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Teen piano students often struggle with the initiative to practice at home. As younger children, they had a parent and teacher pushing more. As teen piano students now, they need to learn to master home practice independently. Here are some tips for helping your teen students with practice.
Practice Tips for Teens
- Set a goal for yourself. Set a weekly practice goal for yourself to achieve. You can start small with something like 60 minutes total for the week. Work to achieve that goal little by little throughout the week. You can log practice times with a music assignment notebook or with a notes app. Logging your practice times will help keep you accountable!
- Set reminders for yourself. Use your device (cell, tablet, or computer) to set up practice reminders for yourself. This little, extra push from your device will be helpful.
- Practice in small increments. If you have a busy schedule, you will not have large chunks of time to practice.
Often times, students will not practice unless they have a large chunk of time. Let go of waiting for large chunks of time to practice. You can still accomplish a lot by practicing 10-15 minutes at a time. - Use your device to help you. Not only can you use your device to set reminders, you can use it to record yourself or listen to your music.
- Listen to your music. When a parent is driving or you’re on a device waiting for an appointment, listen to the music you’re learning. Try to do this several times throughout the week. It’s motivating and helpful for learning your music.
- Listen to something inspirational. Ask your teacher to recommend a concert pianist or professional musician. Listen to this artist as extra motivation.
- Limit your technology use. Addiction to electronics will easily prevent you from achieving your goals. If you are an Apple user, use the Screen Time function to set time limits for using apps. You can also set times in the evenings or on weekends that you do not use electronics.
- Learn music that you like. Work with your teacher to find pieces that you like and will enjoy playing. Check out this list of motivating piano music for teens.
Leave a comment with your favorite tip for helping teen students master home practice!
Lauren teaches piano to students of all ages. She enjoys creating resources for her students and teachers. She is the author of Ready for Theory®. For personalized help, check out the consultations page for teachers.
