Piano Practice Tips
It is important for students to develop a proper attitude toward practice. Parents can serve an important role by communicating to their child the need to practice. This support aides the teacher in the progress of their learning and shows parental support. In essence, practice the responsibility of the student and the parents.
Without daily practice, the student cannot possibly keep up with the lesson schedule and hope to progress at a necessary pace. The teacher can instruct on technique, but the true learning happens when the student practices. So, if the student fails to practice, he is failing to learn.
A successful piano student rarely exists without a parent’s involvement. If the student fails to practice, then the parent has failed in their responsibility to the student. All students – even the good ones – need parental prodding to practice. They don’t need to be directly supervised, although students will often welcome the encouragement and praise from an audience.
A regular practice schedule (same time each day) is more beneficial to the learning process. If a student is allowed to practice when they can, it becomes a lower priority than playing ball or hanging with their friends. The parents need to make it a priority so that the student makes it a priority. Even twenty to thirty minutes a day is better than trying to play for an hour on the weekend to “catch up.”
The practice area needs to be free from interruptions and distractions. No television, stereo, radio or computer should be in the same room. Not even a clock should be in the room. Otherwise your student will check to see “how much longer” every minute or so. If timing is an issue, set a timer in another part of the house as a reminder. Other family members need to respect the practice time as well and not be a distraction in the room either.
Once a student has reached a specific level, set by their teacher, a metronome should be purchased to help them make sure they are playing at the correct tempo. Some students will play through their pieces several times very quickly and say they are done. However, the timing of the musical selection is as important as the time spent playing it.
Every practice should be done with a warm-up, such as scales. A student should not jump in and start playing their assigned practice pieces without proper warm-up. This defeats the purpose of learning piano and taking lessons.
If your student goes beyond their scheduled practice time, don’t alert them. Let them continue to play until they are done. When they start practicing beyond specified times, that means they are enjoying the music and the practice. However, don’t let them “comp” that extra practice onto another day…be strong and make sure they practice the minimum required time each day. |
