Wondering how to make piano practice fun? Discover tips below on how to make practicing piano fun
At Hoffman Academy, our goal is to help piano students LOVE playing the piano from the very beginning. That means practice time should never seem like a chore.
It’s true that piano practice requires consistency and discipline. Just like you wouldn’t let your kids skip brushing their teeth, don’t let them skip a day of practicing because they don’t feel like it. Making daily practice a positive experience is the key to helping students succeed. Read on for some suggestions to help your piano student look forward to practice time every day.
Keep Piano Practice Short and Sweet
End the practice session before your piano student gets tired. As a rule of thumb, students in the first few lessons should practice ten to fifteen minutes per day. Slowly work up to thirty minutes a day as they are able. Keep practice sessions short and sweet, and your child will be more willing to come back the next day.
It may also be helpful to break their practice sessions up: for example, have the student practice for half of their full practice time and then take a break to have a snack or do something else for a little bit. After they’ve reset, have them return to the piano bench and finish their practice session. This allows them to fully focus while at the piano. Ultimately, the quality of the student’s practice (consistent and focused) is more important than the quantity of practice.
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How to Make Piano Lessons Fun: Positive Attitude
Having a positive attitude towards music and piano lessons is important for both the piano student and the practice partner. Never scold or threaten to get your piano student to the bench. If they complain, remind them to come to piano practice with a smile. You might even want to make a game out of cheerfully coming to practice.
Use Piano Practice Games
Looking for fun things to play on piano? Children love games, and when it comes to piano practice there are lots of ways to have fun and be creative. A good practice time game will have a clear and specific goal with results attached. Within those guidelines, your imagination is the only limit.
How to Create a Great Piano Practice Game
To create a great piano practice game, first decide what you’d like to target, such as piano posture, or playing a song without missing any notes. Then choose a clear, specific goal that’s attainable for your child.
If hand position is the issue you’d like to tackle, make the object of the game to keep fingers curved and relaxed, and don’t worry about anything else. Next, decide how you’re going to give feedback. One fun way to do this is to have a small object like a toy or a coin set near one end of the keyboard. Move the object one key closer to the end every time the child succeeds. Make up a story about the object that your child will enjoy, such as a prisoner trying to escape from a dungeon, or a lost pet finding its way home.
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How to Make Piano Fun: Try These Practice Game Ideas
Practice Charts: One very common game is to use a practice chart for a piano student to mark during each practice session. Decide what you’d like to track and improve, such as cheerful attitude or how many minutes spent at the piano. For many children, simply tracking their progress is reward enough, but you may want to offer a favorite activity or treat when your child has reached certain practice time goals. Use our free practice checklist to chart your progress.
Roll-the-Die: This game makes things more exciting by introducing an element of chance. The piano student rolls a six-sided die to see how many times to play a song or portion of a song. If the student plays correctly, turn the die so that the next lower number is facing up. For instance, if the piano student rolls a four, then plays correctly, the die is turned so that three is facing up, then play again, and so on down to one.
Penalties: If a piano student’s playing is getting careless, don’t be afraid to use penalties in the game. These could be moving the object on the keyboard further away from the end as a consequence for a missed note. Penalties should never be used when students are learning new songs, only when those songs have been learned and are ready to be mastered. Most students will smile at their first penalty, and it spurs them on to better quality of performance.
Game Example: A fun game that you can try at home with your student is Toy is Watching. Here’s how this game goes: Did you know that your toys love to watch you play piano? Find your favorite stuffed animal or toy. Have a family member (like a parent or older sibling) sit with you and your toy. Play the song you’re learning for them. It’s okay if you don’t know it very well yet. Just do your best! Your toys like to see your best posture. If they notice you doing something that isn’t on the posture checklist, they’re going to turn around the other way. As long as you are following the posture checklist, your toy will watch you play! You can play this with each song you learn to practice your best posture!
Above all, piano practice games should be positive. Don’t set objectives too high. Children will enjoy games most if they can be successful 85% of the time or more. Use your imagination, be creative, and find out what clicks for your piano student.