that take time to learn, be patient.
10. If all else fails, know this. I have never had someone tell me that they wished they hadn’t been forced to take lessons as a child, but many who expressed regret that they were allowed to quit.*

Practicing is a journey. With each step, the path becomes easier to walk.

Memorizing lines is often the bane of an actor’s existence. You have to know when you speak, where you are on stage, and the actual lines!

Getting what you say in your head as quickly as possible will not only make it easier for you to “get into character,” it will also enable the director to raise the quality of the performance.

So how do you memorize all those lines with ease? I’m glad you asked. It’s as easy as 3-2-1.

Say the line three times with the script, then try it once without the script. If you are successful, say it 10 times.

If not, try two more times with the script. If you still don’t have it—look at the script one more time. After you learn the lines, review them daily!

Congratulations to the cast, crew, and director of No Time For Sergeants for a terrific run. We were very excited to have two sell-out crowds and the response from those who saw the show was very encouraging. Tim Southerland, who played Will Stockdale, played the well-known Andy Griffith character with the finesse of a professional. His trusty sidekick Ben, played by Thom Wallace, along with a first class troop of actors delighted audiences from the opening curtain to the closing bows.

Director Ed May ended the

run with an added flair by presenting discharge papers to the actors.

Not wanting to rest on his laurels, Ed May quickly changed gears and won audience approval again with

his role in The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (abridged). Directed by Kelli Bauer, the Venomous Duck Shakespeare Company (Brad Wilkerson, Jerry Lucas, and Ed May) kept theater goers in stitches as they satirized the most famous moments of Shakespeare. The thrilling threesome even performed Hamlet forwards AND backwards! If you missed the impeccable timing of this slap-stick, all I can say is “OOB.” (That’s boo backwards...it’s from the show...oh, never mind.) You really should have been there. It was awesome!