HOW DO I GET MY CHILD TO PRACTICE?

Ten ideas that may help you to help your child achieve his or her potential.

Most importantly, do not ever force a child to practice.  The idea is to get them to want to practice.  If they really hate to practice, the child should not be taking lessons.  Music should be fun!  And the deal you make with your child, that if you want to take lessons (and thereby improve on an instrument), you must want to practice, and that the parent should not have to take responsibility for a child’s practicing, is a very important lesson for children to learn.

1)  For many children, the real problem is they have a hard time starting to practice, but enjoy their practice session once they get started.  A parent can help by setting a regular time for practice and by establishing a reward system.  This can be as complex as a chart that gets filled in with stickers, and earning points for something desired, or as simple as “every day, once you have practiced, you get to play video games”.  If desired, the teacher can help by creating a practice chart, with suggested amounts of time to practice each part of the lesson.  Remind your children that each practice session should end with some time playing their instrument for fun!

2) Set a regular time for practice (and make time for practice).  With today’s busy children and their difficult schedules, a creative approach may be necessary.  Some children may prefer to practice first thing in the morning, or right after school.  Some days it will be impossible to find time.  Generally, consistent, short practice sessions are better than fewer and longer sessions, but a mix of the two can work.  For instance, you can set a goal of 15 minutes every week day and 40 minutes each weekend day and get quite a bit done.  For other children 20-25 minutes 6 out of 7 days (with one free day) might be more practical.

If children are too tired at night, have them try practicing in the morning before school.  Older children might be able to practice during a study hall period, and may benefit from taking a break from academics.

Discussing practice goals with your children and writing them down together can be helpful.  The practice commitment and success in meeting that commitment should be evaluated regularly. 

3) The parent can help students learn how to practice.  Set reasonable long-terms goals and assist the child to see their progress toward those goals.  Some long-term goals might be specific musical achievements (for instance, “I want to play a high C by the end of the year” “I want to know all the major scales by heart” “I want to learn how to play my favorite video game theme on my instrument”); other goals might be a higher “chair” (placement) in the school ensemble; winning a place in an honor ensemble such as “all-county” or “all-state”; getting a high score at NYSSMA evaluation festivals; getting a high grade in the school ensemble, etc.

The parent should work with the teacher to help determine feasible goals and identify specific steps toward each level.  Remind the child that they are working toward these goals and that most valuable accomplishments take hard work.   Analogies with famous musicians, artists and even sports or historical figures who triumphed through consistent effort can be helpful.  The teacher should help the parent by identifying areas that are progressing well and other areas that need more concentrated effort.  As the student gets older, it may make sense to have a meeting with the parent, the student and the teacher together to discuss goals and how to achieve them.

4) The way in which a student practices is far more important than the length of time spent practicing.  The teacher will help the student by making assignments, and writing them down (so that the student, the teacher and the parent can refer to the assignment).  Some parts of the assignment are more important, and must not be neglected--remember, we tend to avoid what we do poorly, so students will tend to practice what they do well.  The teacher will help the student to break down their assignments into smaller, more manageable tasks; a parent can help reinforce the lessons by asking their child to explain to them how they are supposed to practice their assignment.

A very important point is that each practice session must have a very small goal to achieve (for younger students this may be to play one exercise perfectly 3 times in a row; for older students it may be to achieve a particular tempo marking or to play a section of a long piece perfectly).  If the student goes into the practice session saying “Today, I must get better!”, he have set himself a practice goal which is impossible to achieve (and difficult to evaluate one’s success).  If he daily sets a reasonable, attainable goal, and does not allow himself to quit the practice session until that goal is achieved, in a year’s time he will have improved tremendously.

For example, "today, I'm going to practice until I can improve the speed of this etude from quarter note = 72 to 80."  It may take five minutes or it may take an hour.  Part of learning how to practice effectively is learning how to set realistic goals that fit your time availability for each practice session.  In addition, a student will finish each practice session with a sense of accomplishment.  The parent can reinforce this way of practicing by asking “What is your goal today?” and then listen to the end result and praise the achievement.  Try to remember that very small daily improvements will eventually lead to incredible achievements, much as athletes constantly work to improve their “personal best”.

5) A reasonably good instrument is a must.  A student will avoid practicing if their instrument works poorly, and will be struggling to overcome the limitations of the instrument.  Many rental instruments have been abused or poorly maintained; if the student has made a commitment to musical study, it is almost always possible to find an economical used instrument in good condition that is usually less expensive than a two-year rental, and can be resold to another student if your child discontinues his music studies or requires a better instrument.  Your teacher can facilitate used instrument purchases and resales.  An instrument purchase can also function as a motivating device.

