As a community music school we always have many young students who are venturing into the world of music and music lessons for the first time in their lives. They come to us for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it's because their parents simply believe that music is an important part of their overall education (which it is!) or they have a youngster who has shown promise as a musician or perhaps he or she may have a burning desire at an early age (like me) to follow the music muse. Whatever the reason, the single most important influencer and supporter in a young music student's life is, and for many years will be, their parents. Experience shows us that directly behind the most successful young students at WAM are parents who are actively supportive and actively involved in their child's weekly lessons and at-home practice sessions. I've said this many times: sending a child to their room with only an admonition to practice for 30 minutes does very little good. In most cases it's a sure recipe for failure. Why? Because along with mastering the things taught during the weekly lessons students must also learn how to practice effectively and efficiently and they must develop self-discipline, self-motivation and a commitment to musical excellence. It's the rare youngster who develops those skills without an example to follow or adult guidance. If your young child is taking music lessons you should be in the lessons, observing, asking questions, taking notes. Then, at home you should guide their practice sessions based on what you've learned. As they get older and more experienced you'll find that not only will they not require as much supervision from you, they will have developed personal traits that will last them a lifetime. Traits that breed a superior work ethic, personal and professional excellence, success and happiness.....also they'll have lifelong love and appreciation of music! Take heart; they'll thank you later....... Comments are closed.
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AuthorRick Cox/Tim Cox Archives
April 2017
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