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Every student is smart. Every Student is capable. Every student has potential.

THEY JUST NEED THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOW IT.

The Value of Practice, pt 2

8/2/2024

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Practice Misconception #2: Students will be self motivated to practice and know how to schedule it on their own.
Truth: Humans of all ages can struggle investing in the process that leads to outcome, especially over time. Motivation ebbs when things become challenging or there are competing interests. Motivation can definitely waver when schedules are busy. Few personalities come with good discipline already on board and for those who do show strong focus and stamina at the start, they need that quality nurtured. Discipline is a skill that is learned and young students are just beginning to develop all of their skills and habits.

It is often difficult to find time to practice
and yet it is the most important thing your student will do.

For students who may not have hectic schedules, they, too, are just setting out on the path to developing this important life skill and they also need assistance. What can you do?

Make practice routine, expected and prioritized.
Normalize it!

Avoidable Pitfalls

AP #1: Avoid allowing practice to be "one more thing" to do. 
One way this can be done is to attach practice to another process. We all have our routines. When someone wakes up in the morning they have a routine they typically follow. Grab a glass of water, go for a run, grab a shower, breakfast . . . Instead of having five or six separate tasks, it’s all lumped together into one routine. It all gets done with less stress and fatigue because it’s always been done this way and is a set and expected routine. A habit!

The same applies to practice. If it isn’t scheduled, if it’s just one more thing to fit in, especially when students are mentally or physically fatigues, it will be stressful and undesirable to do. However, if it is rolled into another routine--attached to something else—the stress of having to “fit it in” goes away and a positive habit develops and positive habits carry students during challenging times or periods of low interest-which all are perfectly normal in anything we do!.

Attach practice to another process.

Example routine: I come home from school, grab a snack and sit at the keyboard for twenty minutes on Monday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, I come home from dance, have a snack and sit at the piano for twenty minutes.
Practice is attached to the post-event snack in this scenario and can also be considered part of the back-at-home routine.

AP #2: Avoid having an inflexible practice schedule.
There is no reason practice must be scheduled at the same time everyday or even done in one sitting if that doesn't work for your student. Find the schedule that works best, knowing it might need regular tweaking. There is also no reason to feel badly if things don’t go to plan one day. What to do?

Simply re-commit to the routine the next day.
One day is easily recoverable.
Two or three days becomes the start of a habit.

Going out of town is outside of normal routine and typically won't negatively impact a home practice routine. If for one reason or another, the practice schedule falls apart for more than one day at home, simply re-commit, knowing it might require a bit more dedication for awhile to rebuild and get back on track. Never give up! Life is about the journey and there's a lot of opportunity at every turn.

AP #3: Avoid doing a week's practice in one day or a couple of long sessions.
What matters most is that practice happens regularly. The more often a student sits at a keyboard, the more likely they will be successful. Every night when we sleep, our brains are logging memories from the day. Neural pathways are being built and strengthened. The more we can engage in this process during the week, the better.

Ten minutes daily is far more beneficial
than an hour on the weekend.

In addition to what happens when we sleep, breaking up learning throughout the day also yields better dividends. The brain most effectively builds neural pathways with learning followed by rest. Then not too much later repeating the process. This is why I strongly recommend students review their lesson assignment later the same day of their lesson and don’t count their lesson as practice. (Practice prior to lesson is also a great idea!) 

When memorizing music, it's often wise to do your heavy work early followed by short "reminder" run throughs interspersed throughout the day. Correct practice is vital to this neural process, but we’ll talk about that in another post.

I have seen countless times the immensely positive effect of regular practice & parent/sibling assisted practice.

Wrap Up Reminders: Those students who have support excel tremendously and get through the expected periods of wanting to quit. I have also seen that many students benefit from this one on one time with a parent or sibling in other ways and enjoy it. Students who have consistent help not only progress at a faster rate, they do so with more joy in the process.

I don’t expect any student to become a concert pianist. Concert pianists make themselves. But I do expect my students to be given every chance, and to take every chance, to discover their capability.

Every student is an individual. Some students are self motivated (this is a rare personality at young ages!), some students have several years behind them, some students come to learning at an older more “put together” age, but even these students benefit from parental/sibling involvement at some level. Involvement in this case might be in the form of positive encouragement, ensuring practice happens, answering questions or being aware if any frustration or issues that arise and letting me know.

