I am so happy to turn my blog over to an amazing woman and artist, Becky Chaffee. Her book is different and a valuable tool with profound insight for a budding or a seasoned musician.
Welcome, Becky.
Thank you, Jan. I appreciate your hospitality.
There are so Many Reasons to Play a Musical Instrument.
It’s not only fun to play an instrument, but for both young and old, it’s healthy! To inspire you to practice, I created a fun, witty book with practice stories and tips from great musicians, Passion For Practice With Musings From Music Masters.
Playing an instrument uses more of your brain than any other art and more than playing a sport according to Ted Talk, “How Playing A Musical Instrument Benefits Your Brain”, by Dr. Anita Collins. It creates fresh neuron connections in your brain. Talking about connections, playing is a very social activity which is also healthy and fun! I joined a music club, but you can also join a community band or orchestra or play duets to make new friends.
If you learned an instrument in grade school, take some lessons again from a teacher if you need help getting started again. The better you are, the more fun you’ll have. The regular practicing can be rough, but “Passion For Practice…” helps you to practice smarter, making it more of a fun challenge than rote practicing.
I have listened to about 20 years of music lessons from fine teachers (between my kids and myself) on violin, piano, flute, and guitar in both classical and jazz genres. The lessons expressed practice concepts in so many different ways that I thought it would be fun to express these lessons in paintings.
On the back cover of the book are testimonials from Ransom Wilson, Yale Flute Professor, and Steven Greenman, International Klezmer Violinist:
“A delightful and valuable resource for musicians of all ages and abilities, Passion for Practice offers instructive strategies for practicing effectively. Chaffee’s book promotes a positive message that resonates with the reader while encouraging patience, self-discipline, creative problem-solving, and self-reliance. Her wonderful illustrations add a vibrant display of color and imagery to reinforce each lesson. A clever use of wordplay presents analogies to solutions for musical and technical issues…augmented with insightful comments, stories, and advice from professional musicians and educators… an entertaining, supportive, and informative approach to learning music.”
— Steven Greenman, Violinist-Educator-Composer, Internationally Renowned Klezmer Violinist
“Ms. Chaffee’s creative book reminds people who grew up learning music that they can successfully pick up their instrument again. Whether playing by yourself or in a group, you have to practice to be proficient enough to enjoy playing. If you practice smarter, you will set yourself up for a fun challenge and have a rewarding experience. This book offers ideas for improving your practice sessions. Amazing practice tips and stories from very accomplished musicians included in the book will remind you of others out there practicing too and give you an understanding of what some of them went through to get to their playing level.”
–Ransom Wilson, Professor of Flute, Yale School of Music
You might also enjoy Have Fun With Your Music by Becky Chaffee, a book to encourage young musicians to make practicing their own.
PURCHASE LINK – PASSION FOR PRACTICE With Musings from Music Masters
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Becky Chaffee grew up in a musical household and raised two musical children. She has degrees in civil engineering from UC Berkeley and Cornell University. She enjoys playing flute for her music club. Through her music gifts company, MusicTeacherGifts.com, Becky raises funds for music education and has distributed $1,000s to youth. Much of the artwork in her books is presented on note cards, prints, and Tee shirts that sell in music stores and symphony gift shops such as the Brevard Music Center, Nashville, and San Francisco Symphony Gift Shops, SW Strings…
Follow Becky:
HI Jan, it is lovely to see this book here. My oldest son achieved grade 5 practical and theoretical piano and then decided to give up. Michael still plays the drums. He doesn’t do exams and play for personal pleasure. That seems to be working well for him .
How wonderful, Robbie. Who knows…maybe someday he’ll decide to pick it back up. Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment!
At least he has that important piano background, It’s important to have if you go on to play any other instrument.
I agree, I hope he’ll pick up an instrument again later in life.
I love listening to music but haven’t really delved into it myself (other than a forgettable few months of piano lessons, lol). This looks like a great way to start out and maybe stick with it. Thanks for the introduction to Becky’s wonderful guide, Jan.
Thank you for your comment Jacquie. You are correct!
My pleasure, Jacquie! Thank you for stopping by to support Becky!!
What an excellent post. Both of my children practiced instruments a lot, MS to college. As you say, they gained so much and well beyond just a proficiency on the instrument.
Thank you for stopping by and adding your comment, Jacqui! The power of music is undeniable.
Thank you Jacqui. I hope they will still enjoy as an adult.
