Here are things my Mum and Dad said about me...
"He won't practice"
"I'm sick of having arguments with my child about practicing".
Is there a secret to getting children to practice at home?
Most parents will struggle to get their child to 'practice guitar'.
"He won't practice, what should I do?"
I learned the violin.
"He loves it when he's here, but I can't make him practice at home".
I couldn't motivate myself to practice. The only time I found it any fun was if my dad was say there with me.
The violin sounds terrible when you start playing it - like nails on a chalkboard. And I didn't feel proud of the way I sounded at all.
I enjoyed my lessons. And I liked it when my dad would play with me. He started learning the violin too so he could help me at home.
You could never have ever described me as talented at the time...
But years later people would.
I was the absolute worst kid in class. I was in "4th violins"...
1st violins are the best, playing the most difficult, intricate parts.
2nd violins are pretty good.
3rd violins are beginners with simple parts.
Ask anyone who has been in an orchestra... they'll tell you that's where it stops...
There are no 4th violins.
Well, there was me...
I'm so grateful my parents kept me going.
Because now as an adult I think about what I actually learned.
I learned not to give up when things are difficult and you aren't immediately good at them.
I learned playing music is fun.
It would have been so easy for my parents to give up on me, and teach me that if I don't take to something immediately then you should stop.
Instead they kept me in music lessons.
All through my childhood - they didn't use any of the 'tricks' we use to help get children to practice...
But they were persistent.
When I finally found my own motivation (for guitar)... I took off like lightning. Why?
Those lessons as a child had given me so much more than learning songs on the violin.
I now had rhythm, pulse, I could sing.
I could do things that other children couldn't...
Because of my violin lessons.
Perhaps it would have been easier if I had started on guitar from a younger age...
Maybe...
But my point is that those early lessons were so valuable to me now.
I love music - it is never a chore to me.
I have no memories of being scolded for playing, or for not.
There's a point where music clicks, and children want to practice for their own reasons.
Our job is to help them to get to that point. Through helping them to love music, and by developing their self-confidence.
The habit of "Stickability" is one best learned at a young age. Stickability (persistence) is not quitting when things get tough.
Some parents think their child has somehow failed if they aren't practicing every... single... day...
Or confused that their child might choose to play video games over guitar... (This is like chocolate vs. broccoli...)
It's normal that your child might get out of a routine, or struggle to start one.
Building habits is hard... but SO worth it!
It strikes me that no adult has ever told me "I wish my parent had never taken me for music lessons...". But, I hear the opposite very regularly.