Author: Dan Cropper

When learning to read music, it can be a challenge for students to keep their eyes on the music if they are not yet comfortable with the location of notes, and distance between intervals on their instrument. This is a normal challenge to face in the beginning of sight-reading, but can be mitigated by using a progressive approach to reading, and practicing scales, arpeggios, chord inversions, and intervals. Below are tips to help!

Practice shapes and intervals 

Train your fingers to the know the distance between keys/strings for each interval. For instance if there is an interval of a perfect 4th on your music, practice playing a 4th from every note on your instrument.

Scales & arpeggios 

Scales and arpeggio exercises will help train your fingers with common finger patterns you’ll use in most songs. After you are comfortable with an exercise, try playing the sequence with your eyes closed.

Chord inversions

Chord inversions are particularly helpful to practice because they require you to lift your hand and land it in a new shape. You will see some sort of chord inversion in almost every song. Click here for more information on chord inversions.

Progressive lesson book 

Use a progressive lesson book that increases the difficulty of songs in small increments. By starting with simple pieces with stepwise intervals you will be able to keep your eyes on the page without needing to stare at the instrument. Remember that even with simple songs you are developing many skills. As the pieces gradually increase in difficulty you will have already developed the skills to play them.

Look ahead

When you are reading music, always be looking a few beats ahead of where you are playing. This gives your fingers time to prepare for the movements they need to make.

Practice playing off the piano

For piano players, try closing the lid of the piano (or using a table) and playing the song on a flat surface. This will help you internalize the direction and interval of the notes and make it easier when you go back to the piano. This is also a helpful way to practice your technique.

I often get asked, “can my child learn to play an instrument if I don’t know anything about music?” The answer is yes! You don’t have to be an expert on an instrument to help your child, that’s why they have a teacher. There are many ways you can still help your child develop good practice habits. View the tips below to help maximize your child’s practice experience.

Sit in on the lesson 

By observing the lesson you get all the same information as your child does. Even if you’re not physically performing on the instrument you can often help explain or remind them what was taught in the lesson. Observing lessons can be especially helpful in the beginning when your child is still familiarizing themselves with the instrument.

Take a look at the book 

Most beginning music books have very helpful instructions that go along with each song. Often times they will have specific diagrams for each song that show where to put your fingers.

Help with practice habits 

You don’t have to know how to be able to play the songs on their instrument to help your child develop good practice habits. You can help them find a good time of day to practice in a quiet space, and help organize their activities to accommodate this practice time. The less variety there is in the time of day and location your child practices, the more energy can go into it. You can also help your child by reminding them to spend special attention on challenging parts of a song and organize a list of things they will work on in thier practice session (i.e warm-ups, scales, new song, etc.). For more tips on good practice habits click here.

Write down questions 

If you or your child have questions throughout the week, be sure to write them down so you can clarify with your teacher. Most teachers are also available to answer questions over email or phone during the week.

Listen to CD’s of the songs 

Many lesson books will provide a CD in the back where you can hear the songs, and also provide accompaniment tracks (some books have two versions, one with the CD and one without so be sure to get the one with the CD). With higher level songs you can often find recordings of them performed in professional settings. Not only does this help you familiarize yourself with how the song is supposed to sound, but will also help inspire your child when they hear it performed professionally.

Familiarize yourself with basic theory 

This doesn’t mean you need to master the ins-and-outs of the instrument. Simply learning the notes on the piano, a few simple chords on the guitar or ukulele, or the basic rhythms for drums can be a huge help. Having this knowledge will help you guide your child in figuring out the music on their own.

Not fully understanding the music

If the student doesn’t understand parts of the piece they are assigned they may give up on practicing because it’s too hard. Be sure to introduce new skills slowly and methodically. For example don’t assign a piece where they will be learning new chords and new rhythms at the same time. If a piece is more challenging it’s often helpful to only practice one hand at a time at a slow tempo.

