Judi Messina - Music & Art

Judi offers voice and piano lessons at her house in Southwest Houston, and at Sherman Clay, 3133 Southwest Freeway, Houston, Texas 77098. All sheet music for student lessons is purchased from Dowling Music. Existing students qualify for discounts on Leisure Learning classes.

Children

Philosophy & Recommendations

• Practicing at home is incredibly important. "Practicing" means playing a piece of music twice (minimum), or playing correct repetitions on a section of a song, or doing a page of homework, or going through flash cards. Any one of these activities constitutes a day of practice, with a minimum requirement of 4 days of practice every week. Practice should take only 10 minutes, by these definitions, so there will always be enough time to practice, even every day.
• Don't cancel a lesson simply because of lack of practice. Lesson time can be devoted to music theory, technique, music history, etc. The teacher's time is not wasted if the student hasn't practiced. Progress has been slowed, that’s all.
• If a continuing problem with practicing arises, please tell me immediately. I have many suggestions or recommendations for books and articles that will help. Do not interpret a lapse in interest as a permanent situation. A musician's progress is never a straight, rising line. It has many a plateau, which is part of human nature. Maintain a positive attitude about your child’s playing and progress. Have he or she use music study as a refreshing break from homework or chores. Hang in there! Music can be a life-long hobby or career with enormous payoffs, and develops the mind in ways other studies cannot.
• Help your child establish a habit of practicing. This takes time -- it usually takes three weeks to establish a new habit. Beware of establishing the habit of not practicing! Make sure the TV is turned off on a regular basis.
• Feel free to sit in on any and all lessons. You’ll know what’s required for the next week, and understand the concepts I’m presenting. Please help me watch the time at lessons so that the student that follows you gets their full lesson as well. You are paying for my time, so I endeavor to honor our start and stop times.
• When buying a piano, avoid brand names of composers or the piano store itself. They are generally not the best quality. Buy the best piano you can afford. Pianos are very resellable, usually for the price you paid for it. Electronic pianos are fine, too. They are easier to move, and don't require an "inside wall" location in your house. They also have fun features to play with and learn from.

I'm always available by phone for questions or consultations (713-541-3495), or by email.

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Policy

1. Payment is monthly, paid on or before the 10th of the month. There will be a $10 late fee for lessons not paid by the 10th of the month. Please plan to pay for lessons on the first lesson of each month.
2. 30-minute lessons are $24, and 45-minute lessons are $36. You pay for however many lessons will be taken for that calendar month.
3. Only 4 lessons will be made up per calendar year. However, if any makeup lesson is missed for any reason, it will be forfeited. No credit for missed lessons will be given.
4. Please try to continue lessons in the summer. Instead, take a month off whenever you feel the need. I will take two weeks off in July and two weeks off in December every year.
5. Parents are always welcome to sit in on lessons. The same goes for siblings and friends, unless you or I think they are a distraction.
6. Home practice is most important. (Please read the next sheet for what I consider practicing.) By enrolling your child(ren) in lessons with me, you agree to devote a minimum of four (4) 10-minute practices a week as consistently as possible.
7. Having well-rounded children is a good goal, but please don’t enroll in piano lessons if your child is also concurrently involved in too many extracurricular activities to have time to practice. (See my definition of practice.)
8. There will be three (3) recitals per year, called Performance Parties. These will always be on Thursday evenings from 7 to 8:30 pm at Sherman Clay, 3133 Southwest Freeway, Houston, Texas 77098. Additional home, school and church performances are encouraged. See me for details.
9. Cancellation of a lesson must occur the day before the scheduled lesson, or that lesson will be forfeit.

If you disagree with any of these policies, please call me at 713-541-3495, email or write me as soon as possible.

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Adults

Philosphy & Recommendations

• Practicing at home is incredibly important. "Practicing" means playing a piece of music twice (minimum), or playing correct repetitions on a section of a song, or doing a page of a theory workbook, or going through flash cards. Any one of these activities constitutes a day of practice, with a goal of 4 days of practice every week. Practice should take only 10 minutes, by these definitions, so there will always be enough time to practice every day.
• Don't cancel a lesson simply because you haven't practiced! Lesson time can be devoted to music theory, technique, music history, etc. You are not wasting the teacher's time if you haven't practiced. You have only slowed your own progress.
• If a problem with practicing arises, please tell me immediately. I have many suggestions or recommendations for books and articles that will help. Do not interpret a lapse in interest as a permanent situation. A musician's progress is never a straight, rising line. It has many a plateau, which is part of human nature. Maintain a positive attitude about your playing and your progress. Use music study as a refreshing break from your daily stress. Hang in there! Music is a life-long hobby with enormous payoffs.
• Establish a habit of practicing. This takes time -- it usually takes three weeks to establish a new habit. Beware of establishing the habit of not practicing!
• When buying a piano, avoid brand names of composers or the piano store itself. They are generally not the best quality. Buy the best piano you can afford. Pianos are very resellable, usually for the price you paid for it. Electronic pianos are great. Just make sure they are "touch-sensitive", and try for one that is "MIDI compatible". Keyboards are easier to move, don't require an "inside wall" location in your house, and have fun features to play with and learn from.

