9 Tips For Motivating Your Child To Practice Music

Parents and kids are often quite excited when children start out on their music lessons. However, this initial excitement and drive will likely start fading over time, especially for the kids. If parents do not put enough effort to keep their kids motivated, kids will easily quit music lessons and then regret their decision later on. Here is a collection of tips on motivating your child to practice music that will work even when their own motivation takes a nosedive: 1. Treat music differently When kids think of music like any other subject, they find practice tedious. However, parents are in the best position to change this mindset. “Your child shouldn’t see music as a forced discipline, like Math or Geography. This ultimately comes down to choosing the right instrument, which is going to be the one the child is excited about and wants to play on his or her own. “For me, that was the guitar, which had me practicing (voluntarily) three to four hours a day at 11 years old. That couldn’t have happened with piano because piano wasn’t “my” instrument... Via TakeLessons 2. Give your child control Most kids will not want to do something simply because it’s what they’ve been told to do. Allowing your child to determine his or her practice schedule is a simple yet effective way to go around this problem. “Start with the end in mind. Basically, you want to get your child to make the decision that he or she needs to practice so that he or she can play the way he or she wants to play. After the decision is made, the parent can help the child research and figure out how often a good musician practices. The child then sets a schedule based on the reality that, to be good, one must practice.” Via TakeLessons 3. Make them aware of music’s benefits Simply talking to your kids about the value of music and showing an appreciation for it yourself teaches them to appreciate it too. Show your child that playing a musical instrument is a special privilege and an opportunity that isn’t necessarily available to everyone. ...This also includes helping your child develop a love for music. Take them to concerts or shows, play music at home, and help them discover what they like. Via TakeLessons 4. Be careful about the attitude you create towards practice (make it fun) Although using a fun activity as a reward for music practice may sometimes work, it might also give your child the idea that practice is an obligation. Why We Teach Piano suggests, “Don’t set an arbitrary amount of practice time, without specific goals, and then reward them with playtime or video games afterwards. This just reinforces the notion that playing piano is not fun and video games are fun.” Via TakeLessons 5. Challenge them Without a clear goal in sight, your son or daughter may not be clear about the need for practice. Performances are one way to increase [...]

The post 9 Tips For Motivating Your Child To Practice Music appeared first on Merriam Music - Toronto's Top Piano Store & Music School.