tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-269031634496605933.post4553722771757134020..comments2023-10-16T08:52:53.166-04:00Comments on Pook and Bug: piano lessonsMy Kids' Momhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07568872428132909098noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-269031634496605933.post-36008958526582690142009-04-02T14:35:00.000-04:002009-04-02T14:35:00.000-04:00We haven't had the practice issue with AJ yet. Bu...We haven't had the practice issue with AJ yet. But with my violin students, especially younger ones, I tell them to practice very little very frequently. With violin, because it has to come out of the case, be tuned, and be put away, I usually say "Tune it every day. If you feel like playing some more, go ahead. But make sure you tune it every day." 99% of the time, they tune it and then want to play. With piano, you have the advantage that the instrument is already ready. So maybe just do 5 minutes at a time. You could even set a timer if that helps. I wouldn't worry too much about productivity of the practice session. Just getting him to sit down at the bench and put his fingers on the keys and have fun should be the goal at the moment. Have him invent his own songs. Race his fingers up and down the keyboard. Try matching games where you play patterns and he has to play them back. Then let him try to stump you. Do silly things as well as whatever his teacher has assigned. But if he really doesn't want to practice, don't push too hard. That can kill his enthusiasm. And maybe piano isn't his instrument. It doesn't mean he won't excel at something he's more excited about later on. I taught AJ violin starting around age 3 or 4. He never really got into it. He liked the idea of it, but it wasn't really for him. Piano is different. I think it's partly that he's older but also that the instrument is a better fit to his interests. He loves it and it's more likely that I have to ask him to stop practicing than to get started. Loving it is the first order of business. The rest of it will come.Harriet M. Welschhttp://spynotes.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com