Practice
Q.
What are Community Music's thoughts about
practicing?
A. Music teachers and parents must first realize that
"practicing" a musical instrument involves a level of
concentration. For many students, the concentration for
music learning has not been developed.
After the initial excitement of getting an instrument wears
off, many students get easily distracted or frustrated and
avoid practice routines. The end result is an
un-willingness to dedicate any time with their instruments.
A Potential
Solution:
Helping your child create a routine at home is a great
place to start to ensure their musical development will
flourish.
At Community Music, our focus during instructional time is
to model and provide guidance to the music learning
process. We model what needs to be practiced and offer
strategies to help establish a practice routine.
Students are encouraged to learn songs that are
developmentally appropriate and rich in musical content and
skill. We simply ask our students to try and play the songs
we model in class at home. As the semester advances, we
consistently review and model a comprehensive "music
learning routine".
We make an effort to clarify what should be done weekly
during lesson times and post "recommended activities" on
our online resource pages.
Our online resources
acts as an
"online tutor" that is available for whenever the
motivation to review material strikes. In addition,
parents are equipped with a clear picture of what we
encourage students to do when asked to "go
practice".