Practicing

On the Subject of Practicing...

Practicing is possibly the most frequently discussed element of violin or viola study, and with good reason. Without regular practice sessions and good practice habits, progress is slow and a child's enthusiasm is likely to wane. This page is designed to give students and parents a fresh perspective on practicing, in the hopes that this most crucial element of study can become a more rewarding experience for all involved.

Creative Practicing Ideas

Just Getting Started

Parents often site just getting practice started on any given day as a difficult and sometimes tense proposition. This little collection of ideas has been gathered from personal experience, anecdotal experience, and even literature on the subject.

1.) Mix up the location
   Young children have been known to enjoy practicing in the bathroom,
   "Because it sounds nice!" Or, how about practicing in a corner of the
   kitchen while dinner is being prepared, with the promise of special
   good bites that the rest of the family isn't privy to?
2.) Parent/child role reversal
   Again, this works best with younger children, but has a lot of value
   for somewhat older children as well. In this scenario, a parent faced
   with a student who is refusing to practice "sets a good example"
   by starting the practice session with the student observing the parent
   as he or she attempts to play the material. Parents are encouraged to
   engage their children by asking questions like, "Am I doing this right?"
   or "Where does my finger go again?" Often young children will step
   right in, correcting the parent and even demonstrating the technique
   for the parent. Once the child has taken the instrument into his or her
   own hands, it is often a simpler process to coax them into a more
   thorough practice session. (Be careful not to push too much in this
   circumstance. A short practice session is better than no practice
   session.)
3.) Schedule practice play dates
   Families with students in the same studio who are near the same
   playing level can create fun social associations with practicing by
   encouraging children to practice together. Usually, this works best in
   groups of no more than three children at a time and could be
   scheduled as often as once a week or as little as two times a month.
   Each parent/host directs practice when it is at their home, having
   children play review pieces together, perform new solos for each other,
   and demonstrate specific posture or technique related material. The
   elements of having friends involved, "performing" for each other, and
   getting to practice with someone other than one's own parent, is
   often a motivating circumstance for children of all ages. (Plus, it
   gives parents a day off from intense one-on-one practicing every now
   and then!)
4.) Special Impromptu Performances
   To peak interest in practicing, suggest that the day's practice be in
   preparation for a "special concert" to be performed immediately after
   the practice session. The special concert could be recorded on video to
   aid in the sense of formality. Additionally, a young girl, for example
   may be lured in by being allowed to wear her favorite party dress for
   the occasion. A young boy may prefer to wear a special sports uniform
   or other item of clothing reserved for special occasions. Young children
   often like to gather special stuffed animals together to serve as
   audience members.
5.) Create Practicing Stations
   This technique can be pulled out on days of resistance or incorporated
   into regular practice. Create multiple stations throughout the house
   which cover specific elements of practice. (Review Station, Scales
   Station, Solo Station, Exercises Station, Sight Reading Station, etc.)
   Each station is set up in the same way, but allows the element of
   choice which is so important to young students. Suggestions for each
   station's format include:
   1.) A chart listing tasks and small rewards. (ex. Scale Station:
   One correctly played scale equals one small reward. Two
   correctly played scales - the same scale or a different scale -
   equals two small rewards. Three correctly played scales equals
     four small rewards. Always give special recognition for
   stepping above and beyond regular expectations.)
   2.) A jar or bowl with practice items written on slips of paper for
   blind selection. (ex. All review pieces are included in the jar.
   Slips of paper are randomly selected and review is based on
   what is drawn. The chart mentioned above indicates the reward
   for number of items drawn or repetitions of each item.)
   3.) Two dice. One roll of both dice indicates the number of
   minutes to be spent at each station. Young children may only
   need one die per station, however, a rule might be institued
   that rolling a 'one' automatically assumes a double roll.
   4.) A timing device to ensure time is accurately tracked. (This is
   for the benefit of both the student and the parent. It eliminates
   arguments.)

Incentives

Many parents resist the idea of incentives in the early months of violin or viola lessons, feeling that a "bribe" shouldn't be necessary as a motivation for practicing or accomplishing other lesson-related tasks. It is important to understand that young children are not always developmentally mature enough to understand the long term rewards of practicing. The reality of practice means that students and parents alike are faced with overcoming difficult physical and mental challenges, sometimes on a daily basis! To ask a child to understand that these difficulties are in service of a higher, distant good is often asking too much, and that is where short term incentives can become a very useful practice tool. The list below represents common incentives to encourage regular and happy practice at home.

