Successful Piano Practice
Developing Successful Piano Practice
Do you want to help your piano student learn to practice without cajoling and nagging each day? I encourage use of routines to reward practice and establish great practicing habits.
Everyone knows practice is the key to success whether it’s making a cake, playing soccer or learning to drive a car. While I will spare you the ‘practice makes perfect’ adage, I can personally confirm that practice and practice routines makes things more permanent.
How to establish great practice habits
First and foremost, this happens by getting your student to the piano on a regular routine. And lots of studies show us that daily practice produces far more success than just weekend practice, even if the same amount of time is counted.
Remember that getting to the piano bench isn’t like sitting out of a game, it’s the arena to play the game.
In my home, practice was simply part of the routine. Before breakfast, after lunch, right after school, or before dinner, I let my children choose to try out different routines so they feel like they have some decision-making power. After a week or two, we add it to their daily responsibilities.
It takes routine to brush our teeth, eat meals, study and more, so piano just needs to become one of the expected daily routines we can set up from the beginning for ourselves or our student.
One size is not fits-all
One of my sons was totally done with learning after coming home from school. His most successful time to practice was before school in the morning. He dressed, did his chores, ate breakfast then practiced before leaving for school.
Another child loved discussing his music with me. He practiced every time I was preparing dinner meals nearby.
While I wanted him to be independent in learning and practicing, I did enjoy our conversations about the patterns or tunes of music he was playing.
Initially my daughter didn’t like being pinned down to a set time, so she split her weekly plan up into before school M,W, F and right after school T, Th. Eventually she settled on mornings because she didn’t like having to come home from school and practice on top of homework. She made the decision herself which gave her a sense of autonomy in her responsibilities.
Getting on the bench in a regular routine, (part of the daily structure) brings success both to the piano and also to life skills. Try it out and let me know what works best for you and your piano students.
