Effect of Parents on Students’ Practicing

Practicing is naturally an integral part of any music students’ daily regimen. Especially at a younger age, a parents’ influence has a profound effect on the development and progression of a students’ musical abilities. Here are a few tips for parents to help their children practice more frequently and more efficiently.

1. Make sure they practice: This may sound ridiculously simple, but the first step to becoming a disciplined student is consistency. At a young age, most children won’t have the drive to practice everyday, or close to everyday. A parents’ reminder can change this drastically. Myself included, if it were not for my mom getting on my case here and there, I would not have been the pianist I am today.

2. Practice with them: This pertains to mostly the very young students, but can work for any age group. Even if you don’t know too much about music, being there with your child shows them that you care about how they progress. You may even be able to follow the book and help them with a few simple questions. I currently have a four year-old student who is progressing at an astronomical rate due to her parents practicing with her almost daily! And heck, you may even learn a thing or two about the instrument!

3. Talk about their lesson: If you show an interest in their music lessons, your child will (hopefully) too as well. I have experienced some parents in the past who essentially drop their kids off, ask no questions, and wait for them outside. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that you are disinterested in their lessons, I find that those students either have a tendency to drop out, or progress at a slower rate.

4. Be supportive: Getting better at an instrument takes so much time. To start sounding remotely good at some instruments takes literally decades, so always be supportive and coach your child through the hard times when they think they can’t go on!

Happy practicing,