Setting Up Your Child to Succeed in Music: Part 2

In part one we focused on the physical equipment that will greatly enhance you or your child’s musical journey. Part two is going to focus on creating an environment and habits that will set you up for success.

In case you missed it, you can read part 1 here.

Setting Up Your Child to Succeed in Music: Part 2

When to Practice

Possibly one of the biggest struggles for some music students (regardless of age) is finding a time every day to devote to practice. Luckily for us humans, we are creatures of habit, so if we can work our practice into our daily routine it will become as natural as having breakfast or cleaning our teeth. When I was studying music at uni my normal morning would look like: a 6:00 am alarm, coffee, dressed; 6:30 flute practice, 7:30 out the door. I then had a similar routine in the evening.

Nowadays my schedule varies quite significantly from week to week so establishing any form of regular routine hasn’t been practical. Instead, I schedule my practise time into my calendar like you would with a doctor’s appointment. I find that if you don’t deliberately make a time to make it happen it will literally never happen.

Where to Practice

This may seem a little insignificant but it can actually make a drastic difference not only to the quality of your practice but also to your motivation to practice. There will, of course, be times when it is beneficial to deliberately practise in different rooms of the house but for the most part, having a space that you regularly use for practice can be very valuable.

It helps to set up your routine and bring you into the mindset required for a constructive practice session. It doesn’t need to be a large space, just big enough for a music stand and your instrument. I would also recommend setting up a mirror so you can watch yourself as this will help you to develop good technique and allow you to check your embouchure. Preferable your space should be neither too hot nor too cold, dry and relatively uncluttered. I also encourage students to keep a pencil with them so they can make notes in their practice diary.

Support Fosters Success

The final key to setting yourself up for success in music is to foster an environment that is positive and supportive. Parents and housemates should understand that the purpose of practice is to work on material and techniques that are yet to be mastered and consequently practice should not sound perfect or polished. Music students need a place to make mistakes and sound terrible before they will ever sound great. Sometimes households will need to find a delicate balance of practice verses non-practice time in order to accommodate everyone. For example, while I was growing up I was only allowed to practice between 6:00 am and 9:00 pm, outside of these hours my instruments had to be silent. Usually, this will require some form of compromise from everyone involved. But this can be an excellent opportunity for households to develop their negotiating skills.

I personally like to encourage parents to be actively involved in their child’s music tuition initially. But, to gradually pull back as the child grows and develops. It takes approximately a month before a habit is formed. This means it might take a month of constant reminding before they get into the habit of practising. Younger children may also require assistance during practise sessions but they should also always be given some ‘free time’ on their instruments. Free time aids both learning and enjoyment.

My final thought is a quote I stumbled across several years ago. “Forming any kind of routine but especially a practice routine is like juggling. You’re going to drop balls, or miss days, it’s just part of the process. However, the most important thing is not to get discouraged and to pick it up and keep going.  The only time you have ever failed is if you never pick it up ever again.”