Book Description “Have Fun with Your Music” is a delightful folk art picture book written to inspire young students to pick up their instrument for fun. It suggests practice tips to empower them to think about practicing on their own. The lively brightly colored artwork is filled with humor and is interactive posing questions for thought. The book includes two pages of stickers. The cover picture of a dog playing violin on the roof (fiddler on the woof) asks what “would make you want to practice” – standing on a dog house roof? Another page talks about having good posture, while being relaxed, and another suggests students play for their stuffed animals, friends and family… Questions, puns and side notes are part of the unique fun and humor in this book. Research shows that students whose experience with music is limited to technical skill are more likely to quit playing and associate failure with the instrument than those who have a broader approach to their performance training. An introduction to the book on the back cover is by musician and author Alison Maerker Garner. Ms. Garner has written the Musical Minds Volume Series. Becky Chaffee resides in Knoxville, Tennessee with her husband, Duane and their cat. Becky loves to hike and cook. She is an amateur musician, and has listened to about 20 years of music lessons as a result of taking her two children to classical and jazz violin and piano lessons and then herself to flute lessons. Her grown children have gifted Mom with music recordings of themselves making music with their significant others. Thru her company, Becky raises funds for music education. She has managed and donated to fundraisers for a number of music causes. Every year she hosts an Annual Youth Composition Competition for ages 10 thru 18 and has distributed $1,000s in funds and prizes to youth. 2020 is her 7th year of the competition. There are products to go with the book, such as extra Stickers, T-shirts, note cards, large prints and pillows. Read more Customers Review: What a magical book ! It is very obvious that the author is the master of some instruments.She has some wonderful fun hints for practicing and the illustrations are FABULOUS.I just placed an order of this book for my young granddaughter that loves music but gets tired of practicing. I’m sure she will love this book and find new Joy’s in practicing.I hope this is just the beginning of Ms Chaffee sharing her love of music with the world of young and old readers.
Bravo for Becky Chaffee’s book Have Fun with Your Music! This delightful book contains easy to understand text, entertaining pictures, and very practical practice tips. How a person practices is very important. Becky’s tips and suggestions will enable students (and the parents that help them) to learn how to make the most of their practice time. My granddaughter loved it when I read it to her!
HAVE FUN WITH YOUR MUSIC (with stickers) is a 40-page book with color illustrations on every page. Every other page has a small amount of text, where the text is like a small poem. The illustrations take the form of paintings of animals engaging in activities relating to music, and where the combination of each painting with the text provide a particular motivational lesson for children. The motivational lessons teach good habits for practicing on a musical instrument, using correct posture, how to present yourself before an audience, and so on. This describes three of the paintings and the accompanying poem-like text.Page 9 shows six children, each wearing an animal costume (leopard, rabbit, bear) where each child plays a woodwind instrument. The text reads: What helps you want to practice? How about wearing a costume?Page 11 has a painting of three dogs standing on a grassy hill. One of the dogs holds a cello. A violin sits on the grass near the other two dogs. The three dogs are painted quite well, and you can identify the species of each dog from the painting. The text reads: What helps you want to practice? Maybe taking a bow? Wow!Page 13 provides a painting of twelve colorful birds, each standing on a telephone wire. Several telephone wires are strung between a line of telephone poles. All but one of the birds has good posture. The bird with bad posture is upside-down and is hanging from the wire. Six of these birds are standing on one foot, where the other foot is lifted up, and these six birds have the best posture of all. The birds include a flamingo (pink), a chicken (yellow), and a pheasant (blue). The motivational poem reads: The birds are taking yoga lessons to relax while they sing. Keep your body soft and relaxed as you play, while still having good posture.THE AUTHOR. Rebecca Chaffee has a background in music. She played flute with an orchestra in a public performance of a Vivaldi Flute Concerto. Also, she played flute with an orchestra in a public performance of Unanswered Question by the great American composer, Charles Ives. More recently, the author started a company that designs, invents, and manufactures purses and handbags that are shaped like musical instruments. The purses and handbags closely resemble actual musical instruments, such as a violin, banjo, and piano. The company is called, MUSICTEACHER GIFTS. Last year, this company had a different name, and it was called, VIOLETTESBYBECKY. This company also designs and manufactures note cards, each with a painting relating to music.
The age old struggle of training children on HOW to practice is so brilliantly defined and explored in this curious, vibrant, and delightful journey of a book for children, as it guides the reader through the perfect practicing considerations.Whether your child takes private lessons to learn an instrument or enjoys playing instruments in a more casual way, he or she will be begging to practice a musical application once they read this beautiful book. This is imagination at its finest, providing practical tools to make anyone want to practice a musical instrument, which is a subject that so rarely receives much attention.The illustrations alone will enchant any child, ages 0-100, with paintings of whimsical animals and people making music in the most creative ways. I would be proud to hang a painting from any page of this book in my home, work, or colleague’s house!I recommend this book to every single family with a young child, grown child, musician, music lover, animal lover, or just lover of life, period. You will be glad you made the purchase.
I am so impressed with “Have Fun with Your Music”! I am a string teacher, and am always on the lookout for books about learning an instrument, especially books for younger students and their parents to read and enjoy together. Becky’s wonderful art and insightful suggestions are a joy to read and are inspiring to young and old. Her whimsical, imaginative illustrations are charming and make the messages in each page capture the attention of the reader and also challenge them to think more creatively about practice. This book will be a huge help to the studio music teacher, parents, and children of all ages. I am delighted by every page!
Becky Chaffee really understands children and music lessons and practicing. She has brought this knowledge and her painting talent alive with this book. Full of great and playful animal characters playing all types of instruments. It is astounding the amount of love, time, and energy that went into this book. It is obviously a work of love for Ms Chaffee.
Using humor, encouragement and art, Becky Chaffee offers children an inspiring journey. She makes learning fun. Speaking directly to young music makers, she takes us on a magical adventure. With charming illustrations and lessons easy to absorb, this is the long awaited book that delights. Grandparents will be eager to tuck one in their suitcase as a gift for their musical grandchildren.Naomi Rosborough
This is a delightful book for adults as well as children. It is written with humor, joy, and whimsy. The butterfly and caterpillar help give amazing ideas to help make the practicing of music an enjoyable and successful activity. The hints on overcoming difficult sections are written by someone that has been there. Each page is a delight to the eyes, and is overlaid with fanciful animals that will leave the reader with smile, wisdom, and a new dedication to mastering a difficult but worthy goal. |
53 reviews