A new school year is a great time to recommit to regular daily practice. Like many parents, you may be saying, “Yes, but how?!” Even the most enthusiastic students aren’t always excited to practice. And some kids seem to resist more often than they cooperate. Consistent practice is both vital and challenging! So here are a few strategies to try:
- Choose practice time carefully. You know your child. Discuss the options together. Set practice for the times of day they feel best. If they’re tired or stressed after school, try before school. Active children can split into two separate 10-minute sessions. It often helps to have a snack first – a chance to connect with your child while boosting their blood sugar. Most of all, set practice times that work every weekday. A clear routine helps their bodies and minds prepare to focus.
- Prepare the space. Do your best to create a practice room that’s distraction-free, without being too isolated. Keep all the materials well organized and easy to find. Make sure you are physically and mentally available to help.
- Be their cheerleader! Once a week, stick around and just listen. Give them your full attention. Be a supportive, enthusiastic audience. Tell them how impressed you are with their hard work and how much you enjoy listening to them. Every day look for a chance to make at least one positive comment about their efforts or the way they’re expressing themselves.
- Make music a fun family activity. Do lots of different musical activities. Go to concerts and musicals. Sing together just for fun, with or without kids playing along. Sing in the car. Listen to music together. Turn on some favorites and have family dance time. Let music be silly and fun. When friends, uncles, or cousins are over, show each other songs you know – any instrument.
- Give your child lots of opportunities to share their music. When Grandma visits, put on a little concert. Let your child accompany the carols at the family Christmas party. Participate in school or church talent shows. Encourage your child to teach a song to a friend. Provide tons of positive piano experiences with people who are important to them. Your child will start thinking, “I feel good when I play piano.” “Other people enjoy hearing me play.” “I want to learn more songs!”
- Create a challenge instead of setting a timer. Encourage your child to follow their assignment notes each day. If your teacher hasn’t given any specifics, one play-through usually reveals a tricky passage or chord change. Help your child turn that into a specific goal, like playing the passage 3 times in a row without any mistakes.
- Game-ify those reps! by setting 3 coins on the left side of the piano. Each time they play the short passage correctly (the slower the better!), move one coin to the right side. If they miss, all the coins move back to the left. When all 3 coins are on the right, they get to keep them! Other ideas: 1) let dice determine how many reps 2) ask your child to hide something in the practice room & play reps til you find it, playing louder when you move closer to it & quieter when you move farther from it 3) agree to do something crazy when they finish the reps – like run up and down the stairs twice or do the funky chicken.
- Let them play music they like. Finish every practice with a song they pick from their repertoire. Regularly help them choose a new song to learn – from YouTube, a special project with their teacher, or maybe you can even teach one!
- Create a family incentive game. Let your child collect points, stickers, colored beans, beads. etc. A point could be collected simply for a good practice day (on-time, no fuss, met the day’s goals). Or each of those requirements could be worth one point. Choose the prize(s) together before the game begins – and make sure the points are high enough so the game doesn’t end too soon! Keep the game fresh by updating it every few months, with new rewards and ways to earn points. For some kids, playing cooler, more advanced music will become its own reward. But don’t worry if it takes many rounds of games first!
So what’s worked for you? Share your practice experiences below!
Just Create! 