Helping Your Student Practice

As the parent of a music student, your responsibility towards your child's music lessons can seem daunting. I have had parents tell me, "I can't really help him practice, I don't know anything about music."

I definitely understand the feeling. The first time a child asked my advice on how to throw a baseball I froze.

You, however, are an irreplaceable part of your child's learning no matter the subject matter. Sometimes we adults don't realize the insight we have even without being an expert. Here are some encouragements you can offer your student without ever having touched an instrument:

Is anything here to distract you?

Teaching your student to practice goes hand in hand with teaching study skills. Where is a quiet place with minimal distractions? Should she silence her phone before starting? Does she have enough light to see her music?

Find a mirror.

If your student plays a portable instrument, encourage him to practice in front of a mirror in order to see his posture.

Build a routine.

Set aside 15-20 minutes of practice time at the same time every day. Something like right after dinner works well because there is a built in reminder besides the clock, and dinner happens daily.

Don't give up!

This is one of the hardest things I see in private lessons. Many younger kids feel like a failure when they cannot "get" something right away, because they are used to learning at quite an accelerated rate in most situations.

Encourage your child to stick with his efforts. Would you quit a sports team after a lousy practice or two? Tell your child to play a challenging piece or section 3 or 4 times slowly every time she practices. When she can get it right, still play it 3 or 4 times and see how many times in a row she can get it right!

That's great!

Think of something -ANYthing- to compliment your child on every time he practices. You stuck with it even when it was hard, good job. - I hear a big difference, don't you? - You should feel proud of yourself, I'm proud of you! - You remembered what your teacher said about circling tough notes! Your child needs praise not just for a task accomplished, but for proper practice along the way.

What did and didn't you like?

Ask your student to evaluate her performance. Can she identify something to improve on? Can she identify something she felt proud of and try to apply it to other pieces?

Above all, be present in your child's process! An involved parent makes a successful and happy child.