by Sean Stone-Ashe
Music is a challenging activity that requires significant dedication and strategy over a long period of time to be successful.
Children learning music often struggle to understand and maintain their musical tasks when they are left to manage their musical practice by themselves.
On the other hand, many successful music students owe their success to a high degree of parental support, which comes from their parents being knowledgeable about their child’s musical goals and actively supporting their practice needs at home.
Parent/Teacher Communication
One of the easiest and most important things for parents of musical children is knowing what their children are working on weekly in lessons. This is especially true for students who are just starting out in music. Often dropping a child off at music lessons feels like an opportunity to have a bit of freedom or get some things done in their absence. While this is a fairly common and acceptable way to treat lessons, it is immensely important for the child’s musical development for parents to communicate with their teachers and receive feedback.
It would be ideal for music teachers to be able to speak with parents after every lesson to communicate
expectations and give details on the student’s progress. As a parent, if you are often dropping students o
at lessons and leaving, make sure you come back and are present for the end of the lesson to enable these conversations.
Remember that successful music students engage in music every day, not just once a week in a lesson. This means that parents have a vital role in ensuring musical success six days out of the week. If parents are unaware of what their child needs to practice on a given week, it can slow musical progress or prevent it altogether.
Set Standards at Home
Considering that a child in music lessons will spend most of their time making music at home, it is crucial for success that there be certain standards of work ethic in place every day.
Even if a child is interested in music and motivated, it is rare that children have the consistency and
professionalism needed to truly tackle a project as large as a musical instrument. Therefore, parents will need to pick up the slack and create a culture of consistent work.
I recommend setting aside a small window every day that is always dedicated to musical practice – seven days a week. A parent could further support their child by being present for ten minutes of this practice session to work with them and ensure that they are staying on course. This shared practice time offers an opportunity for parents and children to bond over a shared activity and can make a tremendous impact on the child’s motivation and chances of success.
This approach to music lessons with heavy parental involvement is a fundamental tenet of the Suzuki method of learning music. In the Suzuki method, parents take music lessons with their child, providing a strong knowledge base and support when the student is at home.
Heavy parental involvement in music lessons is a great commitment of time and energy. If music feels
like a “just for fun” activity, this level of parental involvement can feel overwhelming and unnecessary. However, the likelihood of student success is amplified substantially by parents having the appropriate knowledge and energy to help their children stay focused and learn music.
Every child who picks up a musical instrument would prefer to be a strong and successful player, no matter what their stated level of commitment is. However, they likely will fail to understand the consistency and strategy required to reach their goals, and this can take a toll on their motivation and self-esteem.
As a parent, if you have the time and energy to bring your child to music lessons each week, you can put forth a similar effort in ensuring they work towards their goals at home. By knowing what your child should be doing each week, and creating a culture at home that focuses on achieving their musical goals, you can be the difference
between a child who never makes it past the first few songs of a book and one who succeeds in a competitive musical environment.
