This episode about how to support young musicians in music practice during the holidays when things are busy and we’re out of our routines, was originally published in audio format on the Time to Practice Podcast. It has been edited and formatted for ease of reading. You can read it below or listen to the audio anywhere you listen to podcasts.

It’s the last week of school before winter break here in the US, and I know it’s such a busy time right now for teachers and families, so I want to share a few thoughts about music practice during the busy holiday season. Really this advice could apply to any busy season in life.

For many professional musicians, teachers, and more advanced students who perform in ensembles, the holiday season and the end of the year can be a very busy time with lots to practice for. Practice, for those with many performances this time of year, in a way, is a “must-do” item and there may be no question about practice happening or not happening. If this is you, you likely will have practice and rehearsals and then enjoy some much-needed rest when you get the chance.

This music practice for holidays that I want to share is really for the families of students who do not have this built-in practice motivation right now. For those of you who want to get practice done but may find this time of year difficult or even overwhelming because it’s such a busy season.

If you’re anything like me. or the families I work with, just getting to all of the extra activities right now and getting the extra errands done and things like this can feel like a lot to accomplish. And then, on top of that, we are guiding our young musicians through practice when everyone may be short on focus, patience, and time, and it can feel like a challenge on many fronts. 

Here are Four ideas to help with Music practice during the holidays:

Tip #1: My best advice is to focus on just doing SOMETHING and touching the instrument every day that you can.

That could look like a full, structured practice, “play your favorite three songs today,” or even an informal concert with stuffed animals or visiting family members.

Aim to keep music going. That alone can be a great goal this time of year. Some days with young students, simply getting some practice or music-making to happen is a win. My advice is to please focus on trying to do what you can.

 

Tip #2: listen to music as much as you can!

This week I’m excited to welcome Meret Bitticks, our first flutist, to the Time to Practice podcast. Meret is a performer,a music educator at the Music Institute of Chicago and is on faculty at Lake Forest College and DePaul University. She is also a Flute Teacher trainer through the Suzuki Association of the Americas and the author of a new book on Working with Young Flutists. 

In our conversation, we talked about her journey as a musician, what practice looked like for her when she started in the middle school band, making our practice progress tangible, and about the practice from teacher, parent, and student perspectives. 

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did! 

To Listen to the full episode you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below: 

If you prefer, you can read the transcript from this episode below.

Barbie Wong and I recently had an interesting discussion on the topic of rewards and incentives that we recorded for the Time to Practice podcast, and we look forward to hearing your thoughts. You can join us in the Music Nest community for ongoing discussions, live monthly meetings, and coming in January a fun 30 day practice challenge!

We want to preface this discussion by acknowledging that there are many, very valid, opinions on this topic and we invite you listen to some of our ideas and the ways we have wrestled with this topic ourselves and want to acknowledge whatever you decide for your own family, or teaching practices, is totally up to you what you decide to do related to rewards and incentives. It is perfectly fine to disagree with us and we respect everyone’s position on this hot button topic. Let’s dive in!

To Listen to the full episode, you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below: 

You can also read the full text of our conversation in the transcript below, if you prefer.

Here are some highlights of our conversation on the topic of rewards & incentives:

The following is a letter of encouragement, originally shared on the Time to Practice podcast (Episode 62) and shared here in written form. I hope you find it encouraging and share it with anyone else in your life that you think needs encouragement!

To the parents and caregivers, the grandparents who support the young musicians in their lives 

Who get them to lessons and rehearsals. Who help them get the materials they need, keep their instruments in working condition the best that they can. Who encourage, or insist, on practice at home – sometimes done willingly and sometimes received with grumbling and sighs. 

To the teachers and music educators

Who give their all to their students. Who lose sleep at night thinking about how they can better reach their students and help them.Who help instill a love of learning and music that will stick with their students for a lifetime, in ways they may never know 

To all of us: 

In this week’s episode, we’re speaking with Kathryn Drake. Drake is a violin teacher, music educator, and co-director of Ithaca Suzuki Music Education in Ithaca, New York. As I got this episode ready to share with you and revisited our conversation, I found our conversation so inspiring and honestly so grounding – I think you, too will appreciate what they have to say about music practice, how everything in life is related can impact our music, how their background in Zen meditation influences how they think about music practice, and the importance of knowing when to stop practicing.

To Listen to the full episode with Kathryn Drake: you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below: 

Highlights of my Conversation with Drake:

I’m happy to back with part two of our two-part interview this week with Eloise Hellyer, violin teacher and author of the Violin Teacher’s Blog and the book 1 Teaches 2 Learn: Private Music Teaching and You.

Eloise currently lives and teaches violin in Italy. She was a recent speaker at the American String Teacher’s Association conference in the spring of 2024, which is when we first met in person, although we’ve been connected online for years. You can find the first half of our interview HERE.

To Listen to the full episode with Eloise Hellyer, you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below: 

In this episode with Eloise Hellyer she shares:

I am thrilled to be bringing you the first in a two-part interview this week with Elloise Hellyer, violin teacher and author of the Violin Teacher’s Blog and the book 1 Teaches 2 Learn: Private Music Teaching and You. Eloise was born in Chicago, IL, and currently lives and teaches violin in Italy. She was a recent speaker at the American String Teacher’s Association conference in the spring of 2024, which is when we first met in person, although we’ve been connected online for years.

In this episode of the podcast, we talk about

• The importance of flexibility and understanding each student’s unique needs and personality when teaching, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach.
• The value of the teacher-student relationship and creating a space of trust, empathy, and support for the student.
• Recognizing that students may have different reasons and motivations for learning music beyond becoming a professional musician and that value can be found in learning music for a number of different reasons.

To Listen to the full episode with Eloise Hellyer, you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Spotify, or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below: 

Highlights of our Conversation include:

This week on the Time to Practice podcast I am sharing expert practice tips from our guests on the show who we heard from in early 2024. Each week I ask our guests the question: “If you could leave listeners with one tip about music practice this week, what would it be?” 

These tips are too good not to share as their own episode, so you can listen, share with students in your studio and revisit when you need some practice inspiration. I hope you enjoy listening to them as much as I enjoyed putting them together with you in mind. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast streaming service, so you don’t miss future episodes.

To Listen to the full episode of Expert Practice Tips, you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below: 

Our expert tips today include the following ideas:

This week I am excited to share an interview with violinist, music educator, parent and owner of The Practice Shoppe: Leslie Thackeray. We had a great discussion about incorporating games, practice projects, and the importance of performance opportunities for some students. We also discussed how to know when some extra fun or sparkle is needed in practice. Leslie encourages families to add practice charts and games to their practice using the assignments from their teacher as a guide. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

To Listen to the full episode you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below: 

Highlights of our Conversation Include:

On this week’s episode of the Time to Practice podcast, recurring guest Barbie Wong is back to discuss using games in music practice with kids. We discuss why including games can help with practice and three different kinds you might consider incorporating into practice at your house. We’re both very passionate about this topic and can’t wait for you to listen and tell us if you try any of these ideas!

You can find past episodes where Barbie and I have spoken on the Time to Practice Podcast here and here.

To Listen to the full episode, you can find the Time to Practice Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Audible or your favorite podcast platform. You can also listen directly from the link below: 

Highlights from my discussion with Barbie Wong: