How to motivate your child to practice his instrument without fight
The motivation to practice doesn't appear by itself: it's built with routine, small goals and recognition of efforts. We give you ideas and phrases that do work.
The motivation to practice almost never appears alone: it's built. What best works is a regular routine that isn't negotiated every day, goals so small that we can achieve today, to recognize the effort more than the talent and a repertoire that the child likes. Penalties and sermons, however, usually make things worse.
It also helps to know that the ups and downs are normal. There will be weeks of great gain and more that the instrument remains in the box. Your job isn't to avoid those weeks but rather to become a daily fight.
To sum up
- A fixed hour of practice, anchored with another daily routine, prevents negotiations every day.
- He changes "practice 15 minutes" to concrete goals: "today, these four bars are three times in a row."
- He recognizes his efforts and his advance, and his talent: "I noted that you repeated that part till his date."
- Don't use practice as a punishment or get it out as a prize.
- Teacher is key: clear tasks, a repertoire that binds and close goals, as a mini concert.
Why children have a hard time practising
Before looking for solutions, it's worth understanding what's going on. The class's accompanied and fun and the practice at home's lonely and its reward isn't immediate. The most common causes are:
- He doesn't know what to practice. He sits in front of the instrument and doesn't have clear what to do.
- The piece's above its level and every attempt goes wrong.
- It's far too long. Twenty minutes for a 6-year-old boy are an eternity.
- Compete with something more appealing: the tablet, television, and play.
- He's been sitting with a judge and every time he plays, something's been redacted.
Each cause has a different solution. If you don't know what to practice, the problem lies with the task and if you feel judged, how we are accompanying them.
A fixed routine that isn't negotiated every day
The question "Are you going to practice today?" invites you to say no. It works far better that practice have a fixed place at the day as well as washing his teeth: after the ounce, before the tablet or just after his arrival from school.
| Edad | Duration | How to accompany |
|---|---|---|
| 4 to 5 years | 5 to 10 minutes | The adult's next door all the time and practice's about a game. |
| 6 to 8 years | 10 to 15 minutes | The grown up's close, helps get started and hears the end. |
| 9 to 12 years | 20 to 30 minutes | The child practice only with his or her notebook and his or her adult checks that his or her practice will occur. |
| Adolescentes | 30 minutes or more | They organize their practice and you support them with space and schedules. |
Other details that help: the instrument in sight and ready (not saved at the bottom of the closet), five days a week instead of seven, and end up while there's still gain. If you want a structure for those minutes, use this [practice routine at home]](/blog/como-practicar-musica-en-casa).
Small and visible targets
"Practice 15 minutes" is a goal of time, and children live as a conviction. A goal of task motivates more: "Today we are going to get the jobs 5 to 8 to come up 3 times straight without error." When they are met, they end up, even if they have been only 8 minutes.
Some games that turn repetition into a challenge:
- The five tiptoks: put five tiptoks or chickpeas at one end of the atril. Each time the passage goes well, a tiptog passes to the other end and if it goes bad, come back one. The goal is to get through about five.
- The tipple of tasks: each number is an activity (scale, old song, new fragment, exercise of rhythm). The child throws out the tipple and so decides the order.
- The calendar: a brand or a stick for every day of practice and something special at the end of the week.
- The challenge of the metronome: to play a clear fragment with the [metronome]](/herramientas/metronomo) and up two strokes every day.
Examples by instrument: at piano, "his left hand alone, three times clear," and [violin]](/clases/violin), "four long arcs on the La string without his sound being scattering," and [guitar]](/clases/guitarra-acustica)"To move from Do to Sun ten times without looking at his hand."
How to recognize the effort (and what phrases to avoid)
What you say while your child practice weighs a lot. Overall, it works better to describe what you have noticed than to describe:
| That's better say. | Better avoid |
|---|---|
| "I noticed you repeated that part till she came out." | "You're a genius!" (When something doesn't come out, she feels she's stopped being a genius). |
| That part sounded more common than yesterday. | That's bad again. |
| "Do you play me what you learned today?" | "Did you practice or not?" |
| "What part's that cost you more?" | "Your cousin at your age had been playing a lot better." |
| "I love listening to you play." | "with what we paid for those classes..." |
About the awards: an opportunity to give recognition from time to time is good, especially if it's about music, how to choose the next song, go to a concert or organize a mini recital for grandparents. What's best to avoid is that every practice has a price, because the music stops being valid for itself.
What's wrong with the practice?
"You acted bad, today you practice half an hour more" and "you acted good, today you don't have to practice" they seem opposite but they send the same message: that playing an instrument is something bad. Over time, the child associates music with punishment and practice them less and less.
That doesn't mean that everything's optional. Practice can be a family commitment, as the jobs of the school, and it's okay to hold them. The difference's in tone: it's practice because it's part of learning, and not as a result of something else.
The role of teacher: clear and repertoire tasks that engage
The motivation at home depends a great deal on what happens in class. A good faith:
- It leaves concrete and attainable tasks, in writing in the notebook or a short audio.
- It includes a repertoire that the child enjoys: a movie song, something that sounds on his radio, a piece that his own requested.
- He propose his goals: a mini concert, a video for his family, his end of semester show.
- He welcomes what's been achieved in the week before we have been rectified.
- He keeps his contact with his family and sets his plan if his practice isn't working.
Tell the teacher what's going on at home, without fear: if there's a fight, if his piece doesn't like him, if his homework's been too bad. Weekly monitoring exists just for that. If his motivation's completely down and his child's talking about leaving him, check what to do while his child wants to leave the instrument.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to force my child to practice?
Instead of forcing an agreement, it's best to hold an agreement: practice is part of taking classes, as tasks are part of the school. If an agreement is broken every day, review the causes (duration, difficulty, repertoire) before tightening the rules.
Do you have an award for practice?
An occasional recognition, especially if it's about music, can help. To pay every practice with screens, sweets or silver usually works a little while and makes music stop worth itself.
What do I do if I practice but I don't move forward?
He's probably practising with no focus: He's playing everything from start to finish or going too fast. Ask his teacher for a more concrete task and help him to work short and slow fragments. Reeling once a week also helps to notice the actual advance.
Do I have to be here while I practice?
It depends on age. To age 6 or 7, they are almost always. Between age 8 and 12, we simply have to be close, help start and listen to a moment. With teens, best things are to give space and show interest without monitoring every minute.