Practice Makes Perfect

We’ve all heard it before – practice makes perfect.  But how much practice should a small child have to endure in order to master an instrument?  Perhaps a child does not necessarily have to achieve mastery, but rather just play decently!

Regardless of your child’s age and maturity, there really isn’t a magical number of minutes (or hours!) for practice time.  However, there are a few tips that parents can follow to make the practice time both productive and fun!

– Keep it Flexible:  While you may think that total structure is the key, it is actually more helpful to simply find what practice times work best for your children.   Remember, you want them to be at their best!

– Ready, Set, Goal:  The most important thing parents can do is to help their children establish some realistic yet achievable goals.  With a clear goal in view, your child can practice his/her instrument enough to reach the established goal.

– Keep on Pushing:  Another helpful tactic is to carefully push your child to keep practicing.  Cautious prodding can help a child grow and develop mastery of his or her experiences.  Through these growing pains, your child holds the key to developing mastery of his or her musical instrument.

As a parent, you know how much your child can endure.  While you may want your child to master a musical instrument as part of his or her enrichment process, you will more than likely prefer that your child have fun while learning the joys of music.  The trick during this process is to encourage your child to find his or her own passion at their own pace.  Quality practice is arguably better than a ton of practice!