Practice Struggles . . . What I Wish my Students Knew

How is practice going at your house?

Does your child start their practice without any nagging or reminding from you?

Does your child come to every practice eager to learn and work on their lesson assignments?

Does your child stay focused through every practice session so you don’t have to remind them to keep going?

Does your child work through new material with ease, happy to repeat practice spots in order to master them?

You may be able to answer YES to each of the above questions (if so, that is great!) If not, don’t be discouraged . . . most students and families struggle with some part of practice along the way.

I think it’s important to remember the following when practice struggles happen:

 

It’s normal 

very few students start lessons and never have any struggles with practice. We are teaching our children wonderful skills like self discipline, concentration, working towards long term goals, perseverance and more.  These are things that have to be developed – they do not just happen.  Feeling like it’s hard and that it takes a lot of effort is ok – it will pay off in the end.

Let your teacher know you are struggling! 

That being said we all want to make practice as positive and painless as possible!  As a teacher, I want to know if a family is struggling . . .  it’s the only way I can help!  Don’t be embarrassed to admit that things are not going well at home – your teacher will likely have lots of great ideas to help and/or helpful resources to share with you.  We want to make it easier!!

Back off the intensity a bit until things smooth out

If there is conflict going on in the home practice sessions, I often advise parents back off the intensity level of practice for awhile.  Try to get through all the assignments, but mostly try to get to the point where your child enjoys coming to practice and playing – once we get there we can accomplish a lot more.  It may feel counter-productive but in my experience this really works.!

Starting practice can be the hardest part – practice anyway!

 I often hear that leaving what a child is doing to start practice can be the hardest part.  It is normal for students (and even adults) to have some trouble transitioning from one activity to another.  Setting a timer (we practice when it goes off) or giving a few minutes warning can help.

Know that it may just be hard to switch gears.  Don’t let that deter you from practice – do it anyway.

It’s a good life skill to be able to start doing something you need to even when it’s hard to start (exercise and tidying up my house come to mind as an adult – I’m always glad when I’ve done it but starting is hard!)

Listen more, attend more concerts, & inspire a love of music 

If it’s tough to motivate your child to practice or put their heart into what they are doing I find this one very very important.  How often are you listening to the recording? When was the last time you listened to music other than your Suzuki recording? When was the last time you saw a live concert? What kind of music inspires your child most?

Practicing just to practice can be a drag – practicing because we love the sound we hear from great musician’s and want to strive towards that ourselves is priceless motivation.

Be patient with the process! 

That list of questions in the beginning . . . most of my teenage students would answer yes to each one.  They wouldn’t have as young students though!

Through the years they have learned how to work with themselves, motivate themselves and that the music is it’s own reward. If your child is young – take heart – keep going – it is a process and it can happen for your child too.

Focus on the end goal.

I think for most of us, this journey is about helping our children develop the ability to make beautiful music to the best of their ability & to help them develop into wonderful adults along the way. How practice goes on a Tuesday when our children are 10 is not the end goal – who they are becoming is. We will lose some battles and have frustrations during  practice sometimes, but I believe a great team of Suzuki Parent, Teacher and Child who work together are going to make those bigger goals a reality.

What has helped you or your students most when practice becomes a struggle? I would love to do a follow up post featuring reader ideas – please share in the comments or email me at Christine@SuzukiTriangle.com

If you need more resources to help you with practice you can:

• Sign up below to take my free 5 day course on Productively Practicing with our Children
• Find my book on the Habits of Successful Suzuki Families on Amazon or Book Depository (free international shipping).
• Look for Registration for the Parents as Partners Video series in January 2018 offered by the Suzuki Association of the Americas.