March Practice Chart

My students have finished their February Happy Heart Practice Charts and we are marching into practice with this March Practice Chart. What has been helpful about these practice charts is that I actually see how much my students are practicing. No amount of creative teaching ideas can replace daily practice. I fall into the trap of not inspecting what I expect, or not communicating my expectations clearly. So, this teaching aid has helped me see what is happening outside the lesson.

Why Practice?

A couple weeks back I had a student who was really frustrated because he couldn’t play his music. He kept complaining that this song was too hard and he couldn’t play it. For 3 weeks previously he had been sailing right along. I asked him how much he had practiced that week, and he hadn’t gotten any practice in. We talked about how we all make choices. We talked about how he has to decide along with his parents what is priority. There are legitimate reasons why you might not practice in a week. But, we also talked about how he had not had these feelings in lessons for the last 3 or 4 weeks. Why? Those weeks he had practiced. I wanted him to see the cause and effect. When you don’t practice, you get frustrated when you play. Little steps every day, help you be successful at your lesson. I didn’t want to shame him, or cause him to feel guilty, but we must teach our students that choices have consequences. The music isn’t making him feel bad and I’m not making him feel bad. But our fingers don’t know what to do and we can’t play it correctly. We can’t blame the music. That seemed to click! We’ve been sailing right along through lessons. He’s happier, and I’m happier.

Motivation

So fellow teachers, keep check in on the weekly practice. Motivation through guilt and fear is not sustainable in the long run. [How to Stop Motivating Yourself With Guilt] Motivation through enjoyment and seeing progress is sustainable.