Often young children who are very excited about practicing can be surprised to discover that in order to play an instrument, you must spend time practicing. Below are some ideas to keep your youngster motivated and on the right path to becoming a successful practicer.


1. Parental Support.

Even if you are not musically inclined yourself, you can help your child to focus during their practicing time by reminding them of comments their teacher wrote in their notebook or in their music. Sitting in the same room with them as they practice can help them to feel less “isolated” during this time and can also cause them to be more conscientious in their work. If you can’t be there during their practicing session, make sure to talk to them about it when you get home. This will also help you address any issues your child is having with their teacher.




2. Build a regularly scheduled practicing time into their daily routine.

It is especially important for a young child to identify a set time as their “practicing time” similarly to having a dinner time, homework time or even nap time. Routine at a young age doesn’t encourage boredom, but rather consistency. If possible, try to make practicing the first thing your child does when getting home from school. Often, practicing is left for once home work is done and after dinner, when a child is most tired. The sooner a child learns that practicing should be done regularly, every day, the less they will feel that it is a chore and this will help them develop good habits for the future.		   3. Practice in small time increments but multiple times in the day.

If your child is having trouble focusing for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time, try encouraging them to practice 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there. That they can work on more material but remain focused rather than losing concentration over twenty or thirty minutes.


4. Encourage your child to sing melodies and clap rhythms.

Clapping a rhythm without worrying about what notes to play, and singing melodies without thinking about what fingers to use can help children (and adults) to focus on those elements alone. These are also concepts kids grasp easily as many will have had previous experience clapping and singing in school.


5. Practice reading notes away from the instrument.

If your child can only practice for 10 or 15 minutes a day at this point, you can focus on reading music with them away from the instrument. The same way someone learns the alphabet and how to put words together, a person can learn what note goes where on the music staff. As they become more fluent in the musical language and notes are easier to read, their practicing will improve as well because note-reading won’t be a struggle.


6. Listen to lots of music!

With the routine of practicing, sometimes young children can forget why they began learning an instrument in the first place. Buy some cds with music of their instrument and play them so your child remembers what they are aspiring to sound like on their instrument.

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