Ways to encourage your child to practice guitar
A lot of parents who have children starting out playing the guitar ask us about how to encourage and ensure that their children practice. And firstly, we must say that even if the child is the most well behaved child, there will always be stumbling blocks and hurdles to overcome when it comes to practicing. It’s often not because they are not enjoying the lessons but rather there will always be challenges when it comes to learning new pieces/techniques. Practicing is so important for the child as it builds their confidence and lets them recognize that through hard work, they can improve their playing. It’s very rewarding, but it does require consistency. There will be other times when practicing will be the easiest thing in the world with no encouragement needed.
Meanwhile, for the times when a little motivation and persuasion is needed, below are a few tips and ideas to help your child practise their guitar.
Get your child a guitar teacher that they love having lessons with
Firstly, we must address that your child should be enjoying their guitar lessons. Where they are in a fun and enjoyable atmosphere. They may go through periods of less enjoyment and periods of more excitement, but in general, their teacher should be someone your child has confidence in. And you also need to have confidence in the teacher that they are able to provide the information and the right materials for your child to work on and progress with their playing for their level. And this work is relevant and something they can at home as well.
Having a practice challenge
A really good way to motivate children to practice routinely is to set a challenge. This should have a set number of days, and a certain amount of time they need to practice each day for depending on their age and what the teacher recommends. By the end of the challenge, your child should get a reward for the great effort that they have put in. It doesn’t have to be something expensive, we encourage parents to spend time with their child or give them something small as a reward. This just makes practicing that extra more fun and a way to add additional motivation when needed.
Have them practice guitar routinely
The practice challenge is a good way of getting them to practice routinely. And this is an important factor. It is so much more valuable for their progress to have them practice 10 minutes a day, rather than 60 minutes once a week. This is the quickest way for information to solidify in both their brain and muscle memory. For them, being able to see progress day to day will really help to build their motivation to practice more.
Video their progress
With modern technology, it becomes easier and easier to video and keep a record of the progress your child is making on the guitar. We recommend doing this once a month and so you keep a good record that you can look back on in a few months and in a year’s time. Your child can also see themselves and how much progress they have made. It’s very easy during the day to day of practicing to feel like they are consistently struggling with new challenges. Which is a good thing, as learning new things mean that they are progressing effectively. Having video records mean that both of you can look back and see the progress made long term and that will help to encourage and motivate them to practise long term.
Understand what your child needs to be working on at home
This is very important and especially with younger children. To ensure that what they are doing at home is actually practise and not just playing around on the instrument. This is easy to do by communicating with the teacher. The teacher should be doing this with you any ways but if you are ever unsure, then definitely ask. This allows you to be involved in their practising and help you to hold them accountable with their practise too. Also it will be rewarding for you to see their improvement week to week as they practise properly.
Have them do mini performances for your friends and family
Any opportunity when your friends and family are visiting, get your child to play for them. Even better would be if you know a few days in advance to let your child know. Say something encouraging such as, “your relative would love to hear what you have been working on”. This should help motivate them to practise that little bit extra. When they do perform, make sure you give them lots of praise for the effort they have put in, and all the hard work they have done.
Other similar opportunities may present themselves in school assemblies/plays or events that your child can get involved in. The more of these activities they commit themselves to, the more they will want to practise to ensure they do well. Also, the more practise they get playing in front of other people, the more confidence they will build.
All these little things all add up to help your child to eventually be able to motivate themselves to practise the guitar without having you to persuade them. This of course depends on the age and various other factors. However, the more challenges and the more progress they make, the more confidence they will get in their ability to get better through more practise. It’s really a believe that can help translate into many other areas of their lives. And it’s a very tangible example that they can look back on and see how hard work translate into results.
We hope you have found this article helpful, if you are based in East London and is interested in finding a guitar teacher for your child, then get in contact with us. We would love to find out more about your child and yourself and see what you are looking to achieve on the guitar. As always, we provide lots of support to parents, so even if you don’t play an instrument, you can understand and be involved in your child’s progress of learning the guitar.
