School Age Students – How to Get Your Child to Practice the Piano!

Believe it or not, some students actually do like to practice the piano but sadly some school age students rarely touch the keys. As a parent there are ways to help and encourage your child to practice the piano.

I recommend this excellent parent resource, by James W. Bastien. “A Parent’s Guide to Piano Lessons”

Highlights and Mary’s tweaks to  “A Parent’s Guide to Piano Lessons”

• • Ideally practice time will be at the same time everyday. Routine is a great idea!
  • Provide a distraction free environment to practice in.
  • Practice five days a week (we all need time off).
  • Practice time should not interfere with another activity the student also wants to do.  Find a time that is agreeable to child and parent.
  • Amount of practice time:                                                                                                          Primer level  5 – 10 minutes

add 5 – 10 minutes for each level after that

• • • Show an interest in your child’s piano playing. Regularly ask them for a “concert” or to play their favorite piece for you.
    • If your child is old enough to practice on their own, it is still nice to occasionally sit in the same room  while they practice. Use your time to work on the family schedule, or some other activity. Your presence is not necessarily as an active listener, but as a companion so your child doesn’t feel they’ve been banished to the other room to practice while the rest of the family is together doing something else. As an inactive listener, you will still be able to gauge what kind of progress is being made. Is the music beginning to flow, “Wow, that piece has really improved since the last time I heard it.”  At the end of the practice session complement your child!  Or, “Hmmm, I’ve heard those same mistakes for the last two weeks!  Why?”  At the end of the practice session, ask about the music and why your child is having trouble with it.
    • Be in communication with the piano teacher on a regular basis.
    • Your child may view practicing the piano as you do going to work, it is a “job”.  Your reward for working is a paycheck. Of course their long term reward will be enjoyment from playing the piano, but they may need a more immediate payment before that happens. Most people with a job expect to get paid on a regular basis and would be unhappy to wait seven years to receive their first pay check. So keep in mind your child may need a form of regular payments to keep their interest from waning.

Contact Lincoln Park Piano for more information.

 

 Practicing Tips

• • • Younger children (ages 5 – 8) need parent involvement during every practice session.
    • Even the child who begs for lessons often needs a reminder to practice ( I did.)
    • Consistent practice is vital to progress. Ideally it will be five or six days a week to make steady progress. One or two days a week, will offer little results.
    • It is important to learn the letter names of the notes on the music staff.  The notes are the “tools” needed to play the music. Not making the effort to learn and apply a tool correctly makes the project difficult to do

 

Time Commitment –

• • 1. Initially a thirty minute lesson
    2. Practice time begins at 10 – 15 minutes a day. With each additional level add 10 – 15 minutes.
    3. If needed, lesson times may increase to 45 minutes.

Call, text or email now to schedule a lesson. 773-932-5779