Every parent wants to expose their children to as many experiences as possible & learning a musical instrument, like the guitar, is one of the popular choices.
Every activity, be it a Sport, the Arts, a Craft, a Dance form or a Language requires time to achieve a level of competany.
Discipline, focus, commitment & a training method are required to reach each level of accomplishment. Learning the guitar is no exception.
“Practice makes Perfect” & a “Perfect Practice Routine" requires a commitment to study & a level of awareness, as to where the flaws in technique lie.
This is where, in my view, the parents come into the learning equation.
I believe that It is unlikely, a young Guitar student will self motivate, examine their technique or focus on the flaws in their playing without a bit of a nudge from the parents at home.
The weekly Guitar lesson, generally provides 30 min of motivation. After that, the young student is left with study notes & a home practice recording to self learn & self motivate. Most of the time, this is where the wheels fall off & any form of practice is reduced to random noodling.
The following tips & suggestions will encourage & motivate kids to enjoy performing & improve their guitar playing techniques & abilities by default:
1: Play music at home - Introduce your favourite songs/playlists to your burgeoning young guitarist. Explain the back history of the song, the passion, the place, the story, the times, the band, the influences, etc.
Fill in the details of your fav music & sell them the feeling you feel(felt).
2: Ask your young Guitarist to practice at the kitchen table, while you prepare the evening meal. Listen to their playing & ask them to repeat a certain phrase or compliment them on a certain song you enjoy, recognise, etc, etc.
3: Encourage them to play their rehearsed repertoire in front of other supportive friends & family members.
4: Request they learn a family favourite singalong or camp song & jump on ultimateguitar.com together to find a version of a song that you both enjoy, that brings back goodtime family memories.
5: Ask them what they are currently learning at guitar lesson, which songs, what theory , what technique, etc, etc.
6: Encourage private & dining room practice time whenever there is a 30min time slot available, eg:: after dinner or before catching a family movie.
7: Leave the guitar out of its case, so it is always within arms reach.
Buy a guitar stand or mount a guitar hook on the wall. This may even encourage other family members or friends to randomly, pick up the guitar & play in your home. (nothing motivates more than a “blow in” better standard of guitarist)
8: The Parent may consider taking some Guitar lessons for themselves. This could be an opportune time to reinforce the aspects of the lessons, learn, share, connect, encourage & play music, with your kids at home.
To actively bring music into the home, will encourage all the aspects of learning the guitar.
By engaging in the learning cycle, to show encouragement, interest & support. I can guarantee your young guitarist will be more motivated & prepared for their 30 min weekly lesson & moreso, want to impress any audience & be up to speed for the upcoming lessons.
This theory will need to be tested & tailored to suit every family dynamic & each individual scenario, but with the right balance of structured weekly lessons, parental input & practice freedom, we will all hear the progression in a childs playing ability florish & grow.
To have a keen, enthusiastic young student on our hands is what makes teaching, learning & listening a joy. Now, what could be better than that?
I hope you enjoyed the post,
Please reach out with any thoughts or questions,
David
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