All of us are familiar with Beethoven and his musical feats. As one of the most prolific musical prodigies of his time, he continues to be one of the most famous pianist and composer in Western classical music.
This immortality is evident with today’s music lessons of having kids’ mug musical notes from his classics. Unfortunately, this very “mugging” kills the probability of a prodigy emerging from these music classes anytime soon. With such conventional methods of teaching music, it’s no surprise that kids give up on learning how to play a musical instrument.
Beethoven was genius in what he did, because he simply loved what he did. The same concept applies to kids. Kids won’t run from music when they love it.
Therefore developing a passion for music is the infrastructure to a lifelong musical learning experience. This is where Scherzanic Music Studio comes in to spread the love for musical learning.
Scherzanic Music Studio (Pronounced as Shaw-Zen-Nic)
Mdm Lye with one of her students
The studio was founded 2 years ago by husband and wife team, Mr Tan and Madam Lye. A graduate from Kingston University, Mdm Lye holds a degree in musical studies, and has been teaching music for 25 years. She is also the principal and teacher of the school.
When their children were of age to learn music, the duo jointly created an ingenious method to enhance their children’s interest in musical studies. They designed a special tool for beginners aged 4 onwards to learn music, and established a recipe to cultivate a child’s passion for music. The goal was to inspire in them a lifelong learning in music. Simply put, they ensure an experience where your child won’t sprint for dear life when it’s time for music lessons.
How they stop the sprint
“Children will give up if they find it hard to learn on the first day,” says Mr. Tan. “This will eventually discourage them and they will be unhappy coming to classes. They have to come happy and be happy to learn. I think this is extremely important as mood affects how one learns,” he adds.
Conventional methods promoted by most music studios forces one to read notes and memorize chords. In other words, this method is designed to kill interests for music.
Scherzanic differs in teaching music as their priority is to make learning easy and enjoyable for the kids. Hence, the foundation for lifelong learning in music is laid from the beginning.
Why Scherzanic Music Studio?
The founders concluded that they have to specialize in one instrument to lay a concrete step in a child’s musical learning journey. They chose piano as the instrument to specialize in because they recognized it as the “training wheel” to a child’s musical ride.
Only after learning how to play the piano can one pick up other instruments. The piano allows kids to calculate beats in synchronization by pressing the keys on the keyboard. Their motor skills and co-ordination are thus strengthened at the same time.
Scherzanic takes pride in how they stand out against conventional music studios in Singapore:
- They have an exclusive method to teach the piano to beginners which no other studio in Singapore uses. (This method is revealed during trial lessons only.)
- They understand and emphasize the importance of learning how to express thought and feelings through music.
- Scherzanic employs a one-on-one model to teach instead of having 4 or 5 students in a class.
- Scherzanic nurtures an independent learning discipline by having students record their practice sessions at home.
- They guarantee your child will be able to learn a song in a week.
Teaching Nuggets
Room in Scherzanic Music Studio for one-on-one lessons
Scherzanic Music Studio incorporates refreshing ideas to teaching music.
- They have musical games, puzzles and flashcards to support their teaching process.
- Aural training and note readings are conducted in a step by step process.
- The compositions of great composers such as Mozart and Beethoven are introduced to kids.
- Disney songs like Lion King and Aladdin are broken down into simple compositions so that kids enjoy what they play.
- In-house textbooks are adapted to westernized teaching methods are used. These text books have color and animation similar to a coloring activity to make the learning of notes appealing to a young child.
Conquering my musical handicap
I stopped going for music lessons as a child. The learning process was just too complicated and I lost interest because of it. It didn’t help that the teacher I had was the Asian version of Hitler.
When Scherzanic offered me a trial class, I was skeptical but decided to keep an open mind. On the day of the lesson, I showered Madam Lye with warnings but she responded with a confident smile and got me started on my trial lesson.
First, she focused on my posture, corrected the placement of my fingers on the keyboard and feet placement on the pedal. Then, she introduced the “special method” which I’m not at liberty to reveal. Only members of the studio and those who attend the trial lessons are privy to it.
During the 45-minute session, she was positive and encouraging, and even sang instructions to me to get me going when I got stuck. At the end of the lesson, I was amazed that I, an epic failure in music, had succeeded in playing a song by myself.
Scherzanic is definitely a wholesome place for your kids to begin their musical learning journey. Madam Lye’s personality and teaching style made it all the more a comfortable learning experience.
For course fees, details and more information on Scherzanic Music Studio, visit www.scherzanic-music.com.sg
