The Music Parents' Survival Guide
A Parent-to-Parent Conversation
Amy Nathan
From Our Blog
'Our teachers and students and families are so excited to be back, to see everyone again,' said Brandon Tesh, director of the Third Street Music School in New York City. His school resumed in-person classes in September 2021 after 18 months of online instruction, caused by government-ordered school shutdowns aimed at slowing the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Posted on January 29, 2022
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Posted on June 2, 2020
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Posted on May 5, 2020
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'Music is my life. I will never stop playing cello,' says Vanessa Johnson, one of the young people whose early experiences with music are featured in the book The Music Parents' Survival Guide  (2014). Since more than four years have passed since it went to press, we are checking in with some youngsters to see how they are doing, focusing on those who participated in free after-school programs inspired by El Sistema, Venezuela's music-education system which emphasizes ensemble playing right from the start.
Posted on July 31, 2018
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'My status as a musician hasn't been a large part of my public identity since the beginning of high school. I took lessons and practiced at home, and that was it. But even that yielded other, more private lessons that my flute seemed to teach me. Those lessons will stay with me for much longer,'
Posted on September 19, 2017
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The lazy days of summer pose a special challenge for music parents. With school and regular music lessons on hiatus until the fall, it can be hard to persuade youngsters to continue to practice their instruments without the prod of needing to prepare for a lesson or a school ensemble rehearsal. If there isn't a certain amount of vacation practicing, however, some of the musical gains children made during the school year may begin to melt away.
Posted on June 14, 2016
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Walking the music parenting tightrope isn't easy for music moms and dads. Figuring out how to be helpful without turning into an overbearing nag can be tricky, especially during a youngster's early adolescent years. Those often-turbulent years can upend many aspects of a child's life, including music.
Posted on January 5, 2016
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'I was lucky all the time in having great teachers,' says clarinetist Richard Stoltzman. When I asked him about special ways his early teachers helped him, he mentioned his elementary school band director who was 'enthusiastic and cheerful, no matter what,' and also a private teacher he had in high school who taught him how to practice with purpose.
Posted on November 28, 2014
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'My thanks to my parents is vast,' says Toyin Spellman-Diaz, oboist with the Imani Winds woodwind quintet. 'Without their help, I would never have become a musician.' Many professional musicians I've interviewed have responded as Ms. Spellman-Diaz did, saying that their parents helped in so many ways: from locating good music teachers, schools, and summer programs, to getting them to lessons, rehearsals and performances on time, while also figuring out how to pay for it all.
Posted on November 27, 2014
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By Amy Nathan When parents sign up kids for music lessons, probably first on the list of anticipated outcomes is that their youngsters' lives will be enhanced and enriched by their involvement with music, possibly even leading to a lifelong love of music.
Posted on June 24, 2014
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