Holiday Practice Tips

With the holidays right around the corner, it's a good idea to have a plan for practicing during that time. Here are 5 tips to help you with practicing over the holidays!

1- Get practicing done before noon. Otherwise, holiday parties, sledding, shopping, and playing outside will take up the day and leave the student too tired to practice!

2- Set an alarm on your phone to help you remember, especially if practicing early is out of the norm.

3- Plan to fit practicing in on most days, so start early on in the week.

4- Ask student to play for family or friends that come over, even non-Christmas songs or old favorites.

5- If there will be 2+ weeks between lessons, make sure that practicing happens the day after their lesson so the student remembers what to do during their break.

Have a Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy New Year!

Image by klimkin from Pixabay

How Involved Do You Really Need to Be?

There tends to be a spectrum of involvement for parents of children taking private lessons. There is not a “one-size-fits-all” spot on this spectrum, but usually the more involved you are, the more success your child will have in their lessons.

When I was a kid taking lessons, I sometimes needed reminders to practice, but I wanted to do the practicing myself. I didn’t want anyone sitting with me helping me! But my daughter is the opposite. Even though she has the ability to practice on her own, she prefers me to sit with her to help her out. And I must say, it is nice to have one-on-one time with her!

Since you know your child best, you will find the best place on this spectrum for you. Younger children (4-5+ years old) need a parent on the right of the spectrum; with older children, you can start sliding left. However, with any child of any age, don’t just assume that they will know to practice without reminders. If they do just practice on their own (#unicorn!) enjoy it!

As parents, we have a lot going on. We don’t need one more thing to do. Building practicing into your routine, however, will help it become more automatic and less stressful. I always thought I hated cooking. But what I actually hated was trying to figure out what to cook at 4 or 5 p.m. and having no clean dishes to work with. Once I started meal planning each week and setting out the meat to thaw each morning, I found that cooking was much, much easier. I just had to rearrange my routine and planning.

If you are having trouble remembering to have your child practice, try setting an alarm on your phone. I set mine to 7 p.m. If I haven’t had my daughter practice by then, we go and do it at 7. Time enough to practice but still get ready for bed in time.

In summary, find your best place on the “parent involvement spectrum” and continue building practicing into your routine. Your child (someday!) and your teacher (now!) will thank you.

“Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much.” Helen Keller

Image by Pezibear from Pixabay

Where Should Practicing Be in Your Priorities?

I remember being in high school, when we were the oldest we’d ever been and the busiest we’d ever been, and feeling “swamped” when we had more than one test in one week! I remember fellow students complaining that every teacher thought their class the most important, since they all assigned such loads of homework.

I have thought about this a lot in the past years, as I have become a (private) teacher and assign my students homework… I mean practicing… each week. I haven’t heard the complaining (if any) that happens at home when it is time to practice, but I have heard many excuses over the years as to why the student didn’t practice last week:

- my brother had a birthday party

- my friends came over to play

- I had to study for my Spanish test

And it all comes down to priorities. Perhaps the high school kids that complained about homework and tests weren’t prioritizing their school work and grades, and wanted things to be just a bit easier. And perhaps the students that make excuses week after week haven’t put practicing in the top of their priorities.

I’m not saying that every student needs to put their music studies as their #1 priority, but if you are:

♫ paying money for private lessons;

♫ taking time to get to and from lessons;

♫ wanting to learn how to play that instrument;

then perhaps practicing, or “going home and playing your instrument,” should be in your top 2-4 priorities.

I know it can be difficult to make practicing part of a routine. I have been teaching my 9-year-old daughter and some months, our practice calendar is very bare. (She puts a sticker on each day that she practices.) We especially did not practice much the month or two after our move. So I followed one of my own tips from my post, “5 Ways to get Practicing into your Routine,” put a reminder alarm on my phone, and now we are doing much better!

So as a teacher, I am not thinking that “my class is the most important” when I ask my students to practice and make it a priority; I am simply trying to help them succeed at the task of learning to play their instrument. I know that frequent, regular practice will be the shortest path to success for them. Making practice a priority takes planning and perseverance, but it is worth it when your child confidently plays their pieces and is excited to learn.

“The key is not to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.”

Stephen R. Covey, American author and businessman, and author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay