It is important to understand that no matter what endeavor we take on in life, the only way to get results is through repetition-otherwise known as practice. We have all heard practice makes perfect.
The key to success is consistency or regularity. Practice should be done each day, even if it is as little as 15 minutes. It is the little bit each day that will get you results and not several hours one day a week. Daily is the key to results.
Here are some tips to help you get the most out of your music lessons:
Setting aside a predetermined time each day for practice will help tremendously. Treat your practice time as if it was an appointment you have to keep.
Have a comfortable and welcoming place in your home set up for your practice. It should be clean, bright, organized and easy to access your instrument.
Your practice area should also be free of distractions in your home (i.e. pets, siblings, t.v., phones, etc.). Other family members should be asked to help support you. Let them know the scheduled time of day that you will be practicing.
The length of practice each day will often be determined by the weekly assignments that you have been given. What may take you 30 minutes on the first day, may take you only 10 minutes of review time the day before your lesson.
Besides your weekly assignment, each days practice should include at least a few minutes of playing your already accomplished pieces. This is why you are learning in the first place: to be able to play and enjoy what you have learned. Just relaxing and playing for yourself should always be included in practice.
Before enrolling children in music lessons, parents should explain to them that practice will be part of it. It is best to give them an analogy such as brushing your teeth. You cannot go several days without brushing and then decide to brush them only once a week, you will get cavities. In order to keep cavities away you must brush daily. Analogies like this will help them understand the importance of practicing daily.
If a child is struggling with their lessons or with practicing, rewards are fine. For example you could say to your child: "if you practice each day this week, you can have a new." It does not have to be anything big; it can be something very small or even just spending time with them. I have seen this work quite successfully if done properly, however, don't use rewards too often or they will end up focusing more on the rewards and less on the actual lessons. They will come to depend on rewards and if the rewards stop then they won't even want to practice anymore.
It is often very beneficial to explain to your child before they start lessons that they must commit to a predetermined length of time. For example: "you must continue for at least 3 months before we can decide if you want to continue, even if it gets a little tough." Usually that gives the child extra motivation and preparation to continue when things do get a little hard.
If an assignment is somewhat more difficult one week, instead of being overwhelmed by it, break it down. Just work on, for example, the first two lines. Only practice those. Once they are good, then go on to the next two. Smaller increments will work much better in a situation like that.
If you find yourself overwhelmed or not having enough time in a day to practice, break your practice session into two parts. Do ten minutes when you can, and then the other 10 minutes later, for example.
Practicing to a timer works really well also, that way the student does not need to keep checking clocks or wondering when practice is over, they know that the timer or alarm will go off to let them know when practice is over.
Throughout my ten years as a music student and my 30 years as a music teacher, I have experienced that there is no one sure way about how to approach practice time. What works for one person, does not work the same for another and so on. I truly do believe that parents need to have an active interest in encouraging and being a part of their children's musical experience.
Being sent to their room to practice is more often taken as a punishment by children. Instead, take the time to listen during your child's practice time. You do not need to know anything about music.
Just your being nearby is enough. When I took music lessons, my father sat nearby and read the evening newspaper while I practiced. Just knowing that he was there and listening made a huge difference in how I felt about my music lessons.
Finally, always remember that the whole point of learning a musical instrument is to have fun and enjoy the process.
About Melanie Travis
Melanie Travis is a professional music teacher with over 30 years teaching experience. She has successfully helped thousands of people reach their goals and dreams of learning to play a musical instrument. More of her articles can be found at: http://www.melaniesmusiclessons.com.
Melanie Travis is a professional music teacher with over 30 years teaching experience. She has successfully helped thousands of people reach their goals and dreams of learning to play a musical instrument. More of her articles can be found at: http://www.melaniesmusiclessons.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Melanie_S_Travis
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/8108451
ليست هناك تعليقات:
إرسال تعليق