Perfect practice makes perfect!  Adequate and quality practice is critical to progress with an instrument.  Oftentimes kids fail to continue with an instrument because they can’t get over the hump of adequate practice, so it never becomes “fun”.  Kids don’t like to do what they can’t do well, so we must help them get well by encouraging practice. Consider the TIME principle!

Timer

Use a timer to clearly indicate the length of time required for students to practice, but try not to let them see it.  The goal is quality practice until the timer goes off.  Guidelines: 15 minutes (beginner), 30-45 minutes (intermediate), 60+ minutes (advanced). Here is a timer we use.

Incentives

Use reward charts and incentives to build the habit of quality practice.  Teachers often do this and offer special prizes for points earned, but parents should do it as well to further incentivize the process.  Over time this will become unnecessary since children will gain their own love for music and practice.

Memorization

Kids need to develop a repertoire that they can play on demand at just about any time.  This aligns with the Suzuki method of teaching and gives the children confidence, muscle memory, and the ability to play for others.  Along with the normal “lesson”, this should be part of the practice session.

Encouragement

Parents should listen to what kids are practicing, and then tell them what they liked about the song.  It may be difficult to find something to praise, but make an attempt to do so.  For those that are musical, this may be especially difficult since it is easy to point out all the changes that need to be made; however, strive to find a way to encourage them so they carry on.

One thing not mentioned directly above is the importance of ensuring students are doing what their teacher asked them to do!  Check-up on younger students until they get the hang of following instructions from their teacher. Also note that one child may be different than another, especially boys vs. girls.