Have you ever heard The Hare and The Tortoise? One fine day a hare came upon a tortoise out in the sun moving along very slowly and teased him profusely for his lack of progress. The tortoise, who had arrived at each of his destinations for a hundred years without fail, vows to beat the spritely hare in a race. And so the race begins! The tortoise plods along steadily while the over confident hare turns off the path to take a snooze under a tree. Surely, he has enough natural ability to do nothing for awhile and make it up at the end. Unfortunately, the hare, oblivious of the time which has passed, wakes up to find that not only has the diligent tortoise overtaken him, but has gone so far ahead on the path that he can never catch up.
PRACTICE TIPS
- THE POSITIVE PARENT
If you are a parent paying for lessons, its good and natural for you to want your child to practice regularly. (Your teacher does too!) The only problem with this desire can be the execution of it. Many parents have the mindset that its up to their child to practice or not, but most kids do not have the self discipline and diligence it takes to practice regularly. Some parents feel they have a fight on their hands they didn’t want when it comes to practicing, because most kids do not have the self discipline or diligence it takes to practice regularly. It becomes a fight or flight attitude. Neither of those parenting techniques generally help a child in their musical growth. Think about this: music is fun and is one of the best things your child can learn to help them develop their mind, heart and body for a lifetime. Set up the structure your child will need from the tips below (yes, read below too!). Set up a rewards bin at home, concert night Fridays, practice party Saturdays (ice cream sundaes!), or some other earning potential for your child for meeting their practicing goal every week! Mid week, take time to sit with them, watch their fingers move, listen to their songs, smile and enjoy it. Don’t be afraid to talk about a rhythm or melody together that doesn’t seem right to you, listen to it again, look at the music with them, listen to the song, attempt to play it correctly for them. Be willing to laugh together at the process. Model the enjoyment and the work ethic it takes to grow. If needed, show them they can contact their teacher during the week for clarification and how that can be helpful to them. You have an opportunity to build self-discipline, diligence and many other important characteristics into their life through music! That should be exciting to you because it will benefit the rest of their life. And it really won’t take much of your time. This is the POSITIVE PARENT they need.
- EASY ACCESS
Pianists: if your piano at home has become the family coat closet or book shelf, find a new spot for all the stuff that is piling up so you can sit down unhindered and begin to play at anytime, with only your lesson books neatly stored there. This also decreases distractions.
Instrumentalists: while keeping your instrument in the case has benefits, one of them is NOT easy access. It might be worth investing in a stand or wall hook for your instrument so when you walk in the room the instrument is there to play. If that is not an option, consider finding a safe spot away from a vent or drafty window to leave your instrument safely.
- ESTABLISH A SCHEDULE
Your teacher has talked with you about practice expectations and numbers of days a week. Amounts of practice time depend on your age so its important to listen to what is recommended for you! The day of your first lesson, as soon as you get home, you need to take 5-10 minutes to make a schedule of practicing and hang it up in your home. Think about your daily schedule and when the best time would be to put in regular practice time. Plan it in, beginning your first week, as a new part of your activities moving forward. This is a practice tip that you will need to revise and adhere to over and over as life changes! Its super helpful to your progress!
- SET A TIMER
Yes! Every time you practice! This is important for both young and old, so invest in a good timer that is easy to set and has an alarm when the time has been reached. The reason this is important is that young children don’t realize how little time they have used for practicing and older people don’t realize how much time they have taken. Both can be counterproductive for enjoyment, progress and sustainability. Your teacher can recommend an amount of time each day that corresponds with your age and ability level. Just set the timer and go practice! If the timer hasn’t gone off yet and you feel you went through everything assigned, review and repeat assignment again or use the extra time to play something by ear. If your timer goes off and you haven’t played through your whole assignment, plan to start where you left off the next day.
- ACCOUNTABILITY
Talk with a parent, a spouse, an older sibling who can encourage you and help keep you accountable to your practice time each day. You WILL need reminders to be consistent!! It helps to have someone else we live with who looks forward to hearing us play and is committed to stopping us from wasting our practice time or being lazy and never getting around to it. Remember that you CAN develop diligence and a very good work ethic via practicing that will last a lifetime and be relevant in so many other areas of your life. So when someone reminds you its time to practice because you aren’t, PROMISE ME, you will listen, thank them and grab your instrument and assignment immediately! If you are an accountability partner for the student in your household, PLEASE help them by not filling practice time with other activities. When a friend calls and wants to do something, remind your student they can do it right after practicing. Avoid as many disruptions to your scheduled time as possible. If there is unavoidable disruptions to your student’s practicing schedule, talk with your student ahead about an alternative time for practicing that day and stick to it together. Then get back on schedule the next day!
- REPETITION
“DO, LISTEN, REPEAT.” Play slowly. Don’t feel like every part of your assignment has to be done Day 1 in the week. You will enjoy (yes, even scales) more if you play it, listen carefully to how it sounds and then repeat it and repeat it and repeat it, trying to get it to sound more articulate, more smooth, more in tune. Then move on to the next thing and apply the same technique.
Practice Link List: