Performing Arts Report
May 20, 2026 – Edition 6
Instrumental Soiree
Congratulations to all the fabulous students that performed at the Semester 1 Instrumental Soiree!
With performers on three different stages, a total of nearly 3 hours of music was presented by students who are having lessons in our Instrumental Music Program. A big thanks to our team of Instrumental Music Teachers who prepared and ran the program, and to parents for supporting the journey of their budding young musicians.
Helping Your Young Musician Practice at Home
There is a question that I am sometimes asked, and that is, “how do I support my child in practicing at home?” Here is some of the advice that I offer in response:
- Find a space in which they can practice. It should be a comfortable space, one where they have room to be able to move freely enough to play their instrument. It could be a bedroom, or a spare room, but please avoid a space which is uncomfortable or unpleasant, such as a garage.
- Provide the illusion of privacy. By this, I mean to help them feel as though no-one is listening. Some instruments are able to be played through headphones, which is excellent. In fact, these may be really good options for guitars or keyboard or drum kits if you are buying one for a young player. Others need a little careful management. A good idea is to provide a bit of sound damping. This could be a doona or thick blanket or towel draped over a towel rack or clothes airer – anything that the player can direct sound into. Very little can be done about complete sound proofing in the home, but even little things can make a difference. Often, it is most important that the young musician perceives that they have a private space.
- Be encouraging and be excited for them. When they have a new piece of music, offer to listen to a recording of it with them. When they are preparing pieces for performances, ask if they can perform to you. Ask them how their lessons are going or what technique they are working on. Young beginner musicians can make a wild variety of unusual sounds, but with patience and perseverance will convert them to lovely music. Please avoid comparing the sound of their practice with the sounds that wild animals make (no matter how accurate that may be)!
- Establish a regular routine. As with study, development occurs best when it is touched on often and consistently. A short amount of practice each day is better than a big chunk once a week.
- Keep in mind that practice is for making mistakes. This is the time when technique is developed and refined, and when a young musicians hearing is refined. They are learning to recognise when things are not right or when adjustment is required. They are also learning to refine their technique and develop consistency in their execution. These things take a musician their whole life. If your young musician is filling the house with lovely music when they practice, then they are no longer developing, they are instead performing.
- Remove distractions. Discourage phones or devices or laptops in the practice room if possible. This can be really difficult to manage as they often make very useful resources (metronome or tuning apps, backing track playback, listening to reference recordings, looking up musical terms)! There is no best practice here, work on case by case solutions like buying a portable tuner or metronome. Setting phones on a Do Not Disturb setting can be a good idea.
I want all of my students to understand that music is a challenge that takes time to develop, to feel that they can take risks and make mistakes, and to know that they are supported and encouraged. With this mindset, they have the best chance of enjoying music making for the rest of their lives.
If you have any questions about how to support a young musician in your home, then please reach out to their private teacher or me and we’ll be more than happy to offer some guidance.
Stuart Collidge
Head of Performing Arts
