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tpter1 · 01-30-2007, 03:39 PM

Yeah, Trent. I think you really are onto something. Kids seem to think that they need to be entertained 24/7. We see kids who can't play (I mean like on the playground) unless they are told what to play. We have what my wife and I call "watch-me" toys that do all the thinking for them.

Kids have, like you said, about a million different things pulling on their time. Hockey, dance, piano lessons, trumpet lessons, karate, basketball, book club, this club, that club. Every minute of their day is programmed so much that they don't know what to do when their time is not pre-programmed. So, naturally, they can't focus. They feel they have nothing to focus on if something is not there thinking for them or telling them what to think or do or feel. (This is a generalization...not all kids fall under this trap).

We have kids whose parents nag them...constantly. They have no chance to develop necessary focusing skills because they are not required to. (So we give them a pill...Ritalin...no more accountability on either side now! insert cynicism here)

I began an experiment in my 7-8 band last week because focus is now such a problem for them. I'm using the brain-breathing techniques in the Breathing Gym video. It really works well. I've noticed a sharp increase in concentration skills in a short time. (We meet every other day). Also, check out Alex's website (Virtual Trumpet Studio) for some concentration matrices. Short of that, well, I can share a story: one lesson, as I was going through my Bordogni etude, I must have been not paying attention or something and drifting in and out of key/time, and my teacher decided to get a rubber band and shot it at my music right in front of me. I stopped, issued forth what must have been a rather comical and puzzled look, and he said: that should not have been enough to stop you.

01-30-2007, 03:39 PM	#4 (permalink)
tpter1 Forte User Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Northern New York Posts: 2,309	Re: "Distractions"... Yeah, Trent. I think you really are onto something. Kids seem to think that they need to be entertained 24/7. We see kids who can't play (I mean like on the playground) unless they are told what to play. We have what my wife and I call "watch-me" toys that do all the thinking for them. Kids have, like you said, about a million different things pulling on their time. Hockey, dance, piano lessons, trumpet lessons, karate, basketball, book club, this club, that club. Every minute of their day is programmed so much that they don't know what to do when their time is not pre-programmed. So, naturally, they can't focus. They feel they have nothing to focus on if something is not there thinking for them or telling them what to think or do or feel. (This is a generalization...not all kids fall under this trap). We have kids whose parents nag them...constantly. They have no chance to develop necessary focusing skills because they are not required to. (So we give them a pill...Ritalin...no more accountability on either side now! insert cynicism here) I began an experiment in my 7-8 band last week because focus is now such a problem for them. I'm using the brain-breathing techniques in the Breathing Gym video. It really works well. I've noticed a sharp increase in concentration skills in a short time. (We meet every other day). Also, check out Alex's website (Virtual Trumpet Studio) for some concentration matrices. Short of that, well, I can share a story: one lesson, as I was going through my Bordogni etude, I must have been not paying attention or something and drifting in and out of key/time, and my teacher decided to get a rubber band and shot it at my music right in front of me. I stopped, issued forth what must have been a rather comical and puzzled look, and he said: that should not have been enough to stop you. __________________ -Glenn "Roses have thorns; shining waters mud. Clouds and eclipses stain the moon and the sun; and history reeks of the wrongs we have done. After today, after today, consider me gone."- Sting