I'm always available by phone for questions or consultations (713-541-3495), or by email.

Return to top

Policy

1. Payment is monthly, paid on or before the 10th of the month. The amount depends on how many lessons are scheduled for that month. There will be a $10 late fee for lessons not paid by the 10th of the month. Please plan to pay for lessons on the first lesson of each month. The lesson fee is $24 for a half hour and $36 for 45 minutes.
2. If you must miss a scheduled lesson, please give me as much lead time as possible. You may make up 4 missed lessons per year. Lessons may be rescheduled at my convenience. If any makeup lesson is missed for any reason, that lesson will be forfeited. If you are a no-show for a lesson at any time, meaning I was not notified, that lesson will be forfeited. No credit (money back) for missed lessons will be given.
3. There will be NO recitals for adult students. Instead, we will have dinners at a local Chinese restaurant on occasion – spouses are welcome to attend!
4. Please help me watch the time so that the student that follows you gets their full lesson as well. You are paying for my time, so I endeavor to honor our start and stop times.

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FAQ

How many times do you have to repeat a musical concept before it's "permanently" learned?

At least 7. That's why the better theory workbooks present a new concept, then reinforce it 6 or more times through the book, like the "Just the Facts" series.* Piano students often get frustrated when something they played correctly "just a minute ago" now sounds like a train wreck. Adult students are especially critical of their abilities; making mistakes in music can even make them doubt their intelligence!

Remembering theory facts is another source of embarrassment for students. They think (or their teachers expect) that they must remember, for instance, that the major scale pattern is Keynote-Whole-Whole-Half-Whole-Whole-Whole-Half, after just one lesson. The truth is, no student permanently learns any fact or skill after just one lesson! In fact, psychologists say that a fact or skill must be repeated about 7 times before it's stored in your permanent memory, and at least 8 times before you can start applying that new knowledge or feel that logical connection. Ok - some people will need only 6 repetitions to make a permanent memory, and some people will need 10 or more. You never know. Try it - study a new fact or skill on 7 different days, and see if you can still remember it a month later. The point is: playing it right once doesn't mean you have it down.

That's why I ask my students to do "correct reps." A rep is a repetition. Just like in body building, reps are needed to build up and condition muscles. In piano playing, the muscles are quite small, but they still need conditioning (especially your left hand). Body builders also have to use the "correct form," which means performing the exercise correctly, or else it could injure them, or build a muscle other than the one they thought they were working on. So playing music correctly every time is supremely important. Otherwise, your fingers will remember how to play it wrong!

There is such a thing as "muscle memory." Piano players use muscle memory every time they play a song that just seems to play itself. Has this ever happened to you? You don't have to think about every note, or even a whole section - it plays automatically. Your brain's memory is like a muscle, too: the more you use it, the stronger it gets. That means the way you learn a song determines how well you'll remember it, and how well you pay attention to a theory fact and store it in your memory will make a difference as well. Learn your music and theory facts methodically first, and give your "muscles" enough "reps" to put the information into permanent storage. You'll be happy with the results.

*Just the Facts: a Music Theory Workbook, by Ann Lawry, Bks 1 through 12, MusicBag Press, PO Box 866953, Plano TX 75086-6953.

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How long will it take me to learn how to play the piano?

There is no average time to learn anything. The understanding always comes long before the ability to implement a particular concept, but some people learn slower than others because of self-doubt, learning disabilities, lack of time to practice, distractions, or confusion. Success for adults students is harder to predict because a) I don't know how much previous experience they're bringing to the table, b) childhood lessons, even a brief period, make a big difference in adult motor skills on piano, c) some people have almost no time to practice, and some have entire days off where they do nothing but play piano!, d) people either question what I teach them (therefore learning deeper but more slowly) or accept it w/o question (therefore learning faster but not in depth sometimes). The key is to have faith in yourself, know that you can do this, and to stick with study, even if it’s sporadic, so you don't lose what you learned.

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How do you learn how to compose?

It’s helpful to know how to read first. You must learn all your chords (major, minor, dominant sevenths, etc.). Then you learn how to harmonize (what chords go w/ what measures of a song). Then you get a composition workbook that has you complete a very short song that's been started for you. It's all melodies. Then you work on chord progressions and how to fit melodies to them. Improvisation is another skill you learn thru another workbook that I've written. During this process, we work on full-scale compositions.

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Don't you need talent to play the piano?

"Talented" people learn faster because they are more ambitious (Carnegie Hall, fame and fortune). But "talent" in any subject usually means a person starts out with a intense interest and the time to devote to the subject. Most people want to learn piano for their own pleasure, as a hobby. Everyone can learn the skills needed to be a good player. It's a matter of time and commitment. Music is something you can study and enjoy your whole life -- there's no deadline for achieving any level of competence at music. It's not a competition; it's a way to enrich your life. Enjoy whatever level you occupy at any moment.

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