How to Get Your Child Motivated in Piano Lessons
Now you have made the decision to begin piano lessons for your child you may want to find out how to motivate your child in staying with the piano lessons they have just started. Once you begin the lessons, inform the instructor any information you might have regarding your child’s strong and weak points so that your instructor will know what they have to work with during the lesson. The more facts you give the teacher about how your child thinks and completes assignments or lessons will help facilitate the lessons and the learning process
Does your child have a problem with attention and focusing on the music? Are they undisciplined? Do they get tired and cranky after school is out? If so, you might consider weekend lessons or remove a demanding activity from their schedule to make room for the piano lessons. Many children have too many activities and sports filling their schedules and priorities must be set by the parent. Be aware that some teachers prefer older children as they believe small children cannot absorb too much information and their attempts to focus on a task is too short.
After the lessons begin, set up a regularly scheduled time they must use for practice. No excuses! Make sure they don’t play with their friends or makes phone calls until have the practice time is done. It does not have to last an hour because just a few minutes will do as long as they practice consistently. The younger the child is the more a parent should sit in on the practice and if possible, during the lessons. Some teachers don’t like the parent observing the lesson but other teachers don’t mind if that happens. You want to make sure if your child is getting the assignments done or if they have a problem completing each weekly assignment.
If possible, get a seven day planner and decide what realistic goals your child can achieve this week. You can plan the practice schedules according how your child’s schedule runs combined with the optimal time for learning (where he or she is not moody, irritable and tired). Give special stickers or rewards if they practice the amount of minutes you designated. What’s best if you as a parent give them some praise and love for the good work they have done. This is almost better than any other form of incentive.
Lastly, most children enjoy lots of compliments and positive comments about their accomplishments from their parents and relatives. Often they will try to learn a piece a parent likes to listen to. Stop being critical because you will get results if you heap some positive words especially after a recital. In turn this will motivate your child to grow more confidence to overcome those challenges that happen in the lessons and during practice. If this becomes a regular habit, you will notice that your child will improve and progress faster as time goes by.
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