why kids don’t practice

Why Your Child Must Practice at Home

~ doreenhall ~ Leave a comment

“Ms. Hall, I was so busy this week I didn’t have any time to practice”

 

 

I hear this from at least one student every week. I understand life can be busy. Students have school projects, exams, and other events that come up and prevent them from being able to practice. I don’t consider the occasional ‘off week’ when it comes to practicing a major problem. But what about students who are involved in so many activities that they almost never have time to practice? Can they learn to play? What about students who have the time but just refuse to practice? Can these students get anything out of piano lessons?

 

 

The short answer is no. If you don’t practice at home, you simply can’t learn to play much. Playing the piano for 30 minutes a week at the lesson just won’t cut it. Imagine going to school for just 30 minutes per week. You would not learn a lot.

 

 

This is How Piano Lessons Work.

 

 

A piano student attends a weekly lesson of 30-60 minutes in duration. During the lesson, the teacher reviews the material (music, scales, etc.) that has been presented the previous week and suggests ways to refine or improve the material. If the student has made sufficient progress new material is presented. A good teacher thoroughly explains any new concepts, answers any questions, and then assigns specific things to practice.

 

 

After that,

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Over Scheduling Children

~ doreenhall ~ Leave a comment

Over-Scheduled?

How much is too much?

I think having kids in after-school activities is great! I am all for extra-curricular activities, after all, as a piano teacher, I am one.

There is so much out there these days for kids to do. Dance, Sports, Music, Art, Scouts, Church Activities, Foreign Languages, Theater, and on and on. As parents we want our kids to thrive. We want them to experience what the world has to offer. We want the best for them. But, is there such a thing as too many activities for kids? If there is, how much is too much? And what does this have to do with piano lessons?

I think most of us would agree that it is possible to over-schedule our kids. Here is a quote from an article in Psychology Today:

Alvin Rosenfeld, M.D., a child psychiatrist and author of The Over-Scheduled Child: Avoiding the Hyper-Parenting Trap, believes that enrolling children in too many activities is a nationwide problem.

“Over-scheduling our children is not only a widespread phenomenon, but it’s also how we parent today,” he says. “Parents feel remiss that they’re not being good parents if their kids aren’t in all kinds of activities. Children are under pressure to achieve, to be competitive. I know sixth-graders who are already working on their resume’s so they’ll have an edge when they apply for college.”

Piano Students

As a piano teacher, I advise my student’s parents against putting their kids in too many activities. One reason is simple. Children need time to practice if they are going to learn to play a musical instrument. I have had students who are so busy, that they literally do not have 30 minutes per day to spend practicing. As a result, they can’t learn to play well.

But I believe there are other more important reasons not to over-schedule our kids. Children need time to think, to dream, to imagine…To just be.

Actually, we all need these things. Especially those of us in the arts.

Musicians young and old alike need time to listen to great music, time to be silent, time to improvise. Time to read classic books, stories, and poems. Time to view the masterpieces of the art world.

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