3 WAYS TO ENCOURAGE YOUR CHILD TO PRACTICE WITHOUT
TEARS AND TANTRUMS

Learning to play a new instrument is a fun and beneficial experience for kids!

BUT... Having them practice at home can be ROUGH.

It doesn't have to be! Here are 3 tricks parents use to get their child to practice at home without it feeling like a chore...

1. KEEP THAT INSTRUMENT OUT!

"Instead of packing up the violin after each day's practice, we leave the instrument and bow out all the time (albeit in a safe place), so that as our daughter goes about her day, she can pick it up and play whenever she likes." - Eva's Mom

It's good to have your instrument in a case when traveling to and from lessons and school to protect it, but once you get home, take it out and display it in the room where your child will be practicing!

It may seem silly, but it takes away a MUCH dreaded step of having to practice! Especially for our younger learners who have to summon more strength and effort to lift their instrument.

2. DIVIDE UP PRACTICE TIME

A child's attention span can be calculated based on their age.

For example, a 6 year old can focus on one thing for about 6 minutes while a 16 year old can go for 16+ minutes! Add in having to focus on learning something new, and you might want to give your child some breaks.

Set a timer and break up those practice sessions! Instead of asking them to spend 30 minutes practicing, have them spend 5-10 minutes working on one song or line of music at a time.

Give them a little time to focus on practicing hard parts of music, then follow it up with a few minutes of free play!

Practicing those hard parts is needed in order to learn and grow, but having fun and keeping the joy alive is equally important. Give them time for both!

3. MAKE IT A GAME!

Who doesn't love games?!

Barbara N. recently shared a game with us that she has her son Joshua play when he practices called the "3 Penny Practice."

"You put three pennies on the left side of your music stand. On a troublesome measure, you play it once, and if you get it right, you move the penny to the right side of the stand. If you play it again and get it right, you put the next penny on the right side of the stand. If you play it again and miss a note or rhythm, then all three pennies get put to the left. You must play the measure correctly three times in a row in order to keep the pennies. The next step is to connect the troublesome measure to the measure before it and continue playing."

You could team up with your child and have them help you create a practicing game! We've done this with students during lessons and not only do they have fun with the actual game, but we've seen them take pride in the fact that they created it!