Photo: istockphoto/robcruse
Here are my top ten parenting tips for successful piano lessons:
1. Find a good piano teacher. Keep in mind that each child has different needs. For some children a friendly piano teacher is the most important. For others a strict teacher is best.
2. Invest in a piano. You can not expect to get successful results from piano lessons if you are not willing to provide a quality piano for your child to practice on.
3. Make practice time a priority. These days it is hard to find time to practice, but without practice there can be no progress.
4. Take away any distractions during practice time. When your child is practicing make sure they are not distracted by siblings, friends, cell phones, or televisions.
5. Check your child's assignment. Most students will try to avoid practicing songs they don't like. It is your job as a parent to make sure the student is practicing all of their assigned songs. Also make sure your child is making all of the corrections the teacher suggested at the prior lesson.
6. Help your child practice. Many children don't know how to practice. Explain to your child that practice means working slowly through songs until they are able to play through the songs without mistakes.
7. Bring all of the lesson materials to the lesson. Children will often "forget" a book if they don't want to play a song for their piano teacher. Be sure you check to see that all of their music, theory and assignment books are brought to each lesson.
8. Limit after-school activities. Many parents make the mistake of over-scheduling their child. Piano lessons are more than a half hour commitment each week. Students should be committed to practicing at least a half-hour every day.
9. Keep the communication lines open with your piano teacher. If there are any circumstances which are making piano lessons difficult for your child, let your piano teacher know. Perhaps there is a divorce or death in the family, or maybe your child dislikes their method book. Surprisingly many children will not offer this type of information during the lesson.
10. Expect to have good and bad times. It is normal for a student to feel excited about piano one day, and dread it the next. Try to work through the bad times by purchasing piano pieces the student is passionate about such as popular, jazz or Broadway tunes.
By Julie Lind
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