1.) Charts
   Tracking a child's habits and successes is a useful tool for both
   students and parents. Create a large colorful chart to hang in the
   kitchen or other common area. Allow the child to place stickers on
   the chart himself or herself to enhance the sense of accomplishment
   and ownership. Charts can be used to track the number of days
   practiced in any given week and even the quality of the practice.
   (ex. Really good days earn a gold star which is worth double.) When
   the chart is being constructed, parent and child (and the teacher, if
   desired) can agree on a certain reward for a certain number of stickers
   achieved. Bonuses might be included for a chart which does not have
   any missing stickers (days not practiced in that time period).
2.) Play Money
   Using play money as an incentive allows for flexibility in determining
   the worth of the effort and results demonstrated by your child, in turn
   helping them better understand the most useful ways to spend their
   time. Before the system is put into place, it is important for the parent
   and teacher to discuss what is important to both parties so that an
   appropriate value can be established. I always like the idea of a
   higher value placed on self correction, as this is where the learning
   process makes the deepest, most lasting impression on a child. While
   a general "price list" will cover most daily practices, this system does
   allow for spontaneous rewards. For example, If a child has a
   particularly long or successful practice session, spontaneously
   performs for friends or family, or has a successful audition, the
   parent can decide upon a special value and reward the child
   accordingly. The idea is that the child is earning play money toward
   a special item - an afternoon with mom or dad going to the movies
   is worth 'x' amount of play dollars, or a new stuffed animal is worth
   'y' play dollars. Parents must be consistent with their pricing, (the
   same reward should not change price) and it is so important for
   parents to try to avoid pricing based on personal convenience.
   ("My child really wants to go ice skating, but I don't have a lot of time
   for that, so I'll make it really expensive.") Be respectful of the effort
   your child is putting forth to earn their play money. This is of real
   value to them. Take it seriously.
3.) Marble Jar
   If you are not comfortable with throwing the idea of monetary value
   into the equation, the marble jar is a nice variation on the same theme.
   Instead of playing for 'x' dollars, the child can earn marbles to be
   collected in a jar which has place of pride in the household. Children
   will enjoy seeing the jar fill up, as it is a visual representation of their
   successes. Prizes are priced in marbles instead of dollars, but the
   principle is very much the same.

Photos courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net

Note Reading/Recognition

When a child is learning to read music, one creative and fun way to help a child learn to recognize new notes is for parents to make numerous sets of small cards with and individual note written in musical notation on each card. Begin with the open string notes. Parents should "hide" the cards throughout the house for the child to find over the course of the day. When the child finds one of these cards (for example, under his pillow, or taped to her toothbrush), he or she should bring the card to a parent and name the note on the card. (For further reenforcement, the child can pluck the correct open string, in addition to naming the note.) If the child does not correctly identify the note on the card, the card is hidden again to be found later. The idea of the game is that all of the cards must be collected by the end of the day, at which point the child will receive a suitable reward, such as an extra five minutes of play time, or a special surprise in his or her lunch box the next day. The game is repeated every day with new "hidden" locations, until it becomes easy. At that point, new cards can be added to the collection such as first finger notes, then second finger notes, or A string notes, then E string notes, and so on. In addition to naming the note itself, the student should name the string/finger combination used to make that note. The more cards hidden throughout the house, the faster the child will learn the information.

Key Signature Information

If a child is struggling to assimilate all of the pertinent information associated with key signatures (i.e. how many sharps or flats, what they are and in what order, and how that affects the "out of place fingers"), using creative games to help the student frequently rehearse this information can help lead to long term memory. Many students study the information during the week leading up to the lesson and then promptly forget it after the lesson. To avoid this, try the game below:

On any given morning, parent and student should select one key signature (or scale) for the day. Next, the parent/student team should select a "trigger word" for the day. Make sure the trigger word is a word that is used frequently enough over the course of the day to be useful in this exercise. (Examples: "busy", "eat", or "phone".) Every time the student hears that word over the course of the day, he or she can recite (or write down to show the parents later) the key signature information, or any part of the information with which the student struggles. (Most often: "out of place fingers".) At the end of the day (ideally, just before going to bed), if the student can correctly recite all of the information to the parent without hesitation, the student receives an appropriate reward. If the student still struggles, repeat the exercise the next day with a different "trigger word".

Advanced Version:
As the student becomes more adept with this information, the game should be made increasingly more challenging. To do this, the game continues as above, however, each new trigger word is added to the previous day's trigger word, in effect causing the student to review two key signatures instead of just one. To raise the level further still, this adding trend could continue throughout the week, adding a new trigger every day, until the weekend arrives. Saturday and Sunday provide an opportunity to review all of the triggers presented through the school week. If, at the end of the week, the student is able to correctly recite the information without hesitation (or answer creative questions about the key signature information), the student is given a reward. Note: this is no small accomplishment, and your child will have worked hard to reach this goal, so be sure that the reward is in direct correlation to the effort your child has put into the process.

Variation:
If the above scenarios do not appeal to your student, try a less lengthy version of the game, using the trip to and from lessons as a starting point. Make the "trigger" a type of vehicle, or color, or license plate. If this goes well, the game can be extended to any trip in the car.

Partner Games

Practicing with a friend or sibling can make for a nice break in the routine and can still be effective in accomplishing the task at hand. With a partner, draw a tic tac toe game on a piece of paper. The first person plays a particular passage in the piece he or she is working on. If it is played perfectly, the player gets to make a play on the game board. If there is a mistake, the other person has to play his or her passage. If the partner makes a mistake, it goes back to the first player. If it is perfect, the partner gets to make a play on the game board. Continue until someone wins the tic tac toe game.

Variation:
This is done with multiple players. One of the players thinks of a word and writes the blanks on piece of paper, 'Hangman' style. One of the other players plays the passage he or she is working on. If it is perfectly played, the 'Hangman' must tell you one of the letters in the word and the player gets to take another turn. If it is not perfectly played, the player may take a guess, but is finished with his or her turn. The next person takes his or her turn. The first person to correctly guess the word gets to be the 'Hangman' for the next round.

Related Publications

First Class Tips for Suzuki Parents, written by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki.

Helping Parents Practice: Ideas for Making it Easier, written by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki.

How to Get Your Child To Practice Without Resorting to Violence, Cynthia V. Richards

Suzuki Parent's Diary: Or How I Survived My First 10,000 Twinkles, written by Caroll Morris.

Winning Ways, written by Dr. Shinichi Suzuki.