Motivating Students
Why the First 2 Months of Being a Music Parent are the Most Important
I often observe that many parents hold some age-old assumption that musical talent is God-given or inherited, but let’s be clear: everyone possesses musical talent...
Developing a Practice Routine: Do You Want to Be Good or An Expert?
As we saw in Part 2, deliberate practice means nothing more than to practice with purpose and a specific direction. This term and area of research was pioneered by...
Developing A Practice Routine: Focused Learning and Deliberate Practice
If you missed part 1 of this series, “Do Practice Time Lengths Matter?” here it is!In part 1 of this series, we discussed why long, open-ended practice sessions —...
Developing A Practice Routine: Do Practice Time Lengths Matter?
For musicians, practice is a must. Learning music is a skill and, like any skill, it needs to be developed properly. However, practice doesn’t need to be difficult...
Moving Away From Perfectionism In Music Education
If you teach older students in your private studio, you might have noticed the same thing that I have: these students often want to be perfect. While I first noticed...
7 Easy Things Parents Can Do Right Now to Extend Their Child’s Musical Life
Many parents find small ways to help their children with school homework each day. They also may know the basics of how to help their children with...
Drum Corps Participation Benefits Marching Bands
Drum Corps and marching bands come in all different shapes, styles, sizes but when it boils down to it most of them share commonalities. Those similarities have less...
Lance LaDuke Tip of the Week: Week 5
Knowing where you are going is only part of the story. What’s your plan for getting there? If you find this useful, share with another musician!
Taking Students to the Next Level Through Exposure and Immersion
When looking back at my years in high school band, I think about the opportunities my high school band directors offered me and how they have influenced my musical...