Practice assistance at home

The parent who is interested in starting his child in instrumental lessons often is not aware that the youngster will need supervised practice sessions. If the child can not yet read, the directions will have to be read to him. Since this is probably the child’s first experience in a structured learning situation, even simple tasks will need to be organized daily.

Your child’s playing skill is striving to grow with each day of practice. Remember – Perfect Practice makes Perfect! (Oops, did I doctor that old saying up a bit?) Sloppy and deficient practice produces sloppy and deficient players. And THAT’S no fun! Children do marvellously if our expectations are lovingly high.

A short guide for efficient practice:

1) The young child should have short practice periods once or twice during the day. The attention span is still quite short.

2) It is a good idea for the “practice assistant” (Mama? Daddy? Grandma?) to sit as close as the teacher does in the lessons. It is nice having someone near while working and the child feels more like “we’re in this together”! But, ask respectfully first. I really push this idea when a child first comes to lessons. “And Mama is your own, very special practice assistant! She listens in the lessons and helps you remember what’s important!” Sometimes I even make a practice assistant badge.

3) Find the time of day for practices sessions that best fits into your day. Don't just send your young musician off to play for half an hour. Decide with her what she could work on for 10 minutes - a scale; a passage from one of her pieces - then, if possible, listen and support. SMILE! Opinions are divided on whether incentives or penalties are useful. In the short term, I have found pressure (no Simpsons unless you practice) and bribes (shiny stickers, and a pizza from Pizza Hut when a goal is reached) are effective, and immediate trade-offs, such as "Do your practice and then you can watch “Sesame Street", seem to be popular.

Most young learners are able to focus and maximize their learning if done early in the day. Whatever time you should pick that is best for you and your child, schedule it so it becomes part of your family routine. Before school? This has worked well for many early bird children. You need to schedule your time very carefully to have this work but it is a nice way to start the day. Kids are usually very attentive and enjoy the few minutes of special time before they head out the door. You may find after school fits best or before or after dinner. Maybe before bed? Each situation will differ depending on the family's activity level and the particular child. Practice should be a regular part of your child's daily routine.

It is ideal to set aside a specific time each day for practice. Comes that time, the kid’s brain is honed toward practice. You need to set up the habit of daily practice if your child should reach any skill at all. Even with just 5 minutes a day your child is on his way to developing healthy, effective practice skills.

Students who practice at the same time each day usually make better progress than those who use a "catch-as-catch-can" approach. The obvious danger of this “method" is that practice can easily become a low priority item placed at the end of a busy day of school, homework, and extracurricular activities. The student is then too tired to accomplish much, if anything. If practice is to become part of daily life, then it must be given an assigned time in the daily schedule. Just as there is a time to go to bed, a time to get up, and a time to go to school, there should also be a time to practice!

One of my mothers knows the danger of discussions: “I don’t want to practice.” or “I am too tired today.”  These discussions get worse and more nerve-wracking as time goes on! She just says “This is what we do. Eat, sleep, homework, brushing teeth and practice”. No more talk….

4) Track your progress - a great motivational tool. By keeping track of daily practice, students will clearly see that when they practice for a number of days in a row that this will be why their playing is improving. For young learners, families may decide on a reward if a pre-determined amount of time for the week was reached. A little reward for their efforts may be all it takes as they learn to develop practice structure. So write down your times daily and pay extra attention to those weeks where you have put in more time.... Enjoy the results.

I have a young student who sets a timer for exactly 30 minutes every day! I didn’t demand that nor did his mother. HE decided on ½ of an hour and no matter what, that’s what he sticks to. I would never expect that of a young child but, need I mention, he’s turned into one of my best players!

Keeping a record of the practice time helps the child notice the relationship between practice and improvement. Set up a weekly PRACTICE SHEET, rewarding them with stickers for each day they practice and note the amount of time they spent. If you miss a day, don’t try to double up – that is NOT a good habit. Your child will love to track their practice on a chart which will motivate them to continue on a regular basis.

Some Mamas offer special treats for a certain amount of stars: a zoo visit, a Saturday afternoon at the movies, reading a special book together or the like.

Some PRACTICE CHART samples can be found in the internet. Copy them, or you may create one of your own to print out each week and enter in a separate practice book.

I give my students calendars with cute pictures on them (Disney’s dalmatians, for example) and they paste stickers on the days they’ve practiced. During particularly difficult times of the year (just before school lets out for vacation), I have a competition: if they practice EVERY day of that month, they get a special reward. They may practice very shortly if time is limited, but still practice daily. The prizes are awarded at the annual summer recital/picnic.

I am always surprised how many children choose to take part!  It seems to be a nice incentive.

Help at home is important

In nearly all cases where the parents are involved children tend to progress more quickly than students left on their own to practice. A parent sharing their interest and giving encouragement goes far in the development of the young. The special one on one time you can achieve with the piano will carry into other aspects of your family life.

After the newness of lesson-taking wears off, you will need to work (and play!) a bit more to enhance the practice sessions with games and light fun. Use the kid’s favorite toys to remind them of the playing “rules” (He-Man was my son’s favourite. Lukas was always more attentive to reminders coming from him!)

If your teacher forgets, assign specific repetitions to techniques like round fingers, a difficult passage, posture, the whole (short!) piece or phrase.  I use dice to roll the number of repeats. Then, it doesn’t seem like my decision but chance. And, there is always the chance of a “1” being rolled (This happens very seldom, thank goodness!). You may not believe it, the kids love this!

I remember a student of mine who insisted that I write down 1) exactly what I wanted him to practice and 2) how many minutes he was supposed to spend on each part. I worked out practice sessions that were precisely 60 minutes long. And the boy did it! It gave him some sort of kick. Am I going to argue with that?

What I especially like about the Suzuki method is the emphasis on listening at home. The children listen to tapes, records and CDs of the pieces they are learning. And THAT really motivates. “Mama, that is MY song! Pretty soon, I’ll be playing Allegro. Pretty neat, huh?”

I write my own pieces for the beginners and prepared a CD for those two first books. Plus, I ask my parents to play lots of classical music at home. I was always surprised that the babies of the family always learned the pieces quicker than the older kids when they were finally allowed to take lessons.

Does make sense though, doesn’t it?

Follow through on your teacher’s assignments. Be reasonable in your demands on your child (hear me Dad?) – children are not mini-adults. And their hearts tear easily.