About Author: Darryl Powis is a guitar instructor and tutor in London England. He provides guitar lessons in London for Adults, Kids, Beginners to Advance level.
Meanwhile, for the times when a little motivation and persuasion is needed, below are a few tips and ideas to help your child practise their guitar.
Get your child a guitar teacher that they love having lessons with
Firstly, we must address that your child should be enjoying their guitar lessons. Where they are in a fun and enjoyable atmosphere. They may go through periods of less enjoyment and periods of more excitement, but in general, their teacher should be someone your child has confidence in. And you also need to have confidence in the teacher that they are able to provide the information and the right materials for your child to work on and progress with their playing for their level. And this work is relevant and something they can at home as well.
Having a practice challenge
A really good way to motivate children to practice routinely is to set a challenge. This should have a set number of days, and a certain amount of time they need to practice each day for depending on their age and what the teacher recommends. By the end of the challenge, your child should get a reward for the great effort that they have put in. It doesn’t have to be something expensive, we encourage parents to spend time with their child or give them something small as a reward. This just makes practicing that extra more fun and a way to add additional motivation when needed.
Have them practice guitar routinely
The practice challenge is a good way of getting them to practice routinely. And this is an important factor. It is so much more valuable for their progress to have them practice 10 minutes a day, rather than 60 minutes once a week. This is the quickest way for information to solidify in both their brain and muscle memory. For them, being able to see progress day to day will really help to build their motivation to practice more.
Video their progress
With modern technology, it becomes easier and easier to video and keep a record of the progress your child is making on the guitar. We recommend doing this once a month and so you keep a good record that you can look back on in a few months and in a year’s time. Your child can also see themselves and how much progress they have made. It’s very easy during the day to day of practicing to feel like they are consistently struggling with new challenges. Which is a good thing, as learning new things mean that they are progressing effectively. Having video records mean that both of you can look back and see the progress made long term and that will help to encourage and motivate them to practise long term.
Understand what your child needs to be working on at home
This is very important and especially with younger children. To ensure that what they are doing at home is actually practise and not just playing around on the instrument. This is easy to do by communicating with the teacher. The teacher should be doing this with you any ways but if you are ever unsure, then definitely ask. This allows you to be involved in their practising and help you to hold them accountable with their practise too. Also it will be rewarding for you to see their improvement week to week as they practise properly.
Have them do mini performances for your friends and family
Any opportunity when your friends and family are visiting, get your child to play for them. Even better would be if you know a few days in advance to let your child know. Say something encouraging such as, “your relative would love to hear what you have been working on”. This should help motivate them to practise that little bit extra. When they do perform, make sure you give them lots of praise for the effort they have put in, and all the hard work they have done.
Other similar opportunities may present themselves in school assemblies/plays or events that your child can get involved in. The more of these activities they commit themselves to, the more they will want to practise to ensure they do well. Also, the more practise they get playing in front of other people, the more confidence they will build.
All these little things all add up to help your child to eventually be able to motivate themselves to practise the guitar without having you to persuade them. This of course depends on the age and various other factors. However, the more challenges and the more progress they make, the more confidence they will get in their ability to get better through more practise. It’s really a believe that can help translate into many other areas of their lives. And it’s a very tangible example that they can look back on and see how hard work translate into results.
We hope you have found this article helpful, if you are based in East London and is interested in finding a guitar teacher for your child, then get in contact with us. We would love to find out more about your child and yourself and see what you are looking to achieve on the guitar. As always, we provide lots of support to parents, so even if you don’t play an instrument, you can understand and be involved in your child’s progress of learning the guitar.
About Author: Darryl Powis is a guitar instructor and tutor in London England. He provides guitar lessons in London for Adults, Kids, Beginners to Advance level.