Food for Thought: A fun music practicing tip for making a “meal” of your practice sessions

Meridee winters music homework book practice tracker piano guitar violin journal

Ah, Thanksgiving. A time of gratitude, family… and gravy. Why not incorporate the holiday (and all its trimmings) into your Thanksgiving music lessons to make the practice sessions especially exciting? This music practicing tip will do just that.

You’re already a fan of the Meridee Winters Homework Book and Practice Trackers, we hope. (If not, what are you waiting for? Check out this great tool and boost progress immediately!) If you’ve used it, you already know that the layout makes it easy to list assignments, write out music, add notes and even track practice, all while making it look fun and inviting. Why not use this music practicing tip to give your assignments a Thanksgiving theme this week?

A practice routine is a lot like a meal: you have the “meat” (or Tofurkey!) of the assignment, a healthy habit like eating your veggies (warming up, playing scales, doing theory), a side dish of some supplemental music, and even a reward for dessert. Try writing out your assignment this way, and your students will be extra “hungry” for practice time. We’ve included a (yummy) sample of this music practicing tip in action with this post.

This simple activity makes for a well-rounded practice session, and is a fun way to add creativity as the holidays approach and distraction increases. Here’s our What’s on the menu for your students this week?

About Meridee Winters:

Meridee Winters is a professional educator, musician, author and director/owner of a successful Philadelphia area music school.

Meridee began her journey as an educator teaching elementary students in a Florida public school, where she discovered the curriculum and school system left little room for divergence and creativity. She made the bold decision to leave and attend graduate school to study Music Composition, eventually starting her own private music school.

Today, that school has spent two decades introducing thousands of students to not just music, but to Meridee’s trailblazing method that encourages creativity, play and higher-level thinking with each lesson.

As a composer and professional musician, Meridee has instructed at all levels – from professional recording artists working on albums to computer music classes in the recording studio, and from young beginners taking their first steps on their musical path to intermediate students writing their first songs.

Meridee is a dedicated advocate of creative intelligence whose foremost passion is empowering creative and authentic self-expression in each individual. She now spends her time developing new materials and books to nurture these. She does her work as an author, as well as director of the school, from her home in Delaware County, PA.