By: Erika DeMartini (Office & Media Manager)
Kids come to their lessons excited to meet with their teacher and play their songs, but when it’s time to practice at home it feels like work. I am not a musician (yet!) but after attending quite a few classes about music lesson programs at NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) in January, I learned some helpful tips on how to get kids more inspired and excited to practice their instrument!
#1: Call it PLAY not practice!
I know I called it practice in the title, but that was just to get your attention - haha! But really - this was one of the things I learned at NAMM that blew my mind and it makes so much sense! Practice sometimes carries a negative connotation for work...play makes it fun!
#2 Make sure they are playing songs by bands/musical artists they actually like!
This makes a huge difference. Something that our instructors do here that some music schools don’t do is that we teach songs by artists that the students actually want to learn! Music is ART - it is meant to be personal and is supposed to be fun. It becomes not fun when you are playing music you do not like or does not represent your musical taste/style. However, it is also nice to expand your musical abilities by experimenting and playing music of different genres and artists as that is how music can evolve - by mixing different genres and forming your own unique style of music! At NAMM, one of the speakers said “teach them the magic of the song” which you cannot do unless they are having fun and playing music they actually like.
#3 Jam out with them!
Your kid is probably more inclined to play and have fun during their lesson because someone is there with them to play with and motivate them! When they get home and have to play by themselves, that is when they feel like it is work. If your kid isn’t so motivated to play by themselves - maybe ask them “hey, do you wanna jam out with me?” Even if you as the parent don’t know the song they are learning or even know how to play music at all - it is still fun and it gets them more motivated to play music and have a good time with it! And if you don’t know even know how to play music at all (like me) it will maybe motivate them more to know they are better at something than someone else and want to get even better at it - haha!