I frequently hear this from parents:

“My child won’t practice"

“Practicing is a daily struggle”

“I think my child should quit music lessons because he/she just won’t practice!”

Parents - I hear you. I understand and feel your frustrations. I have promised to partner with you to create a positive musical journey for all of us. So, let’s get through this bump together.

Although, all circumstances vary between families, here are some possible solutions and/or tips. (Note: I make the assumption that the student is roughly between the ages of 4 - 10)

Children, especially very young children, don’t know how to practice yet. Although, “how to practice” is a part of my teaching method, children still need guidance to make practicing a part of their “play time” or a part of their “daily schedule”.
Make practicing part of their daily routine. Dr. Suzuki, the founder of the Suzuki Violin Pedagogy Method said, “You must practice every day that you eat!”
Sit down with your child when it’s time to practice. Tell them, “I want to be the student and you can be the teacher!”. You’ll get some giggles, but you’ll discover that they know EXACTLY what to do.
Don’t worry too much about counting the practice time minutes. If the assignment is accomplished well within 12 minutes, then I’d call that a success! If you can repeat that 12 minutes later in the day, then you have a double success!
Come to the lesson. Take notes during the lesson.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: Become a PRACTICE PARTNER with your little musician. Your child LOVES to spend time with you, so make music a daily part of your special time with the child who-turned-your-life-upside-down-when-they-were-born (in a good way). =)

Lastly, here’s a short youtube clip about Effectively practicing - not only with music but with other disciplines that also require “practice time”.

Cheers to happier music making!

(Evamarie is a violin teacher and piano teacher based in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, New York. She currently has an “almost 4 year old son” who will only walk long distances if Evamarie can distract him by telling him to identify the makes of each motor vehicle on the street. It takes roughly 25 minutes to get to the subway when it should only take 10 minutes.)