Non-Musical Parents Help Your Child With Music Practice

You can help your child with math and science homework, but if you never learned music then it can be a challenge to help them with music practice. Below I have compiled some tips for non-musical parents who want to help their child practice music. These tips don’t require any musical knowledge, and help to reinforce essential musical skills children learn in lessons.

Where is the hardest part of this piece? Can you play just that for me?

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Time is better spent playing and repeating the difficult parts – the weak links. Making strong links even stronger is pointless, the chain will STILL BREAK at the weak points. Asking your child to play the hardest part will ensure that they get enough repetitions of that section which will allow them to play the music sooner and boost their confidence to continue lessons.

I Iove the how [insert song title here] sounds, Will you play it for me again?

This alone will show your child that you are enthusiastic about their musical skills, and will prompt them to add in a few more reps of practice, or motivate them to begin their practice session.

Can you play the music for me in slow motion?

This will help your child take a look at every single note and make sure they are playing accurately. Moving through something in slow motion is actually something elite performers do. It is component of something called deliberate practice. As far your child is concerned, they will just have fun moving in slow motion and playing for you. Read this article for more info on the benefits of slow motion practicing.

Can I play the last note in this piece? Can you show me which key to press and then nod at me when it’s time to play?

Give your child an opportunity to teach you something they have learned. Keep in mind that they may struggle giving you an explanation, but that’s not the point of this tip. The point is for your child to have another repetition of the music with you in their presence which demonstrates that music is communal and not always something to be practiced alone.

If you are up for the challenge, you can ask them to show you the last handful of notes. Or you can ask them to circle another note(s) somewhere in the middle of the piece for you to play as well.

Clap the rhythm of any measure in this piece and I will try to copy you.

Rhythm is usually the thing that most children have trouble understanding in written form. Having your young musician analyze and dissect a rhythm will help them get extra practice in reading and executing rhythms correctly. Use this website to verify if your child is executing the rhythm correctly. But first try it without consulting the website so your child can think a little harder before relying on the website for the correct rhythm.

Pro Tip: selecting passages with eighth notes would benefit the most from this tip.

Let’s write a note to your teacher about today’s practice. What should we tell them?

This is the building block of keeping a progress journal. Tracking progress has a huge positive impact on improvement. Also, it helps to teach about self-reflection. Putting into words obstacles that may be preventing us from making progress make them less intimidating and more easily overcome. It’s NOT important that your child understand the psychology behind tracking, what matters is the HABIT of doing it.

Your child will probably have no idea what to say about their music practice. In fact, count on their notes being rather,,, lets' say, inarticulate. For the first few times, let them write whatever comes out so long as it is about the music. After they get used to writing notes, ask from the following questions to help guide their reflection:

Which part was easy? Which part is your favorite? Which part is the hardest to play? Is there a note or symbol that you don’t understand? How many times did you play the assignment?

And some interpretive questions such as: What emotion do you feel from the music? Does this sound like a dreamy, cloudy balloon ride, or climbing up a snowy, icy mountain? An adventure through the forest, or sailing the ocean with on a big ship?

Help engage their imagination by asking them such questions. It bears repeating, to validate them and write down whatever they say – even if they say the music reminds them of leprechauns playing hide and seek with teddy bears.

What does this mean? (point to any symbol on the sheet music)

Think of this as a kind of pop quiz, but don’t ask in an authoritative teacher voice. Instead, ask in a curious voice so your child can feel like they are teaching you something. Your child will have to recall what that symbol means and relay that information to you. Even if their explanation is a little off, be encouraging and maybe feign comprehension. Verify their explanation on this website. If they need correcting, gently let them know that their explanation is not totally correct, and help them arrive at the correct answer.

Let’s surprise Grandma with a special tune. I'll phone her… when you hear HELLO start to play!

This is an easy low-pressure performance situation. Let your child have some control over their performance by asking when they want to perform. In lieu of a live performance you can try making a quick movie of their performance. This will get your child accustomed to “being on the spot.”

Green Light Red Light

When you say green light, your child starts playing the music. When you say red light, your child must stop. At another green light, your child must resume from where they stopped. Be patient, this may be difficult for your child at first, since starting at the beginning of a musical phrase can be awkward. Try not to give them more than 2 red lights per 4 measures of music.

Flash Cards

Buy a set of flash cards and quiz them on music symbols. The answers will be visible to you.

If you know some music basics, try these

Quiz them on note names, rhythm values, intervals, chords, and other elements found in the music they’re working on that are not typically found in flash cards.

Help them chunk a section of music. Chunking is a concept that most adults can understand quickly, but a young child will probably need help for before they can do it for themselves. Identify one or two passages that are giving your child the most difficulty and walk them through how to chunk-practice it.

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Conclusion

I hope these tips will help you feel more proactive in your child’s musical development.

Have you applied these tips? Do you know other tips for non-musical parents? Let us know in the comments! For questions about this or anything music related, find me via Email ask.music.alonso@gmail.com, or Instagram DM @practice_percussion.

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