Tag: practicing tips

Piano Lessons CAN Be Fun.

Sometimes a piano parent will surprise me by sharing a really negative experience or association with piano lessons.

“My teacher used to yell at me all the time if I didn’t get something right.”

“My teacher insisted on hour long lessons when I was 5-years-old and it was so difficult for me to sit still I would end up in tears.”

“Piano lessons were just so serious.”

There are many students who thrive with intensive study under strict, no nonsense teachers. Continue reading “Piano Lessons CAN Be Fun.”

Piano Practice Rewards: Why and How to Do Them

If the idea of piano practice rewards causes you to cringe, let me tell you a story.

I once had a piano student who was incredibly bright and had so much potential as a pianist. When she first started lessons with me, she was excited about how easily things were coming to her and practiced ALL THE TIME. As a result, she progressed quickly and was confident in her abilities.

As she progressed, things became more challenging, and she grew frustrated. Rather than working through the frustrations between her lessons with me, she resisted practicing. After a few weeks of having what seemed like an identical piano lesson to the last as we worked through challenges in her music, I called her mom to ask how practicing was going at home. Continue reading “Piano Practice Rewards: Why and How to Do Them”

July Members of the Month

Meet the Day family from Florida! The day family has been an active part of the Busy Kids (and Busy Moms!) Do Piano community since last August. They have a fantastic, organized approach to implementing the online program in their home, and we think you’ll enjoy getting to know them a little better. Continue reading “July Members of the Month”

Slow Practice: Why It’s Important

When a student is working on a piece of music that is getting a bit sloppy – perhaps the tempo is uneven, the touch isn’t articulated or the notes aren’t clear – I often task him with SLOW PRACTICE. (Meaning that I am asking him to practice the piece veeerrry slowly.)

The student usually groans.

(Often times when the student returns to me the following week, I can tell that he didn’t actually practice the music slowly.)

But if the student DOES spend a week practicing the piece slowly then ohmygoodness, what a difference it makes. He returns to his lesson, plays the piece again at regular tempo, and we marvel at how much more polished, clear and beautiful the music sounds. He often observes how much easier it is to play and how he feels less frustrated! Continue reading “Slow Practice: Why It’s Important”

Making A Practice Plan.

At my high school, piano was a required “class”, and therefore, piano practices were something scheduled during the regular school day. I believed this to be a serious advantage because I no longer had to figure out a time to schedule practice between all the homework and extra-curricular activities that were beginning to fill my after-school hours.

The piano practices were held in the basement of our school building. Six to seven rooms were in the area with a piano in each, and a monitor would sit in the main area, strolling around and peering through the window into each practice room at regular intervals to make sure that students were, indeed, playing the piano and not reading books or doing other homework during this 40 minute period. (This was before cell phones, so you can only imagine the distractions that must take place now!) Continue reading “Making A Practice Plan.”

Summertime Piano Practice.

Many students have a much-needed and well-deserved break from school during the summer months. With summer on the horizon, perhaps you’ve also noticed that there are many “SUMMER READING CHALLENGES” around. I’ve seen them at our local bookstores, library and even McDonald’s. My own kids love these summer reading challenges and are super motivated to plow through books and keep track of their reading in order to earn free books, movie tickets or Happy Meals. Continue reading “Summertime Piano Practice.”

How to Participate in Your Child’s Music-Making.

So often, parents of students come to me with practicing struggles. They are exhausted from having to nag their child to practice, are running out of incentive ideas or perhaps have let practicing slide for awhile and aren’t really sure how to get back into healthy practice habits. Continue reading “How to Participate in Your Child’s Music-Making.”

Music Your Child (or YOU!) Will Love to Learn

As students become more proficient musicians, a key way to motivate them to continue learning and to encourage their independence is to find music they enjoy learning and performing. This continues to build their confidence and skills — and it’s fun! Continue reading “Music Your Child (or YOU!) Will Love to Learn”

How Being A Church Musician Has Made Me A Better Pianist.

I started playing piano for church when I was just a 2nd grader. Our kind and lovely church organist, herself an experienced church musician, asked if I would be willing to play a song for offering. I don’t remember the name of the piece. I know it was something from my hot pink Alfred method book and that I was really scared. I’m sure I made lots of mistakes and that those few minutes weren’t particularly meditative for the congregation. Continue reading “How Being A Church Musician Has Made Me A Better Pianist.”

Practicing Piano with a Perfectionist.

When I had just turned 5, my mom gave me a jump rope. I attempted to actually JUMP ROPE with it, but could not quite master the art of skillfully whipping the rope around at the exact time needed to jump over it without tripping on it. The way she tells the story, I gave it a few tries, became frustrated, and threw a tantrum because I couldn’t do it.

Then my mom signed me up for piano lessons. Continue reading “Practicing Piano with a Perfectionist.”