Last Saturday, Jayden had his performance in class which signified his completion of Yamaha JMC Book 2! The Yamaha Junior Course is a 4-year comprehensive music education, designed for children to start at 4 to 5 years old. Let me give a short overview of the course.
The first 2 years is the foundation stage, called JMC which focuses primarily on building the musical ability to LISTEN, to SING, to PLAY and to ENJOY music in a group-learning environment. During these 2-years, parents' participation are required.
The 3rd and 4th year of the course is the development stage, called JXC where ensemble playing provides a child with a unique experience in music making as many parts blend together to create a beautiful piece of music. Through this process, a child can acquire the basics of music and learn to express their individuality through it. At the end of year 4, the child will sit for Yamaha Grade 9 Performance Examination and the ABRSM Grade 1 Theory Examination.
So, Jayden has just completed his 1st year in JMC. After 1 year in JMC, Jayden is now able to play simple pieces with 2 hands! I'm quite proud of his achievement, considering the fact that he struggled for a period of time during the first 6 months in JMC. During that period, he was not very motivated and was especially resistant when transiting to Book 2 where he had to learn how to play with both hands. His learning difficulty was compounded by the fact that I was not practising with him regularly. The turning point was when I decided to re-adjust my schedule and allocate 15 minutes every evening to practise with him at his keyboard. Every new habit will have its fair share of difficulty but both of us overcame the inertia and started adhering to the daily practice. Five months have passed and the daily practice has became "natural" for us. Being a coach to him at home, I have to learn about the G-clef, F-clef, Do-Re-Me-Fa-So-La-Te, Fa-Sharp-Re, etc as well as to play like him! Being able to play has also allowed me to encourage him to persevere and not give up when faced with difficult pieces as his dad is also not musically-inclined!
I have learnt to enjoy the time spent with Jayden daily at his keyboard as well as to follow him to his classes weekly. Aileen has always encouraged me that these are great father-and-son bonding time and I agreed with her totally! Now, I can't imagine the day when Jayden will progress to JXC in 3rd year where I can't join him in his class anymore. As for now, I just want to enjoy the journey with him together.
As I conclude, here are the 2 songs that Jayden played last Saturday. Enjoy!
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