A Parent's Guide to String Success

But I don't know anything about music! How can I help my child succeed?

Whether or not you are a musician, you CAN help your child to be successful in their musical endeavors. Take a moment to read through some of these suggestions and strategies. As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Find a Quiet Space

A practice space should be a quiet, well-lit part of the house, free from as many distractions as possible. A music stand and a pencil should be available if possible.

Set a Consistent Time

One of the most commonly heard excuses is that a student "didn't have time to practice" this week. While some weeks may indeed be crazy, often a more accurate statement is that the student “didn’t make time to practice.” Life is crazy and if you don’t make time, it won’t happen!

We always suggest to my students and families that they set a specific practice time. Perhaps it is after dinner, or before school, or after soccer practice. Whatever the time is, try to make it consistent. If practicing an instrument is part of the child's daily routine, practice time will become less of a battle. Also, if students are really low on time, even 5 minutes of focused work can make a big difference!

Be Informed

We encourage you to read the page on “Instrument Care” on our orchestra site. Assist your student in keeping the instrument safe and away from siblings and if something breaks- PLEASE take the instrument to your teacher or another trained professional. Even if you consider yourself handy around the house, please do not attempt to fix it at home!

Know Your Resources

At some point this year, your child may ask you a question about their instrument or something in their method book. If this happens, you may or may not be able to answer your student’s question. Beside the resources found on this site and the rest of the internet, your teacher can be reached easily by e-mail or phone. Please do not hesitate to contact us!

Persevere!

Learning a musical instrument is a lifelong endeavor, and just like learning anything new, there will be ups and downs. We urge even the most frustrated students to stick it out for at least one year before they quit- this allows time for some of the bumps in the road to even out. Encourage your student to be patient with him or herself as they learn something new to them.

Be Positive

Learning a new instrument can be a difficult task for an elementary student, but sometimes hearing a new student practice can be equally challenging for the listener! Squeakiness in beginning strings is normal, so please avoid telling students that they sound bad. A parent or guardian’s approval and encouragement helps feed a student’s desire to improve, so remain positive! Find one thing that they are succeeding at on their new instrument and praise them for that!

You can also ask them play a mini-recital for you or arrange for them to play for their grandma over the phone- take the time to be involved and stay positive.