Hey Parents ...

As I was typing my last blog entry, I realized that most of my practice blogs were aimed at my older students (16-adult). It hit me that most students under 16 would either not fully understand the suggestions and/or how to apply them, or more likely, would rather play Halo 3 on their X Box rather than practicing at all! 

So Parents, here is a blog for you.

How to help your children get the most out of their practice routines...

1. Practicing is just like homework

With the start of the new school year, there is no better analogy than homework to practice. Homework has to be done every night or else your child will fall behind in class. Most families will have some sort of routine for when homework is supposed to be done (i.e. before/after dinner, as soon as they get home from school, frantically the next morning before the school bus comes, etc).

Make a routine for practice as well. For example, every afternoon, from 4:00 - 4:20, work on your lesson material. Then, once practice, dinner, homework and other activities are done, your child can then free play if they choose (I highly encourage you to encourage them to do this. This will spark their creativity).

Once you've helped them establish this habit of practicing regularly, they will most likely practice as long as they need to in order to get the material prepared. In fact, you may have to start saying "Put that guitar down and come eat!!!"

2. Ask your child to perform for you regularly

While you may not know exactly what a piece of music or the lesson material should sound like, it is likely that you will recognize improvement night over night in their performance. You also will likely recognize problems such as the dreaded "uggh, this chord/scale/song/etc sucks! Why do I have to play this".

When your child is showing improvement, compliment them on work well done and set expectations that you wish to see them continue to improve. 

In the case of the "uggh, this sucks" scenario, try to help them see that this is part of the learning process, much like those hard spelling words they had to memorize in second grade. Next, help them understand that if they give a good effort to learning the material, they will soon move on to bigger and better things (like songs that you don't want them to play !!!)

3. Listen to and talk about music with your child

As much as I try to avoid Radio Disney, my kids love it!!!

When we are in the car,I fight the urge to change the channel and ask what they like about the song that is playing. My children like the lyrics, drums and/or melodies depending on the song. This is a chance for you to get an insight on what excites them about music (ex. if they seem to always like lyrics, you could have a natural songwriter ... if they like the guitar solos - you have a future accountant that likes to play guitar on the weekends )

I take this opportunity to play games like, clap the beat (rhythm exercise), clap on a certain beat 1/2/3/4(counting exercise), hum or whistle the melody (ear training). The best thing is, it's a game to them, but they are getting some really good practice in.

Finally, if you recognize interests that are similar to your musical tastes, such as you both liking the drums or songs that tell good stories, take this opportunity to introduce them to your music. Yes, they will still think you are "sooo uncool" (as I hear from my daughter all the time), but at least you are sharing musical interests with your children ... not to mention, planting the seeds that will one day allow you to not have to listen to Radio Disney anymore !!!!!

So there it is. If you have any questions, let's talk during your child's next lesson.