For a parent of a new piano student there is a whole lot of information coming your way… studio policies, new books, payment information, lesson assignment sheets… it can be overwhelming.
And sometimes the basics of how to help their child practice at home can get lost in the shuffle.
But this is quite possibly the most important information you can give to a new piano parent who has no previous experience with music lessons.
The Importance of Parental Involvement in Home Practice
The plight of your new piano student often rests in the hands of their parents. Will they be involved? Will piano practice actually happen? Will they be pleased with their child’s progress? Will their child flounder at home? Will practice wars ensue between parent and child? So much of our piano students’ future rests in the abilities of the parent to encourage effective home practice.
But in the midst of lesson beginnings this can be difficult to convey in a simple and clear way. Until today! Today we’re giving you a visually-attractive shareable you can either email to your new piano parents, include in your studio newsletter, post to your studio Facebook page, hand out with your studio policy… you name it.
It’s a simple way to convey the basics of how piano parents can help their beginning students at home. It makes the expectation of parental involvement in home practice clear. It’s one more way you can get parents on board from the very beginning as active participants in their child’s learning.
Another way I’m getting piano parents involved at home (in a simple way!) is by sending my students home with TEDDtales technical exercises. Even the busiest parent has the time to sit and participate in the fun that is TEDDtales. It’s a great way to encourage non-musical parents to participate in the practicing process!
Benita says
January 30, 2015 at 4:08 amThis is exactly what I needed for this week. THANKS!!!
Laura says
January 30, 2015 at 4:18 amThis is exactly what I needed, thank you! I have had six new enrolments since Christmas and this will be fantastic to hand out!
Jen says
January 30, 2015 at 6:03 amLove this, but says it is too big for facebook!
Great picture though…I will try again later.
Appreciate all of your helpful posts!
Andrea says
January 30, 2015 at 8:39 amHi Jen – if you don’t know how to resize it then you can click on this link and this image will work for Facebook. https://www.dropbox.com/s/3rc5y6m1m9ev4p4/Image-Parents-Practice-Guide-.png?dl=0
Paula says
January 30, 2015 at 6:39 amWonderful! I have saved to file, printed (works w/ iPad) and plan to ask each parent to keep this handy.
Sheila says
January 30, 2015 at 8:00 amThanks for the great handout! One question, what is a “stop-over”?
Andrea says
January 30, 2015 at 8:30 amHi Sheila – a “stop over” is a quick stop on the piano bench to run through their material that happens outside of and in addition to regularly scheduled practice time. I encourage these as they often become more than just a quick stop… and practice time increases significantly.
Lisa says
January 30, 2015 at 8:02 amThis is super! Thank you!
I think I know what you mean in #7 by “stop over,” but I would be very grateful for a little clarity on that. Thank you!
Andrea says
January 30, 2015 at 8:30 amHi Lisa – a “stop over” is a quick stop on the piano bench to run through their material that happens outside of and in addition to regularly scheduled practice time. I encourage these as they often become more than just a quick stop… and practice time increases significantly.
Carol says
January 30, 2015 at 8:05 amThanks so much! This will be great for my next newsletter!
Linda says
January 30, 2015 at 8:15 amHI
I still cannot open this. Can you send it in another format. Will not open with Adobe reader for me.
Trevor says
January 30, 2015 at 8:20 amHi Linda,
If you still cannot open it, make sure to clear your browser’s cache/ history and then refresh the link… and all should be good 🙂
Robin Engleman says
January 30, 2015 at 8:23 amJust sent it out! Was able to open the pdf from the link in one of the paragraphs in the first email. Saved it to my computer and then emailed to all my familes. Thanks!!
Amy says
January 30, 2015 at 8:47 amThank you so much for this!
Michelle says
January 30, 2015 at 8:47 amThis is great!!! It will be hanging up in my studio next to the “Turn off cell phones!” sign. 😉
natalie whittington says
January 30, 2015 at 9:04 amjust for future reference, i was able to just “rename” the .pages file to a .zip file. then, the attachment opened up just fine. it’s already been included in my weekly studio newsletter. thanks!
Lisa says
January 30, 2015 at 9:52 amThanks for this! It is great! 🙂
kerry driskill says
January 30, 2015 at 1:40 pmThank you a Zillion times!
Susan says
February 1, 2015 at 8:16 amCan we get an ink-friendly copy of this?
Andrea says
February 2, 2015 at 12:35 pmHi Susan – sorry it would mean re-inventing the wheel for this one! We meant this mostly for emailing and including in digital newsletters etc. There is a link to a social media sharing-sized one in the comments of this post if you wanted to post it online on your Facebook page or Twitter.
Gabrielle says
February 7, 2015 at 2:09 pmThis is brilliant! Just what I need this week as I begin my piano teaching journey. Your blog posts have been an essential tool in helping me get my studio underway. Thank you 🙂
Michelle says
February 21, 2015 at 9:11 amThank you so much for this! Sending this out to my parents to prepare for our big practice challenge beginning in March. Thanks so much for this resource!
Barbara Fischer says
May 15, 2020 at 3:35 amWhat a great handout! Kids always need their parents’ help, but now it’s especially important. Thank you for sharing this with us!