The help a student student receives on the days
I am not with them is critical!

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The Value of Practice, Pt 1

1/29/2024

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Several years ago, I wrote some articles for my students and parents. I'm excited to be able to share them here...
You’ve invested in a quality instrument and lessons, but have you invested in quality practice? Perhaps one of the most misunderstood and challenging aspects of music lessons is daily practice. Practice is not always going to be something a student wants to do, but committing to this vital component will not only bring the student confidence and joy, but less stress in the process.

In the coming weeks, we’ll talk about a few common practice misconceptions and solutions. Let’s get started with the first:

PM #1: New or young students can practice on their own.
Truth: The vast majority of students are still learning the concept of discipline and developing good habits (like needing to be reminded to brush their teeth before bed) and need help building both. Learning how to practice effectively and refer to their assignment sheet is also a skill that must build on itself over time and this process happens more quickly and reliably with assistance.

Each week, I’ll hear from at least one student:
“I didn’t know I was suppose to practice that.”

“My mom/dad wouldn’t let me practice because I had to do [blank]”.

“I didn’t have time.”
Though sometimes students may exaggerate or misunderstand a situation, it is appreciated among music teachers that ALL students, no matter their age or level, need assistance to practice in some form and all teen students benefit from a degree of oversight.

What can you do? I strongly recommend that parents, even if they don’t feel they have much to offer in the way of help, participate in the practice process. Sitting with young students and helping where you can is vital to your student’s success.

Examples of how you can help:
  • Drill flashcards
  • Help them navigate their assignment sheet or ensure that all tasks are complete
  • Ensure that practice happens, and regularly
  • Create a tracking or accomplishment system (young students love stickers!)
  • Help them schedule and prioritize regular practice
  • Check in

These things contribute to their success and build confidence in invaluable ways. Above all:

Let your student know that their practice time and learning is valuable. Prioritize it!

Avoidable Pitfalls

AP #1: Leaving a young or struggling student to themselves.
These students often don’t practice, or if they do aren’t sure how to be effective and not much is accomplished in the time they do spend. Each week these students must relearn the same concepts and materials and after awhile their confidence and enjoyment erodes until they no longer wish to continue. Of course they don’t!

When a student must relearn the same material week after week or after several prolonged absences (summers off), it is understandable they would feel frustrated and no longer enjoy playing.

Progress is essential to a student’s sense of well being.
And a sense of well being is essential to progress.

Once that sense begins to deteriorate, students lose desire and commitment. It is not fair to a student to expect them to know how to do everything at first and it is not fair to young students who would do better with some help to have to go it alone. And believe it or not:

  Most students appreciate the help and all of them NEED it.

AP #2: Indicating (usually indirectly) that the student’s practice and learning is not a priority.
Parents and students have a lot on their plates and oftentimes, without meaning, time at the piano is viewed as something not as important as other things in a student’s and family’s schedule. This is typically demonstrated to a student by not ensuring time is made for practice (which I’ll discuss in a later misconception) or having no regular interaction with a student about their practice. Kids are smart! They learn so much from what we do and don’t do more so than from what we say.

If you don’t show that you place a priority on their practice,
neither will they.

I have seen countless times the immensely positive effect of regular practice and parent/sibling assisted practice. Students who show up to lessons prepared are happier. Repeat:

     Students who show up to lessons prepared are happier.

Those students who have support excel tremendously and get through the expected periods of wanting to quit. I have also seen that many students benefit from this one on one time with a parent or sibling in other ways and enjoy it. Students who have consistent help not only progress at a faster rate, they do so with more joy and success in the process.

I don’t expect any student to become a concert pianist or professional musicians. Students with these desires make themselves. But I do expect my students to be engaged and be given the opportunity to discover their potential.

I am committed to the growth of my students and their happiness on this journey and a large part of that comes in the form of help when I’m not with them.

The help a student student receives on the days
I am not with them is critical!

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    I've taught students of all ages and abilities for nearly thirty years and in that time I've discovered that it isn't the talent that makes the musician, it's the heart.

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