For Students:

Set Goals

It is important to have short and long term goals in your pursuit of music.  Short term goals may include being able to play through a particular piece for your next lesson.  Long term goals may be formal things such as exams or completed book/grade levels or less formal things such as working up to playing every day for a certain amount of time.

Warm Up

Don’t dive right into the difficult parts.  Mentally and physically, it is crucial that you take the time to play something simple and familiar before delving into challenging pieces. 
Take it in Small Steps
Be realistic when you are taking on long or difficult sections of music.  Break things down into small, manageable pieces and play through them slowly at first.  It is better to play all the notes correctly at half the tempo than to play half the notes incorrectly at the right tempo.

Set a Time

When you sit down to practice, know how long you want to play for.  This is particularly important during those times when you are struggling with your practice (and those times happen to everyone), or when you are feeling too busy to squeeze in practice time to your busy schedule.  It is better to play for 15 minutes every day than to jam in a 2 hour session once per week. 

Keep Your Instrument Close

For those whose instrument of choice is easily portable (sorry to the pianists and vocalists), take the instrument out when you return home from your lesson and keep it somewhere visible and accessible.  When we are struggling to practice regularly, draggling the instrument out, digging around for music and finally settling in to playing makes it seem like a much bigger production than it needs to be.  Have your instrument close by so that if you see it and feel like just playing through that one favourite song, then it’s easy for you to do so.

For Parents:
Here are a few basic tips to assist you in supporting your child’s continuing musical education.

1)  Sit with them while they practice for the first few months of lessons, as often as possible. For those younger children, call it “Play Time”, not “Practice”. Children need help in developing the discipline to practice on their own.

2)  If possible, choose the same time and duration each day. For example, each day immediately after school for a minimum of 20 - 30 minutes. (especially before everyone is too tired). If you miss a day here and there, don’t be concerned. You could also try splitting the practice time into 2 equal sessions of 15 minutes - in the morning and afternoon.

3)  Positive feedback is very important. Help your child through the ups and downs. Be positive and encouraging always. At the end of your practice session, make sure the last thing you do is fun. Do not withhold lessons as a punishment especially for not practicing. Find an alternative if you must (withholding TV, video games, computer time, etc.)

4) Consider the years of their study. We know through years of experience that if a child stays with lessons for at least three years, he or she will have a foundation and appreciation of music that will last a lifetime, a priceless gift indeed. The first year is fun, the second is more challenging, and in the third year, interesting music is ready to be mastered, and your child will be considered a “musician”.

5)  Your child may want to quit from time to time. This is normal. Music lessons can go through difficult stages at times. It is at these times, discontinuing lessons may seem to be the obvious solution. Remember though, that children who are allowed to quit, rarely return to lessons. Adults, who quit too early as children, often wish their parents had made them “stick with it”. We have never heard a parent say, “I’m glad my parents let me quit”. It is true though that music lessons may not be right for all children and it is best to decide what is right for each individual child.

It is often those children who are allowed to quit who come to us for lessons when they are adults. If the subject of quitting comes up, we recommend that you be the “decision maker”. A child is not capable of seeing ahead and realizing the value of a music education, but it is also important not to force them so much that music becomes a negative thing for them. We make all kinds of decisions that we know are best for our children - what to eat, when to sleep, etc. Music is an enjoyed discipline with wonderful long-term results.