Some good tips/advice, taken directly from the Suzuki Charter School January 2013 newsletter (not totally sure who wrote it!): (http://www.suzukischool.ca/Documents/Newsletter_January.pdf)
Musical Musings: Sage Advice from Suzuki Teachers
"Knowledge is not skill. Knowledge plus ten thousand times is skill." ~Dr. Shinichi Suzuki
A New Year and a New Practice Habit: Would you like to create a music habit for your child - making music practice an automatic part of your family life, as easy as eating and sleeping and breathing? Would you like to make practice sessions easier, with fewer stand offs and tantrums? Would you like to make music practice fun, focused, and less arduous? If the answer to all these questions is, "Yes, BUT I find it difficult to embark on new habits," stand by. You are about to make things much easier for yourself:
1. Tell your friends. It will be very helpful to create a bit of a song and dance about embarking on a habit of daily music practice. Go public. If you are into social networking, announce your intentions on Facebook or Twitter. When everybody knows, you will find it harder to give up when friends keep asking how you are getting on. Tell at least one new person about your new music practice habit - how you are going to help your child to get the maximum benefits from music lessons.
2. Make a commitment. To start your new music practice habit on a positive note, make a pledge certificate and have a signing ceremony. You can make the ceremony as formal as you like. As you are both making a commitment to each other, this is part of teaching your child to fulfill promises. It is important to make it a fun occasion, so seal the deal with a snack and a toast. Pin your certificate up somewhere prominent, where you can admire it and it can remind you of your promise.
3. Schedule times for daily music practice. Choose one time every day each week that you and your child can both manage. For best results, make sure these are times when you are both refueled and relaxed. Having a regular practice time every day makes it harder for you or your child to get out of it. Create your own 100 Day Practice Journal. Talk to your child about the proposed practice schedule. If you are doing only one music practice a day, give your child a choice of suitable times, decide on one, put it on the schedule, and stick to it. Don't forget that music practice includes listening. As a pupil told me the other day, "When I listen to the recording, it's easy to play. The music just seems to come out of my fingertips." Just DO IT. I find that keeping it playing gently in the background during meals works well. Listening WILL become an enriching and pleasant habit, so get started today. Listening to what you are learning is the number one thing that most parents neglect. Suzuki kids have a wonderful resource of top quality performances of their repertoire to listen to, so make sure it is an active part of your practice and your daily routine.
4. Get started. Music practice will be rewarding and productive, but only if you stick to the rules. Remember:
- START SMALL. The number one complaint of kids is that practice is too long, too hard, and too boring.
- Take good notes at the lesson and stick to your teacher's instructions
- Prepare each practice task with your child, asking rather than telling your child what your teacher wants.
- Listen to how your child feels. Acknowledge your child's efforts to work hard even when he/she doesn't feel like it.
- Praise hard work and focus, rather than praising talent.
- Reward yourselves for all your hard work.
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