I find that many children are unsure of exactly how to practice. Even though in lessons we discuss practice with the metronome and doing the "penny game." It is still hard for them to sit and concentrate fully for this length of time. This is where the character development comes into play. It teaches them attentiveness and diligence along with many other valuable lessons. It is not easy to continue this type of practice but the reward is great.

Here are some points from the book that I particularly liked....

Helping Children to Practice

Nine guidelines foloow for helping children persevere through practice:

1. Set a regular daily practice time. Practicing at the same time every day will become routine. Hoping to fit it in never works. 

2. Always keep instruments in tune. Children's ears are learning correct pitch.

3.  Children need time to be children and to play. Do not schedule them in so many concurrent activities, learning an overwhelming variety of skills, that there is no time for them to relax. Remember, one accomplished skill will transfer to other areas, but several mediocre skills will not. Children who practice when they are exhausted and cannot concentrate are not gaining anything.

4. HOW children practice is the key, not NOW MUCH they practice. Practicing four hours a day can accomplish nothing if it is done incorrectly. ONe can simply be practicing mistakes. Forty-five minutes of focused, correct practice can make a superb musician. Correct practice includes:

a. Working out difficult sections individually. (NOTE: start with the hardest part)

b. Figuring out good fingerings

c. Analyzing music away from the instrument. This is the best way to memorize. (NOTE: write in note names if necessary, count rhythms and look at fingerings)

d. Experimenting wiht interpretation (phrasing, dynamic contrast and so on). (NOTE: make the piece your own.)

Never practice a piece by starting at the beginning every time; play till it breaks down, and thenm keep repeating it from there. It is far more effective to focus on the trouble areas.

5. Respect your child's age and attention span. Preschoolers practice in short blocks throughout the day. Passing by their instrument and playing their new song is play for them. A sixteen-year old needs a longer structured block of time, perhaps an hour or more. 

6. Have music reference books, including a good music dictionary handy. When your children hit snags because they do not understand a musical term or a composer's period of history, encourage them to look it up. Let no obstacles hinder them.

7. Even if you are not studying the Suzuki method, you can apply the philosophy. Encourage your child to listen to recordings of the literature that he or she is studying. They will learn that there are different interpretations. Their task is to create their own interpretation.

8. One of my favorite piano teachers used to say, "Never play a piece the same way  twice. Create something new from it every time you play it." For older students this is a new interpretation, da differetn shaping to th ephrase, a new contrast. This is a mandate to be involved with the music creatively. 

I have applied the same priciple to my preschool students. I ask their parents to vary their practice pieces by having the students:

a. Create a story around the music. Bach's minuets can become celebrations of court dancing at kingdoms filled with kings, queens knights and dragons.

b. Dramatize the story.

c. Read books for inspiration.

d. Write lyrics

e. Create movement

f. Experiment with changing tempo, dynamics and articulation (staccato, legato).

g. Improvise by ornamenting th emelody and changing the harmony

h. Have family members accompany with rhythm instruments and song.

9. Be wary of one of the greatest pitfalls for parents and students: to demand perfection in recital performance and view anything less as failure. Here music making is the most analogous to life and teaches our children a critical lesson. It is not that we make mistakes (they are inevitable!) but HOW we recover from them. Do we persevere and not give up? Can we continue to make beautiful music after the mistakes? Can we focus on what we did right instead of what went wrong? These are the true goals.