Practicing

     I’m often asked by parents about how much students should be practicing.  Overall, I expect everyone that is taking lessons to be practicing. That means varying things to students at different ages and stages of development, but it’s a good place to start.

        In most lessons for students Third grade or above, we work on 4 to 6 topics in our lesson. In each student’s assignment book I write the date and a brief description of each topic with a brief description of how to practice it.  I expect that when practicing, students will spend time on each topic listed in their assignment book. Ideally, it’s a much more productive use of a students time to practice a shorter amount of time on each topic everyday, rather than try and spend a longer duration on each topic only once or twice a week.

        In some cases if a particular exercise is difficult for a student, I may make a short video on my iPhone of myself demonstrating the exercise and email it to you. This allows for the student to be able to reference the demonstration when practicing.

        I’m well aware of how busy students are with homework, sports and other extra curricular activities. What I really ask of each student is that they make their best effort to practice during the week, and that they come to each lesson with a positive attitude ready to learn, and to have fun playing music.

Technology

Online lessons are available with FaceTime or Zoom.