My kid practices too much. My child practices too little.

Just once I’d love to hear from Goldilocks about her kid and how he practices just right!

Let’s talk about that seemingly impossible problem: a child practicing too much. Believe it or not I have heard this. Parents complain because the child plays the same thing over and over. What they don’t realize is that if you want to play well, you need to play songs over and over, perfecting each little part. Each repetition makes the song go more and more smoothly and makes stronger and stronger brain connections. Playing something really well is very rewarding. Notice how children play a lot after the recital. They finally have something that they know well enough to just enjoy. I love playing songs I know. That’s why we study music so we can just play. Think about a sport, you don’t do it so you can practice, you play a sport so you can play the game!  As a teacher, it is a challenge to get a new piece of music up to the point where the child enjoys it and can play it without prompting.  When I get there, then I know the child will practice it.

Then there is the more common problem, my child doesn’t practice enough.
Why doesn’t your child practice?
Is the keyboard in a convenient place where you can play any time? Is there a comfortable bench, just the right height?
Is the CD player close by?
And here’s the big one: When your child does practice do you say kind things, or do you notice only mistakes?
How we respond to our children’s practice has a lot to do with whether they’ll want to practice. Think about if your child is learning to walk, do you notice every time they fall down and complain that they didn’t do it well enough? No! You cheer each step, each stumble because you want them to keep trying.