If you live in the northern hemisphere, the season that includes Christmas, Hanukkah and other Solstice holidays gets a bit dark. Days get shorter and the nights get longer. We turn to twinkling lights and candles to brighten our world and lighten our spirits.
If you live in the southern hemisphere, even though it’s brighter where you are, why not indulge in a beautiful candlelit activity?
Many piano teachers love giving little seasonal gifts at this time of the year. We want gifts that are:
- Affordable to buy
- Simple to make
- Seasonal, yet appropriate for all students regardless of what holiday they celebrate
- And a real bonus: this gift encourages practicing over the break!
Gift candles check all the boxes and offer fun way for students to measure how much piano they are playing over the holiday.
Keep reading to find out more!
‘Light up your music’ candle gift
The ‘Light up your music’ practice candle catches the imaginations of students and makes it fun for them to practice over the break.
When your students spend time playing the piano over the holiday, they get to light their candle to see how much they can melt away.
This encourages more practicing!
Throughout the holiday, they can keep up their level of playing and not lose the valuable skills they’ve worked so hard to gain through the fall months.
Materials
You’ll need the following:
- A box or two of white unscented dinner candles
- A spool of seasonal decorative string
You’ll also need:
- Scissors
- Ruler
- Hole punch
- Printed ‘Light Up Your Music’ Candle Practice Challenge pages [FREE printable on my blog]
Step 1
Print and cut the ‘Light Up Your Music’ instructional cards. For best results, print double-sided and in colour.
Slice each page in two. If you are printing on 8 1/2 x 11 paper, you will cut the 11 inch length in two, 5 1/2 inches each.
Fold each half to make cards.
Step 2
Measure and cut your festive twine or string to about 35 cm long (approximately 13 1/2 inches). You may want to make one candle gift all the way through to check your measurements to see if they work.
Cut enough for the number of candles you are giving.
Step 3
Fold and punch a hole in the upper left corner.
Feed the seasonal string through.
Step 4
Place a white dinner candle diagonally across the card above the hole punched in the paper, with the string to both sides.
Pull the string up taut to even up the length between the two sides. Tie into a bow. Your candle and the instructional card are now tied together.
Repeat step four for all the candles.
Give the gift of happy practicing
Give the candles in the last week of lessons before your break, or at your recital or party, if that is your last event of the calendar year.
Email helps bring parents on board
It helps to follow up your gift with an email to your studio parents, explaining and asking for buy-in. You will see that I use the word Christmas in my email, because where I live all of my studio families celebrate Christmas. I also refer to candy jars, because we had an incentive with printed jars (not real ones), kids could fill with colour-printed candies they could earn for completing their lesson challenges.
The first lesson week in the New Year
Students bring their candles back to their first lesson of the New Year. They’re so proud to show how much time they spent playing the piano over the break!
Students compare their burned candles to the original to show how much time they spent at the piano. There is no way to measure the candle in terms of exact minutes. All candles will be different with density and the quality of wax. Simply put, this celebrates that they remembered to play the piano!
Continuing through the weeks of winter
Many of my students were so captivated by candlelit practicing that they asked to keep going through the winter months. They brought their candles to each lesson (or most lessons) to have them measured anew.
In my studio, each student took the lead on extending this challenge for themselves. Because I didn’t require it, it was completely driven by their own motivation. If they brought in their candle, we measured it. If they didn’t, there was no worry. I was more than happy to measure their candles when they remembered them.
To keep track, I traced an original, unburned candle. Then each week a student brought in their candle, we lined it up to trace the new size with a line. The student then coloured in the difference.
Because each teacher doing this activity will purchase different candles, there is no way for me to design a one-size -fits-all measuring system. I encourage you to trace your own candles and measure for your students!
For everyone?
Like any incentive, this will fully resonate with some of your students and families.
Most of my studio families loved this idea. As you can see above, many families liked it so much that they voluntarily continued through the winter months. Several families finished one candle and then asked for a second.
I also had two students who returned their candles untouched. You won’t know who is or isn’t going to connect with an idea. I recommend that you offer it to every student, because you simply never know.
Then I had one student whose candle burned so far down by the end of winter, all that remained was the wick at the bottom.
Cautionary note
This practice incentive uses open flame. In our culture, starting at age one, we normally place open flame in front of our children at least once a year with birthday cake candles. Therefore, there is no reason to shy away from this incentive just because of the flame. However, with safety in mind, it’s good to remember:
- Parents should supervise this activity, because of the open flame. This is stated on my free printable. Parents are usually very willing to help out with something their kids are excited about and that encourages more practice.
- Parents are instructed to place the candle in a real candle holder that holds the candle securely.
- It is the parent who should light and extinguish the candle. The fact that the parent needs to be so involved is a bonus. The candle brings parents and children together during a busy season, to enjoy music in the same room.
How to get your printable cards FREE!
Print our ‘Light Up Your Music’ Candle Practice Challenge cards for FREE!
These bright, specially-designed cards may be printed from any 8 1/2 x 11 home printer, or by your favourite printshop.
With two cards per sheet, it’s easy to cut them in two to make them just right.
Here’s the link to get the FREE card printable!
It’s a joy to give!
I wish you the joy of the season! ~ Rebekah
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Video of the Week
Tickled Pink (Elementary, Prep A), tells a story of best friends who get rosy cheeks from a day outside skating round a rink in the winter. And though they hold hands and skate hard, there’s a big fall (with a glissando followed by a rest). Undaunted, they get back up and keep skating, hoping the adventure never ends. It’s mostly in the G position with small hand moves, with legato that feels like skating, tied harmony notes in the left hand and a little parallel motion. Includes lyrics! Tickled Pink is available in my shop as a studio-licensed eSheet: Show me Tickled Pink in the shop!
I recently purchased your Jolly Old St. Nicholas/Pachelbel’s Canon set and would like you to know it has been a great hit with not just my beginner students, but even the elementary ones. Some learn it by rote, others sight read it – but everyone just loves how it sounds. Parents included! Thank you Rebekah! I would be interested to know if you have any other pieces like this ?
Jane McQuarrie
Jane, it simply warms my heart to hear how Jolly Pachelbel has been a hit with your students! You’ve just made my day! 🙂
I do have another piece, a trio, called A Jolly Little Jingle, and it has several options for how it can be played. The lower part may be played by the teacher or an older student (there are two versions, one easier, the other more challenging, of the lower part). The middle part (Elementary) is a simple arrangement of Jingle Bells, and the upper part (Beginner) is Jolly Old Saint Nicholas. In the piece, first Jingle Bells plays with the lower part, then Jolly Old SN plays, then at the end, both Jingle Bells and Jolly Old Saint Nicholas play at the same time in counterpoint and it sounds incredible. The listening children in the audience get to play a game as they listen, to help identify which tunes they hear when. It helps the entire audience learn about counterpoint. I’m putting a performance together for my own studio this year. I hope you’ll take a listen!