Download Motivation: Tips and Tricks to Help Students Practice

For Parents
Don’t Be Intimidated by Musical Instruments or Music Lessons
So many people have the idea that a musical instrument will be incredibly challenging to learn. They are under the
impression that only a small group of the very talented will have success in learning a new instrument.
Actually, the process of learning to play musical instruments is much like learning to drive or swing a golf club.
musical instruments, like these other skills, do require practice to master, but anyone with the motivation to succeed
will make steady progress and have fun along the way.
How to Accept Mistakes When Learning Musical Instruments
Depending on the instrument chosen, beginning musicians are bound to hear their fair share of squeaks, buzzing,
squawks, flubbed notes, and unharmonious chords. Rather than becoming irritated, it’s important to see these mistakes
as necessary.
During the learning process, almost every muscle in the body is making hundreds of minute adjustments. Every time
musicians cringe at a painful squawk or chord that sounds like a train wreck, their brains take note and unconscious
changes in technique are made. Mistakes aren’t fun, but they’re the only path to progress.
Beginning Musicians Can Stop When Practice Isn’t Fun
Mistakes are necessary, but there will also be days when practicing seems incredibly difficult. Some practice sessions
are filled with enjoyable breakthroughs, and other days progress seems to unravel the more a musician plays. On days
like these, beginners should give themselves permission to take a break and come back to the instruments when
playing is fun.
Search for Free On Line Music Lessons
The internet has opened a world of opportunity for new musicians. Of course, private lessons are probably the fastest
way to learn new musical instruments, but not everyone can fit these lessons into their budgets or schedules.
The web is full of tutorials, instructional videos, and forums for almost any instrument invented. New musicians can
simply google “learn to play”• and add their instrument of choice. They’ll find enough instruction to get them started
and keep them busy for weeks.
Beginners to Musical Instruments Shouldn’t Play Through the Pain
Except in the case of developing calluses when learning a string instrument, playing musical instruments shouldn’t
involve pain or discomfort. Beginners will often feel sore or tense muscles as they practice, but this is most likely a
sign of incorrect position or posture. When this happens, beginners can take a moment to set their instrument down,
shake out the tension, and then readjust.
Fit Musical Instruments Into the Schedule
The difference between musicians who make quick and steady gains on new musical instruments and those who give
up in frustration usually depends on how successfully the musicians were able to incorporate new instruments into
their busy schedules. Here are tips to fit practice into a busy routine.
First, beginning musicians need to keep their instruments easily accessible. If the instrument is portable such as a
harmonica, ocarina, or tin whistle, this will mean actually carrying it in a pocket, around the neck, or in a belt pouch.
Beginners who make use of several ten-minute snatches of downtime each day will be amazed at how quickly they
progress. Less portable instruments should be kept in a safe, but frequently trafficked area of the home.
Play Musical Instruments With Other Musicians
Music was never intended to be enjoyed in a vacuum. As beginners learn, they’ll find the support and encouragement
of fellow musicians invaluable. The sooner they get up the nerve to visit a jam session which plays on their level or just
above, they’ll see a world of difference in their playing.
Jam sessions or drum circles allow musicians to learn new songs, practice playing in a group, and watch those with
more experience. Beginners will want to choose their jam session wisely, a session without experienced players isn’t
likely to be an ideal place for learning, but jams with primarily skilled musicians can be less tolerant of beginners.
Musicians can sit in on a few sessions without playing to gauge the mix of the group.
http://suite101.com/article/best-advice-for-beginning-musicians-a180960
Tips from Others
Today’s topic is on practicing: How’d you get your kids to do it? What schedule worked best for you? Was it
easy or difficult to get your child to practice? We received a wealth of feedback from parents, and also had guest
blogger and piano teacher Maria Rainier weigh in. Enjoy!
A structured practice schedule is helpful!
Roberta McGuire says: “On weekdays, when people have to rise early for work the next day, finishing practicing
before 10pm at the latest worked best in our household. Sometimes, Patrick would practice in between the
starting of other subjects’ homework – Practicing seemed to serve as a break from the homework.”
Susie Wuest remembers “Eric would race home from school to practice then and often again after supper. I
think he was bored in school, and the violin presented him with a challenge. Eric was very athletic and liked to
be busy — gymnastics, tennis, baseball, or just playing with friends. I always made sure that time was saved for
practicing everyday.”
Maintaining Motivation
Barbara Nakazawa says “For the young musician a calendar with a sticker reward chart shows a visual form of
success. After a certain number of stickers the student receives some type of reward. In my studio I have a prize
box. If it is your child, perhaps going out for ice cream, a movie, or a little toy that they are looking for may be
more suitable. Always remember that happy and proud is the bottom line. As a parent your job is to help make
practicing joyful and fun. Laughter is ok too!”
Charlotte Kufchak used a creative and unique approach when it came to maintaining practice schedules: “We
bought two sizes of dried beans and some sparkly paint. We had a lot of fun making the beans as colorful and
pretty as possible. Then we paid the kids in beans for practicing. It was great – we never ran out of ‘cash’.
