As Shared following Our Experiences in Our Musical Academy- ReHearsal House Nigeria.

Those who are well acquainted with Musical Programs, know that the welcome phase, also known as the "Attraction Phase" which may span between three to eight weeks, depending on the Instrument or Curriculum, etc really marks the most exciting phase of the Applied Music discipline. By Applied Music, I mean, learning the Practical Application of every bits of music theories and creatively distilling them into your performance/artistry! The phase is marked with such fun as having to know what best features to consider in getting your personal instruments and so on... Those without any Music Theory background who come under a near perfect curriculum (by this I mean a curriculum which places topics and lessons right where they should be, appropriate lessons for appropriate semesters) even start enjoying the lessons on the Practical Meanings of the first rudiments of Music, it is almost miraculous to finally be able to begin to make sense of all those signs, symbols, lines and spaces. I recall last week, one of the foundation level students in our Academy, who could barely contain his excitement as he showed his brand new Yamaha E433 Keyboard... You almost think these foundation students have finally settled in to go full swing with their Musical Programs... It's as if they're jamming some boogie woogie already... And yes, this has been our experience since 2008... It is truly the Fun, Exciting, Attractive Phase of Applied Music Learning- as these newbies, see the application of Key anatomy and key nomenclature to their respective instruments, as they learn with zest the fingering techniques, as they practice simple key identification exercises, only to realize, they're actually playing one of their favorite melodies in the course of it (the moments when we ask for your favorite songs during orientation helps to prepare for this aspects of the "surprise", as they practice their preparatory stave exercises, and so on... But, as we have come to realize, this phase don't last for-ever/long, and the primary challenge for students of Applied Music is found in the word: Responsibility! Just as one of our third level students recently remarked: "at first, when you begin (at that foundation phase), you don't see studying music as work... Its still very much that your hobby, natural interest... But as you progress, you begin to realize you've got responsibilities musical responsibilities... The Ear Training Course for instance, makes you approach hearing of sounds absolutely consciously... You now need to listen carefully to discern that there's no difference between the first and the fourth sound (notes) in the first line of Sound of Music's do re mi...and tell you what, that's awareness, from the First Semester of Program Level 1, if no one's yet told you, ask your senior colleagues, not that your excitement dies... It just wakes up to new realities: Responsibilities, And you either brace up and face it... Or you wind up being frustrated..." And that's the second phase, I'd rather discuss that in a later post... But you see, the perhaps most important need of the first phase is as a dear friend of mine would say: "just calm down..." Of course that you see, might just be the only challenging work for the student at this phase.

This Post is Dedicated To:
The ReHearsal House Music Academy First Batch of 2022 who have this week as their final week in the foundation course (Which represents the phase we just talked about...) And to the incoming second Batch of 2022, whose Admission is still on... May this post serve the orientation you need as you join this House of Rehearsals and as you proceed to your beginner phase.