Keeping a Child Motivated at the Piano....
Mommy, I wanna quit.
At some point every parent will hear their child say this - it could be on the second lesson, the second month or second year.
The trick is setting the stage as a parent. My dad was very wise in that he told all of us (5 children) that we HAD to stick to piano for a minimum of one year. After we fulfilled that, he told us that we could choose any other instrument in the band to play at school but we HAD to have a year of background so we would know HOW TO READ MUSIC, how to count, etc., and have some basic music theory under our belt.
I am so glad to this day - that I stuck with the piano for 8 years....and then went on to put myself through college by teaching piano and paid for 100% of all my school and living expenses.
Back to motivation and keep your children motivated. After thirty years of teaching I have found their are 2 schools of thought - reward or deprivation.
We live in a different day and age today. I often tell parents that I have trouble finding parents who are COMMITTED and willing to be firm and basically do their job as parents. I am blessed to have over 50 families who are supportive and parents who are great parents and where the parents are in charge and not the kids.
Every time a child does their job and practices without being reminded - they can get a sticker put up on a chart - and at the end of 30 days of successfully practicing they get a reward - like going to a concert, going to a toy store, getting a new computer game or whatever is meaningful to them. I have one mom 20 years ago go out and buy roller blades for her son when they were a hot ticket item...and put them high up on a shelf and told her son when the chart was filled out he would get them. It worked.
For girls getting their nails done, for boys playing golf with dad. Make it special!
Deprivation I find does not work well; in fact it cause have an opposite effect and cause children to hate music and hate the piano. Find something that works for you kids and stick to it. Children yearn for boundaries even though at time they may act like they hate them.
Work with your teacher closely; make sure your kids are playing interesting music.
If the music is boring it will be an uphill battle.
Funny thing I have found about kids, they often are just a reflection of the good and bad aspects / personality attributes of their parents. So if you see your son or daughter quiting when the task gets hard, perhaps they are modeling behavior they have seen from mom and day.
When a mom and dad and even grandparents praise their kids and support them verbally and show sincere affirmation over the piano pieces they are studying, great things can and do happen. We all need appreciation and need affirmation and in the music world which tends to be very competitive and ruthless at times, a child does develop intrinsic confidence from the praise they get at home.
Music successfully learned cast permanent memories on the psyche of children and parents. Choose your piano teacher carefully!
