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Parents thinking a child can practice alone is a major reason children stop piano study.

Why daily practice is important. The longer your student waits between the lesson and thefirst practice session of the week, the more frustrated they can become. Theywill tend to forget what they are supposed to do and how they are supposed todo it. Help your child succeed in lessons by enforcing a daily practice sessionand make it a daily routine. One teacher has said “ONLY PRACTICE ON THE DAYS THAT YOU EAT.”

How many practice days in a week? If practicing 7 days a week does not fit in your family’s routine, let the child “take a break” for one day. Do not make the day after thelesson a day for a break. Practice immediately after the lesson and the nextday are the most important practice sessions of the week. Do not refer to thelesson as your child’s “practice.” During the lesson, your child’s teacher goes over what to practice and teaches the student how topractice. It is thestudent’s responsibility to carry out the teacher’s practice suggestions in adaily practice session. Daily practice is where learning takes place; nolearning is accomplished without adequate practice sessions during the week. NOPRACTICE = NO PROGRESS.

You are the Secret Weapon in the Battle for Your Child’s Music Educaiton

If you assume that your child can practice by herself, even demand that she go to the piano because she loves practice so much, you can pretty much assume that the words “I want to quit” will come back to haunt you at some point. DON’T CULTIVATE A QUITTER; CULTIVATE A STUDENT WHO IS COMMITTED FOR THE LONG TERM.

Frustration and confusion set in when the child can’t carry out practice tasks on her own. Often what results is that the parent starts thinking “Whatis wrong with my child? Why can’t they play the piano?” and “What is wrong withmy child’s teacher; it must be their fault” OR “my child needs a break from piano,” when all they need is you. They need you to take an interest, toshow your support by being in or near the room where they are practicing. No matter how old your student is, they need your attention and encouragement. I think we would all like to live in a world where our children took care of their own needs, practiced with no prompting, did homework without being reminded, took care of their bedroom and other home tasks without being told.THIS IS AGAINST THE NATURE OF A CHILD. The Law of Inertia even affects us as an adult: Bodies in motion tend to stay in motion: bodies at rest tend to stay at rest. Your task is to assure that your child begins their tasks promptly. EXPECT THE BEST.

Expect that your child needs you in order to practice effectively! You are a big part of your child’s success in their music lessons. They need YOU.

Here are some things your child’s teacher may ask you to do for your child during practice at home. The teacher may ask you to watch the student's hand position as she plays to make sure she maintains the correct one or she may ask you to count out loud for your child. With young children, you may have to be involved directly for the entire practice session at first. Do not expect your child to carry out her practice entirely by herself until she is about 11-12 years old. Children (up throughapproximately 6th grade) like to have a parent keep them company while theypractice. Even if the child doesn't need your direct participation, she may desire your presence because she's lonely in the piano room all by herself.

At some point, your child will let you know they want to practice alone. This is common during Middle School orJunior High, at about age 11-12.

Split Practice Sessions  With busy families in today’s world, it often works well to split practice sessions into two or more segments, particularly with a young child whois still developing her attention span. Two15-minute practices--or even three10-minute sessions--can be more productive than one 30-minute sitting. Dividethe material for variety, too. Ask your child’s teacher for help in managing practice sessions at home.

Immediately After the Lesson  To accelerate progress, after you return home, sit down with your child and play through the lesson assignment one time. Ask yourstudent to explain each part of the lesson,  then have the student play the assignmentonce. If you have questions, email the teacher right away for clarification. Do not allow your student to ignore a part of the teacher’s assignment all week orpractice it incorrectly. Unlearning and Relearning is a very unpleasant task, and should not be necessary if the teachers instructions are followed to a T. Immediate repetition of the assignment is a huge factor in your student’sprogress. immediate repetition means an almost 100% retention of the  instruction at the lesson.

Make Music Practice a Daily Routine All students benefit from a regularpiano practice time. The student feels security from routine. Schoolwork is first priority. If there is a large assignment that evening, there may be no time for practice because schoolwork is most important. When schoolwork is done, it is time for piano practice, however. When the child has practiced,then there's time to play outside, talk on the telephone, watch TV, or whateverelse they'd like to do. It's important to teach your child that piano studycomes right after schoolwork in the importance of the day’s activities.

Quiet Zone  Be sure to provide a quiet place for piano practice, freefrom distractions of other family members, TV, videogames, and computers.

Reminders  Sometimes, you may have to remind your child to practice.Occasionally, you'll have to remind more firmly! No matter her level ofinterest in music study, your child is human and some days she will want to do something else before piano or skip practice altogether. Take a deep breath. Ask your student to play a favorite piece. Applaud the effort! Take another deep breath, hug your child, and say how proud you are! Sometimes just getting the child to the piano is the main battle. Once they are playing, their practice usually becomes enjoyable.

Remember that young children can'tbe expected to practice on their own or even remember it's time to do theirpiano-playing. All teachers want to help their students conquer anydifficulties, so you can avoid tears and tantrums over practice times. Consultthe teacher for advice sooner rather than later.

When Things Get Rocky, Don’t GiveIn! When you feel like giving up,don’t. You'll be doing the right thing, and your child will later thank you forproviding the opportunity to learn a skill they will be able to use theirentire lifetime. Piano study isn't easy. I teach adult students, who always saythey wish they hadn’t been allowed to quit lessons as a child. In 36 years ofteaching, I’ve never heard an say theywere glad they were allowed to quit lessons as a child or young adult. Don’tallow the natural immaturity of a child to make a premature  and unwise decision to quit lessons.You are not only giving your child the gift of music, you are teaching themresponsibility and perseverance when things seem hard.

Getting your child to practice ma yinvolve one of the biggest power struggles you will have with your child.Helping your child appreciate the rewards of practicing is important in order to teach them an important life lesson about commitment, following through, and responsibility. Teach your child that making an effort with long term commitment will help them be very good at something.

Try these strategies:

Pick something your child truly enjoys. Let the child’s interests lead you to the instrument they should play. 

Set up a routine.

Schedule a time that doesn't follow a less enjoyable task like homework, but comes before a fun activity like playing with friends. That way your child has something to look forward to when he'sfinished.


Remove the ticking clock. Focus on goals and correct repetitions of small sections and then join the correct sections together. Practice should be like putting the pieces of a puzzle together.

Foster appreciation for the skill. Take your student to concerts to see “live” music and call attention to others they know who spend time making music.