Helping Your Child Practice.
Nearly every day at Caroline Springs School of Music we hear parents saying: “But I don’t know anything about music.” The good news is; you don’t have to!
We are teaching your child to play, not you.
Many parents seem worried that without their guidance that the student will make mistakes when practicing. Don’t worry, nothing bad will happen when the child inevitably makes mistakes. These errors are all a very valuable part of the learning process. The greatest musicians in the world make mistakes every time they play.
The most important role you can play in your child’s music education is encouraging them to practice and to play music on a daily basis. Even when a student learns a mistake, it is a great learning experience for the student and the teacher to discover this and rectify it at the next lesson. When we are asking parents to ensure that their children are practicing, we are not asking them to understand the work that is being undertaken, just try to make sure they are spending time at the instrument. Any time playing or practicing any material at all is valuable. Becoming comfortable with the instrument and physically proficient is of the utmost importance in the early days.
Our teachers write lesson notes in the student’s manuscript books or practice diaries every week, outlining everything that was worked on in the lesson and that should be practiced during before the next lesson. You can always remind your child what to practice from the diary, a knowledge of the music language is not necessary, your child will understand it, as that is the language of music they are learning. If they do not understand, it is not a problem, one week of not practicing a specific area will do little or no harm. Be sure to ask the teacher for clarification at the next lesson or call Brendan during business hours. We are only too happy to help.
Don’t worry about knowing nothing about music, we are happy to explain everything in laymen’s terms.
Keep practicing. ANZCA first series exams are Friday 2nd of June. Don’t forget to keep making sure your practice is fun!
Brendan Hains F.Dip.A 16/5/17
