Secrets To Help Your Child Succeed With Music Lessons

Everyone is short on time these days. Children and parents have many activities and a never ending list of chores and "to do" lists. This is no time management course, but I can give you some ideas to help your child get the most of his practice time.

First, help your child organize his practice sessions. Start with a warm-up. Then move into the assignment. Spend a little time on exercises, a new song, and sight reading. End on a positive note with something that your child can do to feel a sense of accomplishment - like a piece he's been playing for awhile. A half hour session could be divided into something like this: 5 minutes on a warm up exercise (or a favorite piece), 5 minutes on scales or exercises, 10 minutes on the new piece that is assigned, 6 more minutes on new material, and finally 4 minutes on the "wrap up." Make this your child's choice! If some of these segments seem too long, substitute flashcard drills to work on note reading skills.

Second, practice at the same time every day. One of the best ways to help your child succeed at music lessons is to help them establish a regular practice schedule for each day of the week. When you associate a particular time of the day with practice, it makes it easier to grab the that instrument and start playing. After a while it's like brushing your teeth in the morning! We have done it so long that we just start brushing every morning without any thought! I realize it's not easy for everyone to practice at the same time each day, but for parents and their kids who can work it out, it's worth the effort.

Finally, don't let too much time pass between practice sessions. Studies have shown that beginners learn more if they practice a little each day rather than long periods of time and then skipping several days. It is also highly recommended to begin practicing new material assigned by your teacher within 24 hours! So...one of the BEST times to practice is rights after your child's lesson! Your child will be more likely to remember what was introduced in the lesson and practice correctly for the rest of the week. In reality, all practice time is good. If daily practice sessions are not possible, your child can still make some great progress with the occasional long practice session.

Leslie Wilkes Maxwell
Bloomingdale School of Music
630-351-0023

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