In Part 1 of this post, we talked about establishing a regular routine and rewarding self-discipline. Now for the really fun stuff! At lessons, you and your child should receive instructions on areas to focus in practice that week. It's important that you understand and ask questions if you're not sure what's being asked. Don't be afraid to ask the teacher to show you on the guitar, piano, bass, etc. what s/he is looking for in a certain passage, or with a certain technique, and definitely don't be afraid to take notes! It's true that sometimes kids don't want help! If your son or daughter doesn't seem to want your help with practicing, there are a many things you can do. If you ask them to
If your family is new to the Summit Academy of Music, you might think that your child's lesson day is the only day every week where s/he can receive guidance on playing the guitar, piano, bass, or whichever instrument s/he is learning. However, as the parent, you are your child's best coach and cheerleader! Regular practice is the most important habit, and should be started as soon as possible. The first thing you'll want to do to encourage regular practice is to establish a routine. Perhaps you'll have a special lamp you turn on in the practice area, or a certain time of day that your child practices (as soon as the after school snack is finished, etc.). The key is to make it regular, so it
If you’ve just started taking guitar or piano lessons, you might be tempted to think that the most important day of the week is your lesson day. But as most professional musicians will tell you, the 6 days between lessons are truly the deciding factor in whether or not you will reach your musical goals. We all know we need to practice if we ever want to get really good at anything. But what do you do on those days when you get home from class, work, or errand running and you’re just too tired? I have often run into this problem as a very busy working adult between jobs, musical performances, commuting, 4 pets, and a social life.This weekend, I watched this great talk from Andrew Price called
