Does Your Teacher Teach Practice Skills?
“And what would you like to learn today?”
So began another class, first with my older step-daughter Suvin with singing and later with Ambrosia with dancing. In both cases, there was very little – if any – focus on practice skills. Suvin got to choose a song that she liked and they would ‘sing’. In Ambrosia’s dance class, the teacher turned on the boom box and the kids ‘moved’ to the music. Um… that’s pretty much all they ‘learned’.
I shouldn’t complain though. That’s how I got to meet Maggie and the girls. In September, 2005 Maggie was shopping for a new music teacher for Suvin. She was fed up with the lack of leadership and practice skills delivered by her previous teachers.
From her experience, Maggie knew what she DIDN’T want in a music teacher. When she came to interview me and check out my school, she asked all the right questions. (Most people just ask about the price and make their decision based solely on that alone. Big mistake.) Maggie got right to the heart of the matter and wanted to know HOW I was going to teach her child; what kind of practice skills Suvin was going to learn.
One of the things I showed Maggie and Suvin during that first meeting was that I had a system – a set of practice skills that would allow a student to learn virtually ANY song they wanted. In fact, I explained to them, as I do with all prospective students and parents, that I only “teach” one class. The rest of the time, I coach my students, using my ’5 Ways to Practice’.
By using one system of practice skills and applying it to songs of gradually increasing difficulty – ANYONE can learn ANY SONG they desire in a very short time. Applying the very system you see demonstrated above in the video with Ambrosia and I, Suvin will complete her ninth level of piano lessons in just over four years! The results – with proper practice at home, of course – ARE typical!
Proven Practice Skills You Can Rely On
Here is a brief synopsis of the ’5 Ways to Practice’:
They say repetition is the mother of skill. However, mindless, pointless, unfocused reps are a waste of time. They are the types of reps that lead to boredom and quitting. There’s nothing worse than telling a student to, “Do it again… do it again… do it again…” like a broken record without telling her ‘WHY’. A good set of practice skills takes care of all that.
Each step of the ’5 Ways to Practice’ focuses the mind on one specific mental task while the fingers get enough physical repetition to stimulate muscle memory. It’s “Do it again…” without feeling like, “Do it again…” 
- Step 1: Say the names of the notes and finger numbers OUT LOUD while playing. This process slows the brain WAY DOWN, giving the fingers a chance to ‘feel’ their way around the keys. Done correctly, this is a highly conscious, extremely focused act.
- Step 2: Say only the names of the notes OUT LOUD while playing. This step is not as mentally and verbally demanding and allows the student to pick up just a bit of speed.
- Step 3: Say only the finger numbers OUT LOUD while playing. Most students can think of the finger numbers much faster than reading notes. Playing once again goes a bit faster.
- Step 4: Counting/ Clapping focuses on rhythm. With brand new beginners, I use this practice skill to see if they can really follow the notes. (see the video above)
- Step 5: SSHH… Be Quiet and THINK! I recently incorporated whispering in this step to make sure students are still ‘thinking’ while playing. I noticed that previously, when I said “Be Quiet”, the brains turned off and the focus was gone.
- Step 6: All By MYSELF! If all has gone well with the ’5 Ways to Practice’ the student now has begun to develop a dependable set of practice skills that she can apply to ever-increasingly difficult pieces. She is now ready to fly on her own!
This is A basic set of practice skills… I don’t claim it to be ‘THE ONLY’ way to practice, although it’s the method I prefer to use with the majority of my students. It certainly is better than nothing. It’s a great place to start because it really does cover all the necessary basic practice skills in one quick routine.
Over time, I’ll have both Suvin and Ambrosia demonstrating more practice skills for you. Let me know what you think of this lesson!
For sure, Ambrosia is already looking forward to her next video so she can show off more of her new practice skills. As you can see, she is one very enthusiastic kid! You just gotta Love That Feeling!
