The struggle is real - Practicing the piano
Original Published Date: February 22, 2016
Hello, Parents and Students,
I have been writing and re-writing this email in my head for a while now. So let's see if it translates into an actual email! Hang on...
Practicing has been a part of my life since forever. I don't like it. I never have. I would prefer just about anything to "practicing". But here is what I have learned, or should I say am continuing to learn: God has called us to do what we do for Him. Practicing, living, working, playing . . . whatever . . . for Him. And that should, without question, be our best. But how do you make that happen in your house?
The parents don't want to have to keep reminding and possibly arguing, and the kids don't want to do it and certainly don't want to be reminded. Rare is that student that chooses to practice on her/his own and makes it a valuable time. Everyone else has to be prodded. Everyone.
So, hard to hear though it may be, it means the parents are the ones who get to be the prodders and urgers and encouragers! Yea!!
My dear friend, Mrs. Karen Straus, used to say that her mom gave her a choice when she was a child: practice or help with dinner. Practice won! My mom would just tell me to go do it and I would. (She was scary... lol!) My sister liked to get better. She was driven by a sense of being better than someone else or herself. It paid off. Her performances were rarely less than perfect. No, really!
Ideas for encouraging:
*Make a chore chart or add "practicing" to an existing chore chart.
*Give it a designated time slot in the existing routine (right before bed or just after brushing teeth).
*Give practicing a monetary value and reward at the end of the week.
I know of some students who are given two hours each night to play on electronics after homework. So let's make that 1:45 on games and 15 on piano. (My preference would be the other way around, of course.) I know of other students who are struggling in academic classes. So study for 30 minutes and then energize your brain with a 10-minute piano break! There are HUNDREDS of studies showing that the time taken in practicing piano (or any instrument) will pay off in higher grades earned.
I love my time with all of my students. I look forward to being with them and I miss them when we don't have a lesson. And I want the absolute best for them. I have had students over the years quit piano because they didn't enjoy it. Well, honestly? They didn't really learn the piano well enough to get any enjoyment out of it.
And let me plant one other little seed for you to ponder. The choir director I had in 9th grade played the piano for me and my sister this past Sunday (Feb 2016). We sang a duet at her church. She is 79 years old. The rest of her body may be slowing down and she may move a little slower, but her brain is sharper than ever and she will be playing the piano for another 10 years, easy. Once learned, the piano will be with your kids forever. (And now, 10 years later, she is still playing the piano, and leading small groups of singers at her retirement home!!)
Thank you, again, for sharing your remarkable children with me. I stand amazed at God's great provision and His blessing on our studio. Love you all!! ~Donna