Tips for Success
To enhance your own, or your child's music study:
· Maintain your piano in proper working condition. This usually means a visit by a piano technician (tuner) twice per year.
· During practice, make sure there is proper lighting, a distraction-free environment, no TV on.
· Small students may need a foot rest to maintain good posture.
· Place your piano in a location where parents can listen and encourage the student, i.e. no piano in bedroom with earphones, please 😊
How to encourage your student (or yourself):
· Progress on an instrument happens in small increments. Notice and remark on things like:
* "That's a nice song."
* "It sounded even better that time."
* "You played with dynamics!" (i.e. loud and soft sounds)
* "When you're comfortable, you know who is really going to enjoy hearing this?" (Grandma, the neighbor, a friend)
· After the lesson, in the car on the way home, ask:
* What went well today?
* What was hard?
* Do you have a new piece?
Regular practice gets the best results:
· Don't schedule too many weekly activities. Have a balance in life mentally and physically: time to breathe, rest, enjoy friends.
· Schedule time to practice:
* Right after the lesson, to cement what was learned, is the most important time to practice.
* Set a particular time daily, or even two short practice sessions, perhaps 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the evening.
* Frequent, short practice is more effective than waiting several days and then trying to make it up with a long practice session.