It's a struggle, isn't it? Most kids don't like to practice, even if they love music and their lessons. It's very rare to find a child who will practice without being told to do so, and if your child does, count your lucky stars! Here are some things you can do to help make practice a positive experience: 1. Set aside a regular practice time each day and do your best not to schedule something else during that time. Perhaps it's as soon as homework is finished. Maybe it's before school - a lot of young kids do very well practicing in the morning when they are less tired. 2. Minimize distractions. Make sure the environment in which your child is quiet, with no telephones ringing, dogs barking
Sounds odd, doesn't it: Practice makes perfect. But it's true! In our world of music, the original saying is backwards. One thing I like to explain to my students when we first begin our journey together is that your brain is smart: you can look at a piece of music that is your level (and sometimes even more complicated than you are playing) and understand most of what is there and how it should be executed. So yes, your brain is smart, but your hands are stupid! This usually elicits a laugh (or a complaint that I used the word stupid). But what it boils down to is that a major part of our job, especially when we first begin to learn a new piece, is to train our hands to do what our brain ca