Practice tips

• Make sure you have a good instrument in a well-lit area of the home.

• Minimize distractions: turn off TVs, video games, radios, etc.

• Encourage your child to find a regular time(s) daily to do the practicing so it becomes a habit.

• Do remind your child and encourage him/her!

• Praise your child’s efforts more than the outcomes. For example, “Wow, you really worked hard to master the fingering on those tricky measures!” This kind of praise which is specific and reflective is

  much more powerful than vague comments like, “Good job” or, “You’re awesome.”

• Let your child control the practice time! This is an opportunity for your child to learn to organize themselves! Giving guidance and leadership is great, micro-managing—not usually!

• Students should stick with one piece or concept for several minutes and many repetitions. Mostly, it’s not helpful to flit from one thing to another in quick succession.

• Begin with the end in mind! We will analyze pieces according to different criteria and develop a plan as to how to achieve the whole. Quite often this is done by starting with the end or with a middle section.

  While playing a piece from beginning to end is the ultimate goal, it may not happen during the early stages of learning the piece.

• Ask about Chunking, Random Starts, and Play-alongs.

• The number one practice technique for advancement is to slow down! We start slow and build speed little by little!