If you’re a piano teacher, I don’t need to tell you that consistent home practice is a constant struggle. In September, students start off with the best practice intentions, only to have those intentions diminish in October, pick back up during “recital week” and then collapse again in December.
In January, the cycle repeats itself. Piano students’ practice consistency is strong in January and then gradually drops off until it is time for a recital again in May or June.
This year, however, we want to help you stop this vicious cycle by sharing the one resolution every piano student should make on January 1st. Keep reading below to discover how daily practice will become the norm in your piano studio.
Understanding Willpower Is The Key To Daily Practice
People assume that willpower is something you either have or do not have. Fortunately, this is not the case. We all have willpower. Some of us have more willpower than others, and some of us use up our willpower faster than others. But we all have willpower.
To understand willpower, consider the temptation created by chocolate. Imagine for a moment, that you are going to use your willpower to avoid chocolate for a month. On the morning of Day 1, you are feeling strong. You have a ton of willpower. For a brief moment, your thoughts turn to your stash of chocolate in the cupboard above the fridge but you can easily distract yourself.
You have only used a bit of willpower.
When the afternoon of Day 1 arrives your thoughts turn again to the chocolate. By this time, the events of the day are starting to take their toll. You used some of your willpower to fit in some morning exercise. You used some more of your willpower to avoid social media and get your piano lesson planning done.
On the evening of Day 1, you are trashed. In addition to a full afternoon of teaching, you somehow managed to clean the house, pick up the kids from school, drive them to hockey, gymnastics, basketball, harp, and soap carving, cook dinner, and wash the dog who discovered a mud puddle.
By now, all of your willpower has been used up. You collapse on the couch and prepare to binge on chocolate and Netflix.
But What Does This Have To Do With Piano Practice?
Just like adults, kids have willpower too. And, just like adults, the events of a day drain their willpower. By the time school is over, extracurricular activities are complete and dinner is consumed, kids have little to no willpower left.
This is precisely why so many piano students do not consistently practice the piano! Despite the best of intentions, if the piano practice does not happen first thing in the morning, there is a really good chance it will not happen at all… especially for younger children.
So, when it comes time to make piano resolutions in your studio, you should do everything in your power to encourage your students to practice piano in the morning. This is the best time of day to capitalize on their willpower reserves and make daily piano practice a reality. It also happens to be the best time to ensure a consistent schedule. The twists and turns of the day mean that a consistent practice time in the afternoon or evening can be disrupted by unforeseen circumstances.
But if your piano students simply cannot practice first thing in the morning, all is not lost, however. Remember, willpower gradually decreases during the day, but it is never completely depleted. So, if family schedules make morning practice impossible, encourage your families to find the earliest time slot that is consistently available during each day of the week.
How To Replenish Willpower If It’s Already Drained
The great thing about willpower is that different environments require different amounts of willpower. For example, practicing a not-so-interesting piano piece that has been played for weeks may require a great deal of willpower while practicing a new and creative piano piece doesn’t require much willpower at all.
If you suspect your students may be low on willpower, then it may be time to set aside songs that snooze and introduce them to something more exciting.
For your teen piano students, this might be The Amadeus Anthems, The Beethoven Sessions, or The Chopin Sessions. Our classical pop crossover books contain pop-inspired tributes to the music of some of the world’s most famous classical composers.
You can listen to samples from our “Sessions Books” below. If it sounds like music your teens will love, visit Amazon to get The Amadeus Anthems, The Chopin Sessions, and The Beethoven Sessions
This: “…if piano practice does not happen first thing in the morning, there is a really good chance it will not happen at all… especially for younger children.”
I’ve rarely had anyone agree with me on that, but, yes, that’s what I’ve been saying for years. Tried and tested with my own children!
And how rewarding it was just last month to have my daughter, now an 18 year old university music major (!!!) mention to me over Thanksgiving break, “Mom, that 15 minutes every morning that you had us do, that’s why I can play the piano as well as I do, because I just DID it every day.” #proudmom
Hi Leah! We do this with our own children too – and I really don’t see how it could work any other way! Between other activities, dinner, homework etc. they’d either be exhausted while practicing or just not have enough time. So glad that your daughter reaped the benefits – and how exciting that she’s following a musical path as well 🙂
During my elementary school years, my Mom would brush and braid my hair every morning while I practiced my piano for 30 minutes from 7:30-8:00. That way, she made sure that I practiced and got my hair done at the same time! During the summer, my practice time increased — between 60-90 minutes every day! I have been playing the piano for 57 years, and I started taking lessons when I was 3 1/2.
Hi Shelley! That’s so sweet – love your mom’s multi-tasking mind 🙂
This is a great post! As a homeschooling family, we were able to easily incorporate this for my oldest son, now 16. For years, he practiced the piano everyday before we started school. It made practice time so much easier, because it came first in the day. As a bonus, we also found that practicing earlier in the day motivates students to practice MORE because it sparks their interest earlier in the day, so they are more likely to visit the piano a second time in the day.
Andrea, you should link this to your Morning Practice printables. I have them in my dropbox from a long time ago, and when I read this article, that’s what came to mind. I dug them out to take a look. They’re geared toward one week of morning practice, but that could be easily edited. Or, you can trick your students into doing another week, and another week, etc.
I always practice best in the morning. Always have. I have very few students who actually practice in the morning, and they are the ones with the best results. I’m constantly trying to convince my students (and their parents) to practice in the morning, but it rarely happens. I think parent involvement is a huge factor. So I like the flyer you made to give to the parents before the morning practice week. Then the practice pledge has the student agree to practice at least 3 mornings a week, so that can be done instead of the trick I mentioned earlier. Haha. I love tricking my students though.
Morgan & Andrea, I’d also like to see that kind of morning practice printables. Is there a link to the previous printables?
Hi Elizabeth – you can find that post and printables here 🙂 https://www.teachpianotoday.com/2015/10/21/why-my-piano-students-are-setting-their-morning-alarm-30-minutes-early-this-week
Thank you! I’m printing these for my students as we speak.
Oh these are fantastic! Thank you so much! Can’t wait to start off the new year with studio pj day to kick this thing off!!!
hmmm, morning practice is a bit difficult here, with 3 children that play an instrument (and a father who is still asleep at that time…), but I understand why it is so good! We do it differently here: children come home at 4pm, so after having a snack, they know that homework and instrumentpractice needs to happen before TV, IPad or essentially whatever else screenrelated can go on. Works every day here ;). No practice = no tv. Simple. Effective. (for now… they are 11, 9 and 9 – our 5 year old doesn’t really need to practice yet)