Skip to main content

When to Practice by Yourself Part 1

There is a huge difference between the four-year-old student and the eight-year-old student.  That might sound like an obvious statement.  Of course an eight-year-old is different.  And yet--almost without fail--the parent is inevitably shocked when it happens.  One day the child is fine happily following directions.  The next day that same child wants to do everything himself.

When this change takes place some things are easy to allow.  Of course the child can make his own cereal or dress himself.  Those are simple tasks and it's important that he start feeling independent.  With independence comes more responsibility.  The chores that can be assigned to an eight-year-old are different from what a four-year-old could do.  In many ways it's a relief for the parent not to have to monitor the child's every move.

But when comes to practicing this newfound independence usually leads to fights.  Gone are the days where the child is happily using a dice to determine the number of repetitions.  Now every repetition is a battle.  And to top it all off, the parent--in the child's eyes--is stupid and knows "nothing" about the instrument.

So the parent becomes exasperated and throws in the towel.  "Correctness" seems less important than just having a day where the child practices without a fight.  After all, isn't the most important thing that the child just plays?

Well... yes and no.

Here's the thing: an instrument is not a simple task.  This is something an adult understands but a child does not.  To the eight-year-old all tasks are equal.  The bottom line during this age is independence.  So long as the child gets to do it himself it's a victory.  Quality is not something that even crosses his mind.

But the adult can see that the quality is suffering.  It's not enough to merely do something ten times.  It has to be ten good times or the lesson will not be learned.  It is this conflict of interest that causes fights to ensue.

So when should a child practice by himself?  More on that in part two....

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Illusion of Mastery

Dr. Molly Gebrian touched on a concept called "the illusion of mastery" in her Rethinking Genius interview.   Basically, it's what psychologists call it when you do something over and over again, giving yourself a false sense of mastery. Wait... if you do something over and over again, shouldn't it be mastered? Well, not always. The true test of mastery is internalization.  If you're still having to follow the directions for how to make chicken, you haven't mastered chicken cooking.  Mastery means that you've cooked chicken so many times you're no longer worried about the basics.  It also means that you are confident enough in those basics that you are able to add extra elements with some degree of certainty.  For example, you know how the chicken should be cooked even after adding a sauce or extra seasoning. In other words: you can complete the task under pressure. The physical and psychological leap from the practice room to the stage is th

Like Brushing Your Teeth

One of my teacher trainers told me that practicing should be like brushing your teeth. There is never a day when your tooth brushing is affected by other events in your day. The process is completely emotionally detached. I mulled over her words of wisdom for quite some time after she said them to me. What struck me the most was the suggestion of emotionally detaching myself. All my life I have been told that music is supposed to express emotion. So it was almost like it would be wrong to try and strip that away. For me, the teeth brushing example was a very interesting concept. I realized that the level of habitual repetition of that daily routine is rarely achieved in any other life areas. Dishes get put off, vacuuming, shopping for groceries.... but I always make the time to brush my teeth. Always making the time for practice? A lofty ideal indeed.

Interview with Michiko Yurko on Music Mind Games and Sight-Reading in the Suzuki Method

Welcome to Rethinking Genius, Michiko! Please introduce yourself and tell us about your company, Music Mind Games. Hi, Danielle! I am Michiko Yurko and I am the creator of Music Mind Games, a project I have been working on for 40 years. It’s been great! Music and education were important to my parents. Although they followed different professions, my father sang and my mother played the piano. I was always supported in my music and dance lessons and related activities so I have very positive memories of those years. My mom was an elementary classroom teacher and her extraordinary devotion to her students and her creativity taught me to be innovative in my own work. Music Mind Games, LLC was founded in 2005 after Warner Bros (my publisher for nearly 20 years) was sold to Alfred. Although they believed in my work and continue to publish the book Music Mind Games, Alfred said they could not afford to produce the Music Mind Games materials. My husband, Cris and I discussed all sorts o