Hello Parents,
I wanted you to see what we've been reviewing at lessons with your children. Every student has been getting a page which allows us to talk about piano practicing at home. -While it will take us all of September to work through this, I'll continue to ask them to put their initials on the ones we talked about.
-Depending on the age of the student, some of these don't apply.
-Notice in particular at the end I will ask them for their designated practice time in the day and what their minute goal is (Minutes are guidelines since I don't like students to be clock-watchers when practicing, but a 6th grader should be well past working for only 10 minutes at the piano kind of thing.)
This is what's in it.
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Piano Practicing
How do you learn to play the piano, or any instrument, if you don’t spend time at it? If only it was easy. Commit to the challenge, and JOY, of learning to make music at the piano! You really CAN do this!!
_____ Yes, I agree, I am taking on both the joy and challenge of learning to make music at the piano.
_____ I understand it’s not always easy but something that I have to work at and make time for.
_____ I understand that piano lessons are a privilege and sometimes others wish they had the same opportunity. Use the time wisely!
_____ For beginners (3 or less years of piano lessons): I will play through each song/section or spot at least 3 times each time I practice in order to get it better.
_____ I will work at setting goals and work on specific things, rather than mindlessly play through songs. Far better to practice getting a measure, a line, or a piece going more smoothly,
to correct rhythms, or to fix fingers if that’s necessary. Many times we practice to make the piece steady, so the beat isn’t changing at the tough spots.
_____ I admit, I really do have time to practice, I just choose to do other things with my time.
_____ Everyone has crazy weeks where little to no practice happens, but when barely any practice becomes the norm, I understand piano lessons get so boring since I’m not able to make any progress. (To go over a song once a week only at lessons takes way too long to master, and the enjoyment gets sapped out)
The time that I plan to practice during the week is _________________________________
My goal is to practice well _________minutes. (How many minutes isn’t the focus but can still be a general guide)
Your Name _______________________________________Date____________________
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Point Cards
For those who are young, or just so you know, students are tracking how many days they are practicing at the piano in order to achieve points. For each day they are practicing they are awarded 10 points and after accumulation may pick from the prizes.
Points for practice, theory pages, performances or lesson compositions are given on the cards in their notebooks. Points will not be awarded if their notebook is missing.
Thank you so much for reading and taking interest in your child's progress at the piano!!
~Donna
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