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Practicing
Tony
There are many questions that parents have when their child brings home
an instrument from school for the first time. Will my child enjoy learning
this instrument? Will they get anything out of it? How far will they go with
it?
The reality that quickly sets in after the first or second lesson, however, is
that these philosophical little questions give way to more practical
concerns: Are they practicing enough? Are they practicing the right thing?
Are they doing it the right way?
Parental Involvement
Your child does not start off life as an independent musician. Basic musical
skills and literacy takes many years to develop. Add to this the technical
challenges of learning an instrument, and your child would need to be
exceptionally motivated to learn without any help from you. You need to
be involved in your child’s practicing.
There are no shortcuts or hacks to get you out of the harsh reality that your
child needs to find the time to practice. But how? First, make practicing
part of their daily routine and don’t have them do a lot of
practicing all at once. What your child will benefit from most,
especially in the beginning, are multiple, shorter, more focused sessions.
Find five to ten minutes, three or four times over the course of the day.
When your child comes home from their lesson, you should have three
questions for them:
“What did the teacher say you needed to work on?” (Start
simple. Usually this involves an assignment of some sort.)
“Did the teacher tell you anything that you should do to
make a better sound?” Getting a good sound is not only a good
motivator for your child, but it has rewards for you as a parent as
well.)
“How good does the teacher want your pieces to be for next
week?” (There might not always be a clear answer to this one, but
sometimes there is.)
If your child is unsure or evasive, email the teacher. Don’t let any of these
questions go unanswered for the entire week.
Working it Out
Without going into too much detail, the nitty-gritty of learning music
comes down to “working it out”. Generally, the best advice is to play
through it slowly for accuracy of notes and rhythms. However,
that isn’t always enough. Your child needs to have some additional
strategies available to them to help with the more difficult
parts. (This is the part of practicing on which my book “Best Practicing”
focuses.) Having the right tool for the job makes the time spent much more
effective.
Recognizing Progress
The first year or two of being the parent of a beginning string student can
be very challenging, especially if your child is in a school setting. However,
you don’t need to be musically trained to guide their progress. As long as
you stay involved and informed, and help them meet the challenges
methodically, you can ensure their success in becoming an independent
musician.