Inadequate practice chair/stand

Pianos are built for adult-sized people to play, so when we have young kids at the piano it’s important to make adjustments. Kid’s should have something to rest their feet on if their feet cannot touch the floor. This can be solved with a foot stool, or even a plank used for step aerobics. They should also be high enough on the chair so their arms are parallel with the floor and they are not reaching up for the keys. Many piano benches are adjustable and can be brought up high enough.
If you use a keyboard on a stand make sure the stand is sturdy and not wobbling back and forth while the student plays. Also make sure it’s at the correct height.

Distracting environment

Is your student’s sibling in the the same room playing video games while practice is going on? Or is your student trying to practice in the middle of a play date? If possible, put the piano or keyboard in a quiet room where there won’t be distractions of TV, other kids, phone calls etc.

Uninteresting repertoire

It’s important to assign music that will develop your student’s musical skills to the fullest extent, but if they are not finding these pieces exciting to play make sure to find supplementary material. If they are resistant to sightreading, mix it up with flashcards and games before you play the piece. Often times the only reason they don’t want to read music is because it is too challenging for them. If your student loves a particular song off the radio, teach them the chords and use the opportunity to discuss intervals and triads. Any song, no matter how simple can be used as a learning opportunity.

Wrong time of day

We all know that life can get pretty darn busy, and practice can fall to the end of the list on some days. It’s unrealistic to expect a child to focus on practice at 8pm after a long day of activities. Take a realistic look at your schedule and remember that piano isn’t just an activity once a week when the teacher comes- there should be at least 5 other days in the week of practice time. Often times it works better to practice before school. If there are days that are just too busy for practice it’s better to consider those off days than to force it and make practice a stressful activity. Plan when your best times for practice are and try to stick with a routine. The more a student practices the more fun they will have because they’ll be playing for the joy of music, not just figuring out notes. 

Not enough praise

We expect a lot of our students, but it’s important to remember that the fact that they are even sitting down to practice is a feat in itself. While it’s important to gently point out mistakes and areas where your child can improve, make sure they know how proud you are that they are keeping up with a consistent practice routine!

We all know the old saying “practice makes perfect,” but what happens when practice gets boring? It’s important to stay engaged while practicing music for your lesson, and not go into autopilot. Mixing up your practice routine is one of the best ways to keep things fresh and be efficient with your practice time!

Video yourself

Video yourself practicing with a camcorder or FlipCam. It’s super fun to watch yourself back on the computer or TV. It’s also a good chance to check your tempo and notes to see if there are places in the piece that you could improve. If you have permission you can even put it on YouTube to show your friends!

Do a mini dress rehearsal

Decide what you will wear for your recital or show and get used to walking around in it. Pretend you are at the real performance and rock out for your family and friends. Ice cream afterwards is allowed! 

Busk on the street

Pull out all the songs you know and go busk on the street in your neighborhood, the subway, or local event. Before you know it you will have been playing for 2 hours. This is a great way to drill all the songs you know and make some bucks!! 

See your achievement with pennies

When you practice a hard part of a song try to do it ten times perfectly in a row. Slide a penny over to the other side for each time you do it right. Play something fun once you’ve got ten pennies in a row!

Learn fun songs from the radio

Practice learning chords by learning songs off the radio and singing along. Dress up as a rockstar and do a show for your friends!

Most students start out very enthused about music lessons, but may lose some of their initial excitement a few months into practicing. It’s important for parents and teachers to have good communication about what is going well and what could use more help. There are many ways to learn and practice music, find out which is the best for your student!

Assess the material

Make sure that the material your student is working on is appropriate for their skill level. Your student needs to be challenged, but not so much that playing music becomes a tedious chore. Give the student some material that they can succeed with quickly, as well as pieces that will take more time to perfect. 

Reading Music

I have often found that my very young students get frustrated when we first start learning how to read music. This is because there is now another step involved in playing music: they have to first identify the note on the staff, then locate the note on the piano. There is no secret trick to sight-reading other than lots of practice at reading notes until it becomes automatic. This process can be made more fun by incorporating lots of reading games into practice and making sure the material doesn’t move to fast (especially for young students).

