Stars of the month

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Stars of the month: Jenna and Selma T. Piano

David H. Guitar

Zoe R. Voice

Hope M. Voice

Gavin M. Drama

Jackson M. Drum

Shamar J. Piano/ Drums

Welcome New Students! Julia B.- Violin Kelly D.- Violin Caleb C.- Guitar Melissa B.- Voice Vince J.- Guitar Emil H.- Kindermusik Caleb M.-Violin Atharva A.- Kindermusik Eleazar T.- Piano Yvonne W.- Piano Samantha H.- Violin Prasiddhi T.- Guitar Ethan G.- Guitar Zoe T.- Voice

Spotlight Student of the Month!

Donna is an adult student and has been taking Piano and Voice at Musical Beginnings since January of this year. Her two daughters have also been taking lessons and doing art classes with us as well. Kaitlyn is taking violin lessons and Shayla started with a Kindermusik class then changed to ukulele and is now onto drum lessons! As for older people taking up an instrument or lessons, Donna says “It is never too late to start, it has been so good for me. I love it!!” Donna and her husband have a small business, they sell a product called Restorzit (www.restorzit.com) and a Bible history timeline. (www.mybibletimeline.com) Donna grew up in Wisconsin in a small town called Fairchild. She attended high school in Osseo, Wisconsin where her parents still reside. Donna is a joy to have at Musical Beginnings, she is always smiling and positive and is really putting a serious effort into her music lessons.

Teacher of the month:

REBECCA CONNELLEE

Rebecca has been teaching at Musical Beginnings since December of 2013. She teaches Guitar, Piano, Ukulele, Voice, Kiddy Keys, and Kindermusik. Rebecca swears she “entered the atmosphere with a need for noise and a melody” She took piano, guitar, trumpet and viola as a child and always sang in the church choir where she grew up in Los Alamos, New Mexico “birthplace of the bomb!” And yes, she says she does glow in the dark. There is more than music on this ladies credentials. She has also been an Engineering Project Manager for Varian Electronics and Jabil circuit after college. Prior to that she taught music for the University of New Mexico Los Alamos and Mesa Public Schools. Then she ventured in the culinary world as a chef and has also applied to compete on the TV show Chopped. Rebecca, a pet lover, has “the best cat in the universe” Sylvester (they call him Sly) and has a dog named Bear. She also has two grown sons, Matt and Ty. Rebecca enjoys tennis, water sports, comedy, writing and gardening. Something she says we don’t know about her is that she is very silly and loves to laugh, but it only takes a few moments in her presence to know that!! We love Miss Rebecca.

Teachers in the Community! Our own Olivia & Nick will be performing at the Annual “Playing for Change Day” Fundraiser in Portland http://playingforchangeday.org/s how/livi-yiu-is-playing-forchange-in-pdx-2014 Livi Yiu is “Playing For Change” once again, this year on September 20th 79 PM in the beautiful Rose City, Portland, Oregon! Join her and musician Nick McLean (Guitarist from Spittin Image & Cover Your Tracks) as they serenade you with your most beloved love and peace songs while you enjoy delicious Mexican Food at PDX's own Tortalandia! All proceeds and donations will go towards Playing For Change Foundation. 4144 SE 60th Ave Portland, OR 97232

Is your teacher sold out? Monday-Friday: 3-8pm ask about earlier and later times Saturday: 9-2pm ask about earlier and later times

Rachael: 5 spots Piano, Voice

Rebecca: 2 spots Guitar, Ukulele, Piano, Voice Olivia: 3 spots Ukulele, Violin, Guitar, Piano, Voice, Cello

Corey: 1 spot Guitar, Drums, Banjo, Ukulele, Bass

Hunter: 8 spots Violin, Piano, Viola, Accordion, Cello, Mandolin Kattie: 1 spot Piano

