A Music Practice Guide for New Music Parents
- Sep 1, 2017
- 4 min read
If you plan to have your child to take private music lesson, or you already begun, the number one thing you hear from the teachers is “practice.” What is practice? Does it mean play the instrument for X amount of time, or play a certain thing X number of times?
Practice is about improving our playing skill in a conscious and methodical way. The method and strategy will change as student progress. If you just start out, you will need to be your child’s music tutor on a regular basis at home. Once the kid understands the routine and becomes confident, then you can let your child practice by himself. This article is to help you become an informed music parent, so you can help your child achieve quality practice and improve performance skill.
PRELIMINARY
Even though yourself may not read music or play the instrument, your assistance is very much needed – reading the lesson notes, organizing practice time effectively, being a cheerleader in a difficult situations, and communicating with the teachers. Your help at home will make a substantial difference in your child’s music study.
If possible, provide a space where your child can practice uninterrupted and keep it free of clutter. Turn off distractions such as TV and Games.
Gather the necessary supplies. This includes pencil, music books, teacher’s notes from lessons, a metronome, and anything your child might use for his instruments – music stand, tuner, reeds, etc.
Set expectations. Help your child to understand that you expect them to practice 5-6 days per week. You will need to remind your child to practice constantly, and even exercise your authority. Which kid doesn’t like to play outside, watch TV, or do nothing! You may use a chart to track the practice.
Make sure your child’s physical needs are met before practice. They won’t practice well when they are hungry, need to go to bathroom, or just arrive home from soccer practice.
ESTABLISH A ROUTINE
The most important thing is to create a practice routine from the very beginning. Pick a time that you generally at home, 5-6 days if possible, and try to choose a time that your child can focus well. If your child does better in the morning, then practice after the breakfast before the school. If your child does better in the afternoon, then practice before or right after dinner.
Does practice have to happen at same time every day? Yes and no because each family and child is different. Choose a time that you and your child are able to stick to. Whatever time it is, try to make it a specific time, such as “5:00pm” rather than “in the afternoon,” and concentrate on making the habit. It doesn’t matter how long your child practice. The purpose is to get the child sit down, play something, and used to the idea of practice every day.
A practice session doesn’t have to be long. If a session is enjoyable, not arduous, the kid will naturally increase the time. If your little one can only play 5 minutes, that’s fine, do it twice a day.
PRACTICE STRUCTURE
Your teachers may have wrote down the homework, things need to be improved, and goals. Follow the assignment sheet so you know what to practice.
As the lessons progress there will be a number of different things that need to be worked on. In my opinion, students need to do scales and any technique exercises first. The purpose is to warm up the fingers and learn the basic skill.
Next, pieces will be assigned to students weekly, some are old and some are new. You don’t need to practice according to the page number, or from old to new. My suggestion is rotate the pieces or start with the newest one. Try to practice all pieces with equal attention.
There might be writing homework. Student can do it before or after play the pieces. But the best way to learn it is finish the writing homework right after the lesson. Usually the writing assignment is related to the songs students are learning, and they help students to read the music better.
DEVELOP PRACTICE METHOD/STRATEGY
Practice a piece doesn’t just mean play it from beginning to end repeatedly. There will be difficult passages in a song, techniques need to be refined, wrong notes or rhythm need to be corrected. You will need to concentrate on those hard spots one at a time, or pick one thing you want to perfect, make attainable goals. In general, your teacher will teach you these practice technique.
ENCOURAGEMENT AND GET INVOLVED
Let your children know that you care what they are doing and how much you love to hear them play! Here are examples of what you can do.
“Clap the rhythm of any measure in this piece and I will try to copy you.”
Point at any music marking and ask “What does this mean?”
“Wow, I like that song. Can you teach me how to play that tune?” Or, “Can I play the last note in this piece? Can you show me which key to press and when?”
“Let’s surprise Grandma with a special song. I’ll call her. Start playing when you hear me say HELLO.”
“What do you like about this song?” “Which part is difficult? Can you show me?”
“Can you play the piece in slow motion for me?”
Use reward when appropriate, and use it wisely. Your encouragement and children’s own sense of accomplishment is an excellent motivator. However, you don’t want to give children the idea they practice for rewards. They need to know they practice and learn for themselves, and it is their responsibility to practice, same as doing their school homework. Help them to see every challenge as an opportunity for growth.
Foster a growth mindset. Praise your child’s process and strategies, and tie those to the outcome. Don’t just praise the effort alone. You can say:
“I noticed that you tried various ways to solve the problem! Superb!”
“I love the way you went back to improve your work! Extraordinary!”
“If I had x-ray vision, I would have seen your neurons making endless connections today! Mind-blowing!”
Please don’t say “keep practicing and you’ll get it.” Sometimes children needs 2, or even 3 different explanations to understand one subject. Or they simple don’t understand what they are doing, and they need help from you or your teacher.
Finally, be a proud music parent!
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