Have a goal

It’s hard to practice for months on end with no goal in mind. Recitals are a wonderful opportunity for students to show their hard work. Even though recitals can be a little nerve-racking at first, students are so excited after they perform well. Mini performances for family and friends are a nice way to break up the time between recitals.

Song Choice

I have some students that enjoy the structure of our lesson book and others that get excited by different genres of music. Some students love to sing and play their instrument at the same time. There are many simple songs on the radio that can be tons of fun to learn. If a student is learning to read music I will often transcribe one of their favorite songs into sheet music (simplifying it to their level), this is also nice because they already know the melody.

Get Creative

There are many contexts in which music can be taught, it’s the teacher’s job to find out which methods are most fun for a particular student. Quarter notes can be taught from a theory book but also by banging on pots and pans. Intervals can be taught from a long explanation but also in the context of a Beatles song. One of the games my students enjoy most is playing flashcards and running to the piano from the other side of the room to play the note on the keys. The simple act of being able to run in between cards makes it a fun game rather than a tedious flashcard quiz.

Help With Practice

Many young students don’t know effective ways to practice. They may avoid the difficult parts of the piece and just play the parts they already know. With gentle guidance from parents students can feel more successful about the work they put into practicing.

A 2016 study at the University of Southern California’s Brain and Creativity Institute discovered that participation in musical activities as a child can advance brain development, especially language and reading skills. According to the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation (NAMM Foundation), playing a musical instrument can boost mathematical learning and even raise SAT scores.

But academic accomplishment isn’t the only benefit of music learning. Music stimulates all fields of child development and skills for school readiness: intellectual, social and emotional, motor, language, and overall literacy. Children develop skills to learn the sounds and meaning of words, build motor skills, practice self-expression, and improve memory skills by singing and dancing to music. 

Toddlers and Music 

Toddlers love dancing and moving to songs. Toddlers love repetition in songs, which promotes their use of words. Encourage toddlers to copy rhythms by clapping or tapping objects.

Preschoolers and Music 

Preschoolers love to use their voices and sing. Great preschool music includes repetition of melody and words, strong beat, and interactive lyrics. Preschoolers enjoy acting with their imagination to songs with their bodies or props. 

School-Age Children and Music 

Most young school-age children are intrigued by kids’ singalong songs that involve counting, spelling, or remembering a sequence of events. School-age children begin expressing their likes and dislikes of different types of music. They may express an interest in music education, such as music lessons for kids. 

More on this topic

Tired of the same old nursery rhymes? Check out the ska-pop-dance party celebrating kid’s band Josh and The Jamtones!

Interested in music classes for babies and music lessons for kids in Wellesley, Natick, Newton, Weston, Westwood, Framingham, and Needham? Click Here For Classes!

In a music lesson, students receive many new tools and skill building techniques. The sooner your child practices after a lesson, the easier and more productive the whole week of practicing will be. 

Students should aim to review lesson material with a parent for 3-5 minutes the SAME day as their lesson. This will solidify all the instructions from the lesson – including technique, dynamics, new material, and special areas to work on. Students will also be more likely to start practice earlier in the week with a chip of practice already out of the way. 

Here are some fun ways to build lesson review into your routine: 

• Have your child give a “mini-lesson” to a parent or sibling using all the new information they learned from their music lesson. Kids love to teach their parents and give them their own assignments. 

• Film your child and give them a pretend news interview on their music assignments.  

• Have your child play their music pieces, and try to guess what they were assigned. 
   

More on this topic:

Interested in Music Lessons? CLICK HERE

The benefits of learning to play music are limitless for students of all ages. If you’ve always wanted to learn an instrument but don’t know where to begin, try taking this fun quiz from TakeLessons. You’ll answer a few questions about your personality, goals, and interests and at the end – find out which instrument is the perfect match for you! 

Do you want to be able to expand your skill set in the future and master multiple instruments? If so, try starting off on the piano. Are you looking for something a little easier and less expensive? The ukulele might just be the right fit. When you’re ready to start lessons, give us a call!