Tanya: 5 spots Piano, Voice, Guitar, Violin, Viola, Cello

Nick: 3 spots Piano, Voice, Guitar, Drums, Bass, Ukulele

Steve: 8 spots Guitar, Piano, Drums, Bass, Voice

Ian- 4 spots Drums, Guitar, Bass, Piano, Ukulele

NOTEWORTHY NEWS Am I Too Old to Learn Music and Play an Instrument? By LTP Admin |February 8th, 2013 “Am I too old to learn music?” This is a common question for many aspiring teachers and musicians alike. The simple answer to this question is NO, you are never too old to learn music or to play an instrument, assuming you can still use your hands to hold a fork and knife or catch a ball, and there are two main things you need to learn to play an instrument. The Big Secret to Learning Music at Any Age Ready for the big secret? Ok.The two things you need to learn to play any instrument are (drum roll)….. Patience and a willingness to put in the time for practice (what really? can it be so simple??). Maybe you’ve already heard that piece of advice before but for some reason you still feel that you simply have no talent or ability to learn an instrument. You’ve tried and tried all your life but it always ends in failure. For those of you that feel that way, let’s get one thing straight right now. Natural talent may help with people learning faster and become great musicians more easily, but it has nothing to do with being able to learn to play an instrument. Some people learn languages faster than others, some slower. Some people drive cars spectacularly, and some are dangers to society when they’re on the road. The point is, everyone can speak a language, and most people of adult age can drive for better or worse. Anyone can be taught and everyone can learn if they are motivated to. The Psychology behind Learning For those of you feel like they need a real life example, I recommend reading a book titled Guitar Zero by Gary Marcus. In the book, the author (who happens to be a professor of psychology and director of the NYU Center for Language And Music) talks about how he learned to play the guitar after years of feeling like a talentless musical oaf with people telling him he had no rhythm and couldn’t follow music to save his life . Ok, I’m paraphrasing a little, but you get the gist of it. Learning to play an instrument is the same as any other skill. Firstly, you need to put in the time to give your body, brain and muscles an opportunity to adapt to particular movements. Next, you need to give your mind an opportunity to absorb any necessary musical knowledge you will need to read and play music. It takes time and dedication, and this is where being older can be beneficial as more mature students tend to be able to focus better and have greater patience than their younger counterparts (true story). Adult students also tend to be more analytical and able to process information more systematically allowing them to learn faster by correcting mistakes more effectively. While the above may not apply to every single person that ever lived, however the point is that everybody is teachable and everyone can learn, no matter what age you’re at. With that though, it does help to have somebody like a teacher or a friend to give you constant feedback if you feel you are the type of person who really struggles with rhythm. It will vary from person to person, but don’t judge your progress against someone else’s measuring stick. You are your own person with your own style of learning. Find a method that works best for you, then take it from there

DATES TO REMEMBER LABOR DAY: MON Sept. 1 – Closed PICTURE DAY: Sept. 20th 3:30-6 THANKSGIVING: Nov 25-29 closed Tues-Sat WINTER BREAK: Dec. 22- Jan. 1 – Closed

PICTURE DAY

Lessons & Classes Resume Friday Jan. 2, 2015

SEPTEMBER 20TH 3:30 – 6PM RESERVE YOUR TIME NOW

Have you moved? Let us know your new address!!

9815 NE Covington Road Vancouver WA 98682 360-882-0501 www.musicalbeginningsvancouver.com

WHAT’S NEW! New Sunday Hours! We are now open on Sunday from 2-5pm. Let us know if you are interested!

New Makeup Class Schedule and 20142015 Calendar are available at the front desk.

Home School Classes!

Not a student yet?

Art ages 2-5 and 5-12 Glee ages 8-12 Drum Buddies ages 4-6 Kiddy Keys ages 4-6 Early lesson times for private and small group instruments.

We teach:

First come, first serve! Call today to register: 360-882-0501 OPEN: MON-FRI 8:30am-8:30pm SAT 9am-3pm

Classes:

DRUMS

VIOLA

DRAMA

GUITAR

CELLO

ART

PIANO

BASS

GLEE

VIOLIN

BANJO

KIDDYKEYS

VOICE

MANDOLIN

DRUM BUDDIES

UKULELE

KINDERMUSIK

ACCORDION

What’s Inside? Noteworthy News Picture Day/Dates to Remember Stars of the Month Welcome New Students Spotlight Student of the Month Teacher of the Month Teachers in the Community Is your teacher sold out?