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Firstly, what is practice? Do you know the difference between when your child practises and when he or she is playing? Look at the Music Journal (that most of our pupils have) – what instructions and targets has he or she been given? Are they being followed? Ask what is meant to be achieved and ask how he or she is faring; ask how they think they can improve; get them to consider what questions to ask Moira or Ed next lesson.

Remember: the lesson is for an intensive learning session, not practising.

If a pupil uses the lessons for practising and has a half hour lesson a week, that adds up to 19 hours of practise a year. Not much if you want to enjoy the piano and play the pieces you want to.

At that rate, the pupil is not going to get very far and will soon become frustrated because he or she is not attaining what they may wish to achieve. We often hear (from the parent) that the pupil “wants to play the piano but doesn’t want to practice…”

Ah!

Turn it around: let’s imagine you’re learning and you do ten minutes a day, seven days a week. If you just practise just during school term, that adds up to 44 hours of practising a year, and if you practise 50 weeks out of the year, that adds up to over 58 hours! Add on top of that the lesson time, you’re now clocking up 77 hours.

Which do you think will get you advancing?

Most pupils, who progress well, also learn to practise efficiently by concentrating on what Moira and Ed advise (rather than repeating the mistakes that always hold them back or merely playing sounds!). They typically practise between fifteen and thirty minutes a day – that adds up to 77 ½ hours or 154 hours a year. At least – because sometimes when we practise, we enjoy it so much we do much more.

PRACTICE TABLE

Compare a pupil working on 10 minutes a day, three times a week, with one working 20 minutes a day for 5 days a week – that’s an extra 51 hours of practice a year! The difference between staying on Book 2, say, and progressing to Books 3 and 4!

There’s not much difference in an extra 10 minutes work when you actually settle down to the piano – a half hour goes really quickly, which means if you keep that up five days a week you’re learning time has gone from 36 hours to 110 hours. Quite a leap for that little bit of extra effort!!

What is important is that first 10 minutes. (It doesn’t sound a lot, but then nor does brushing one’s teeth.) Forming a regular and disciplined pattern to practise time is a critical stage in teaching your child to concentrate and to focus. Gradually, the child is increasingly able to discipline himself or herself and settle down to work – which becomes such an important skill in life. In an age of immediate distraction, such a virtue is at a high premium in the workplace, never mind in relationships and in living life!

Always start off small – with really young children, we recommend encouraging the child to say hello and goodnight to the piano (or keyboard or cello) every day. Lift up its lid, give it a hug (yep, sounds funny, but it makes it a less fearful beastie sitting in the corner!!). Say hello by playing some of its keys – try to make some sounds like how the day feels to you. Do you feel grumpy today? Or full of energy? How can you make the piano sound like you feel? Try it! What’s the weather like? Can you make the piano sound like rainfall or like the wind? Try it! If you as a parent are unmusical, try playing some sounds and ask the child if he or she can make it sound better.

With older pupils, they especially need that guiding encouragement from parents – a team effort to help them concentrate and learn to take control over their own desires to shirk work or to ‘do other things’ like seeing their friends, watch TV, get on the PC. Again, start small – aim to sit with them for ten minutes a day. It’s not a lot to ask is it? You can always do other things quietly while your child settles down to play – do your accounts, ironing, tidy a cupboard; if there’s another child, get them to do their homework (or if they’re very young encourage them to play quietly), so all are settling down to focused work. As all of you relax you’re your work and jobs, the pupil will soon lose themselves in their practice – keep it up, and they’ll soon be able to get on with their practice while you work out of the room.

But don’t forget – engage with them! Conversation is an underplayed skill – talk to them about what they’re learning, encourage them when they’re struggling, applaud them when they’ve played really well!

Twenty minutes a day of practice is an excellent standard for pupils. Time spent on playing should not be included! Twenty minutes allows the mind to settle into learning and concentrating, and it is amazing how quickly twenty minutes goes. Sticking to the twenty minutes (use a timer) each day also encourages the mind to expect to concentrate; it is best done at the same time or at least in the same place (which should not be a problem with a piano…) Those twenty minutes should become sacred – don’t let anything else get in the way, or if times clash with other important events, make sure you do your twenty minutes earlier or later than usual – adapt around your practise, don’t let practise or homework take second place to other things.