Each large bean was equal to 10 small beans. (There were some math lessons in there too). Each quarter-hour
of practicing was worth a certain number of beans. Each child could save, exchange, or spend their beans as
they liked – we had a list of prizes. Examples were special treats, legos, $5 deposit in their bank account, a
symphony concert. The beauty of it is that it can be tailored to each child’s needs, each family’s budget
and priorities. And, the kids were willing to practice!”
Guest blogger/piano teacher Maria Rainier advises: “Having mid-year and end-of-year recitals can be a huge
motivator for practicing. Students get excited about performing for family and friends, which means that they’re
happy to practice more and make the big moment even more impressive. Just make sure that your students
aren’t too nervous and that they don’t try to put in excessive practice hours just before the recitals. Practice burnout makes recital performances flop and discourages students, contributing to the idea that practice doesn’t
increase success. It always helps to talk to your students about their feelings and apprehensions before recitals.”
Roberta McGuire: The desire to improve needs to come from the child and can’t be forced. The best thing a
parent can do to be supportive is to relax, support the child the best they can with a practice space, the materials
they need and let the private teacher set the expectations and ground rules. If you try to force them to practice,
the extra stress will only discourage them. A better strategy is to let the private teacher do the “heavy lifting”.
Vicky Robbins says, “Since my son (Sean Robbins) plays traditional Hawaiian slack-key guitar, his teachers
were very flexible, informal and encouraging. He would learn new repertoire then practice on his own until he
became more comfortable playing the pieces he’d learned.Performing at informal gatherings was also a way
to become more skilled, while at the same time improving his comfort level in front of an audience.
(Something that came in handy for his From the Top appearance!)”
Barbara Nakazawa: “I teach a practicing method called “the three penny practice.” (Be sure to have a jar
of pennies in your possession.) You put three pennies on the left side of the stand. On a troublesome
measure that you are “practicing” you play it once and if you get it right, you put the penny on the right
side of the stand. You play it again and get it right, you put the next penny on the right side of the stand.
You play it again and miss a note or rhythm, then all three pennies get put to the left. You must play the
measure correctly three times in a row in order to keep the pennies. The next step is to connect the
troublesome measure to the measure before it and continue playing. This teaches a student how to
practice and not just simply play through something once.
how-to-get-your-kids-to-practice-greenroomfrom-the-top-org/
8 Ideas on getting children to practice
their instrument
After the first few weeks to few months of learning, many children practice less, or not at all. Here is a collection of
tips that I have mostly gotten from parents of my students on how they get their children to practice.
The one that most frequently came up as a practice incentive is music practice in exchange for computer, video
game, or TV time. For younger children, this is probably done best as a 1 minute of practice for 1 minute of
computer time, but for older children, it might be better to do it for 2-3 mins of practice for a minute of computer,
video game, or TV time. This tactic especially works for boys, who are more likely to be into video games and
computers than most girls.
Another one that works well, though generally with older children, is goal-oriented practice. The object is to
achieve all the goals the teacher has outlined for the lesson and long-term progress, but a student can take as
much or as little time they need to achieve those goals. But to make this work, they have to prove to you that they
can perform them well and consistently.
A third idea is to give them a choice between a household task they don’t like or to practice. So far the children
who were given such a choice that I’ve taught always have chosen practice!
A fourth idea that I have tried mainly with students at least 10 or 11 years old, is a practice journal, where they
are to write down their thoughts, discoveries, and questions. One of my highly gifted 11 year old piano students
loved this idea so much after I introduced it to him and shared my practice journals, that he consistently has up to
2 typed pages per week. (and it builds their writing and spelling skills too!)
Fifth, you can use practice logs. There are a number of styles of practice logs, from one that you fill just the
amount of time you practice, to those where you colour or shade off the goals achieved. I prefer the latter.
Sixth, and this is considered a controversial one, is to pay children to practice. Either tie part of their allowance to
practicing (and earning bonus money if they exceed expectations) or have then earn say, $2 per hour practiced, up
to a maximum of say 15-20 hours. This one, however, should probably only be used with children who are
extremely reluctant to practice.
Seventh, provide additional opportunities to perform beyond what the teacher provides. Encourage them to
perform in school talent shows, put on mini-concerts for friends and family, perform in a church, or perform at a
cultural center.
Eighth, take them to see performances of slightly older children or adults who play really well. There are a number
of fine high level bands and string ensembles in many parts of North America, even for kids in elementary school,
and some places, especially in larger cities, have at least one high-level youth symphony orchestra. For piano
students, don’t just take them to solo piano recitals, take them also to recitals where the pianist is playing with a
solo instrumentalist or concerts where they are part of a chamber group, especially piano with a string trio or
quartet. The point here is to inspire them with what they can achieve when they stick with it for a few to several
years.
http://clariniano.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/8-ideas-on-getting-children-to-practice-their-instrument/