Brass instruments also require regular maintenance by the players--fortunately, all that is required is oiling the valves (1-2 times per week for younger students, as much as 3-4 times a week for older students playing a great deal) and cleaning the trumpet (1-2 times per year for younger students, as much as monthly for older students).  Mouthpieces should be rinsed out more often.  Trumpets stay cleaner and require less repairs if teeth are brushed before playing (at least rinse the mouth out before playing and don’t ever eat anything sugary, even gum, before playing).  If the trumpet requires repair, the teacher will advise you.

6)  A parent can help by setting up a good place to practice.  This means a straight chair with no arms, a music stand (folding music stands only cost about $14), a wastebasket or old newspaper for blowing out spit and good lighting.  If the child is young or small, an old phone book serving as a footrest can really assist good posture.  The practice area should be free of distractions as much as possible (primarily avoiding interference by disruptive siblings or pets) and should be relatively quiet so the student can hear himself.

7) One of the most important ways a parent can encourage their child’s musical progress that is often overlooked is listening to recordings of music featuring their instrument. How can we expect a student to develop a musical ear and an appreciation of fine music if they are never exposed to good music?  Good trumpet music includes symphonies, concerti, rock and roll, jazz, big band, movie music, funk and soul, blues, etc.

Especially for beginners, help them to identify the trumpet in various situations, including on television and in movies and cartoons.  If you enjoy listening to trumpet music with your child, I guarantee you that they will get the message that playing the trumpet is something you appreciate.  And if you never listen to any music that features the trumpet, I guarantee you that they won’t value the trumpet very much.

Encourage them to put on a trumpet CD while they are playing video games, doing homework, or driving to soccer practice.  Try to find some trumpet music  that you genuinely enjoy and listen to it when your child is around.  Most libraries have numerous recordings featuring the trumpet.  This idea should be extended to going to concerts featuring the trumpet.  If finances are an issue, there are many free concerts, and the library has many videos and dvd’s of concerts.  During the holidays, watch for concerts on tv or at local churches; the trumpet is usually featured prominently.  Seeing skilled professionals perform live provides incredibly motivating experiences.

8) A parent can help to influence their child’s musical success by modeling good practice ethics.  For instance, if you are a jogger or practice yoga, try to help your child see that you enjoy the results of your efforts even if it sometimes feels tedious on a daily basis.  Tell your child about your successes that came from hard work.  Take up a new hobby and stick with it even when you are busy or it becomes difficult.   As a teacher, I feel it is incredibly important to always be working to learn something at which I do not excel in order to sympathize with my students’ efforts.

9) An occasional failure is necessary in order to progress.  In other words, we have to sometimes give ourselves permission to make mistakes in order to try something that's beyond our current ability.  On the trumpet, for instance, we have to try to just blast out the high notes once in a while, in addition to working on technique that will facilitate it.  It's analogous to getting out on the tennis court and just whacking the ball--if you only work on your serve, or do drills bouncing balls on your racket, you will never really learn how to play the game until you just try to hit the ball against an opponent.

The student must venture outside of their comfort zone in order to get better.  We learn through our mistakes.  Your child will learn nothing if they never try something that feels impossible.  This idea can be very hard for kids, and parents must reassure students that this struggle is an essential part of learning.

10) Parents’ approval! This can not be stressed enough.  When I was young, my mother reports that my piano teacher asked “how do you get her to practice?” and my mother said, “When she stops playing, her dad says, ‘play some more’.”  This seems so simple, yet I receive reports from my students that they can’t play as much as they want because the baby or one parent is sleeping, or it bothers one of their siblings.  In dire situations, a trumpet mute can be purchased to soften the impact of the trumpet.  Most of the time, I think families can work it out.

Most children would love it if their mom says, “You know, I love to hear you practice, can you practice in the dining room while I load the dishwasher?”  If you pay attention to their practicing, and ask them, “play that part again, that’s one of my favorites!”, you are sending a very powerful message.  Ask (but do not force) your children to perform for relatives (I always hated that!).  Ask your children’s friends to bring over their instruments and play, so your children see you appreciating their friends’ efforts.  Ask your child to show you how to play a few notes on their instrument and continually ask them to show you what they are playing.  Ask how their lesson went and ask what their assignment is.  Go to their school concerts and stay awake!!  Tell them often that you enjoy listening to them practice.

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if you find these ideas valuable.