I enjoyed meeting, Becky. Thank you for the introduction. One of my sisters is a music teacher and music has always been a part of our lives.
Oh how wonderful, Vashti! Thank you for stopping by to leave a comment and support Becky!
Thank you. I hope you’ll think of this book for a gift for her studio.
Thank you Vashti. (What a cool name! What kind of name is that? Does it mean something?) I hope you will think of getting this book as a gift for your sister’s teaching studio.
Nice to meet Becky! I played piano, flute, and piccolo through high school, but haven’t played in years. My youngest son says ‘forcing’ him into band in middle school was the best thing I ever did for him, lol. He now plays multiple instruments and it was one of his majors in college.
There is no option for love on the comments here. I changed schools in 3rd grade. I was too shy to join the “music class”. (I don’t think it was large enough to be called a band.) My mom called the school and told them I needed to go. Best thing ever!!!!!
Oh, how wonderful, Teri! Thank you for your awesome comment and support for Becky!
Nice to meet you here, Becky. My kids music teacher always said kids who learned to play an instrument did better all around and in school. Thanks for hosting, Jan.
That is true. Your kids’ teacher would enjoy this book for a holiday gift. It’s perfect for a teacher’s studio.
I definitely believe that is true, Denise. Thank you for stopping by!
Thank you for the introduction, Jan. Best wishes to Becky.
My pleasure, John! Thanks for stopping by!
This sounds like a truly inspiring book. Although I come from a family with multiple musicians, that gene passed me by. I dabbled briefly, but realized my talent lay with words. Wishing all the best to Becky.
And if I could play an instrument, flute would be near the top of the list!
It’s a fun hobby to “doodle” with now and then, whether you’re good or not. I wish I were better at “words. Thanks.
And I wish I was better at music, LOL!
A gift is a gift, Mae, and you most certainly have a gift of words. Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment today!
I grew up in grade school learning to play the flute. As an adult, I studied the piano, and last year I took up the lap harp. Music is an important part of my daily life. Wonderful post! I’m off to check out this book! All the best to you, Becky!
Oh how exciting, Mary. A lap harp! I would love to hear that. Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment! Hugs!
Thank you so much Mary. I hope you enjoy my humor!
This seems like a valuable book that fulfils a need. Best of luck with it, Becky.
Thanks, Craig, for stopping by to help support Becky and her new release. I agree about the value of the book!
Thank you several chain music stores have already ordered it!
That’s wonderful.
Music is the soul communicating and it is healing for those who make music and the ones blessed to hear it. I played the clarinet for many years and classical singing. I kept singing professionally while the clarinet had to step aside… lol
What a wonderful testimony to the power of music, Erika. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for introducing Becky!
I think I practiced so many hours in high school to “escape”. It works that way as an adult too. When I am concentrating on playing, it’s fun and challenging, so I am not stressed about anything else when I am playing.
I so hear you! It’s the same with singing. I can just let everything flow and distance from everything which gives me the energy to cope with it later much better! Awesome to meet you, Becky 💖
So nice to meet Becky. I played (mostly) the clarinet through high school graduation, but I also played bass clarinet, trumpet, and baritone horn when they needed me to. As an adult, I bought a used upright piano and started to teach myself to play, but life got in the way. Now that the kids are out of the house, I really need to make the time to get back into it. I miss playing music.
Fabulous post.
Oh, I think that’s a wonderful idea, Staci. Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment!
Wow to all those instruments. And yes, the first thing that I did when my 2nd and last kid went to college is sit at the piano. I decided it was so slow going – so that’s when I started my more advanced flute lessons again. I read a blog from a nueros-cientist that he is always learning new instruments since it seems to help stave off Alzheimer’s!
Music soothes the soul. Wishing you all the best, Becky, and a big thanks to Jan for hosting.
Thank you, Joan, for stopping by to support and share!
Thank you Joan.
It’s great to meet Becky. I played the clarinet in elementary school and into high school, but I really wanted to play the piano. 🙂 Thanks for hosting, Jan! Congratulations to Becky on her release.
As they say, Jill, it’s never too late. Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment today!
It’s not too late to start again on piano – in fact, it’s good for you!
It was nice to learn about Becky and Passion for Practice. Congrats to Becky on this recent release!
Thank you, Priscilla!
It’s lovely to meet Becky and her work. Best of luck with everything, Becky 🙂
Jan, thanks for sharing 🙂
Thank you for stopping by to support and share, Harmony!