If your child has recently started learning a musical instrument, you might be familiar with the struggle to get them to practise.
For many kids, spending time with their chosen musical instrument can be frustrating.
Practising often involves learning unfamiliar music, working on techniques as well as correcting mistakes. Some kids can find the process repetitive and boring.
Forming the habit to practise is an important life lesson children need to learn, according to longtime music educator and researcher Anita Collins.
"The understanding that when we work at something, we will get better at it is a transferable skill," Dr Collins says.
But this is easier said than done.
Dr Collins and ABC Classic's Music Class co-host Genevieve Lang, who is also a professional harpist, share tips to make practising more manageable.
Why do you need to practise music?
Practising is about developing skills, familiarity and confidence, Dr Collins says.
Even people who are musically talented still need to practise, including the things they find repetitive and boring.
"What the brain does [while learning through repetition] is problem solving," Dr Collins says.
Practising allows the brain to process the huge amount of musical information needed to develop the skill required to play the instrument or sing. It also allows the player to build the muscle coordination to perform more virtuosic or technical pieces of music.
That's really important for an instrumentalist like Lang.
"We have a phrase in Music Class: musicians are tiny muscle athletes," Lang says.
Lang says practising the music slowly at first can help with the learning process.
She uses "slow practice" to map out the movement of her hand on her harp, allowing her to concentrate on tempo and volume when she increases the speed.
"The other thing that slow practice allows you to do is relax in between every note," she says.
Relaxing is important to keep musicians safe from injury through repetitive strain, especially for instruments like the harp which require players to hold a certain posture for a long period of time.
But if kids make mistakes while learning notes, it's important to pause and correct it before doing too many repetitions.
Otherwise, "they're just practising their mistake," Lang says.
How do you get kids motivated to practise?
Dr Collins compares practising music to building an exercise habit.
Kids need a goal or a reason to work towards, such as a performance or an exam.
Parents could start with having a designated space that's set up with a music stand, such as a corner of the room, and a nominated time to practise.
"The most important part is actually developing the habit," Dr Collins says.
For the first two to four weeks, "what we're actually doing is not developing them musically," Dr Collins says.
"We're developing the habit that at a given time, I go to my space and I pick my instrument up and I do my practice."
Dr Collins and Lang have also role modelled practising music themselves.
Both incorporate music practice as part of their day, especially showing their kids how to be accountable to get better.
"I'm very honest with my kids when I need to practise," Lang says.
Lang's kids know when she needs to do more practise for upcoming performances.
"they will tell me: "mum, that doesn't sound too good yet'."
But conversely, Lang isn't averse to "a good old bribe" when it comes to motivating kids to practise.
"My son can earn screen time minute by minute when he practises his drums," she says.
On social media, parent Matthew Lorenzon employs a similar tactic. He uses low-cost computer technology to track how long his son practises, and activates a reward when he has finished.
"After ten minutes of practice, the internet turns on," Lorenzon says.
How long do children need to practise?
Dr Collins says during the initial habit-forming stage, the practice session might take as little as two minutes.
"All they have to do is walk to that space, get their musical instrument out, play one thing and put their instrument down," she says.
"Without saying you must practise for a set amount of time, it will naturally happen because we've set them up with a habit to start with," she says.
Dr Collins emphasises there's no one-size-fits-all approach to determine how long kids should practise.
"It should be something that is talked through and monitored by both parents and their instrumental teacher," she says.
This should take into account the child's age, how long they've been playing the instrument, their learning style and the expectations of their parents and teachers.
"It should change regularly as the student improves as a player, strengthens their attention span and needs greater challenge," Dr Collins says.
As a harpist, Lang uses something called the "Pomodoro Technique" for her own practice routine.
Many might already be familiar with the method from the workplace or studying.
"I would put on a timer for about 20 minutes to sit and play," she says.
If she's in flow when the timer goes off, Lang will carry on. But if the practice isn't going well, Lang will get up and do something else before continuing.
Even though Lang plays the harp professionally, she doesn't believe in practising for hours. The limit of her attention span is about 45 minutes.
"That's the maximum sustained time that I can practise before I'm not able to place my attention on what I'm doing."
Should kids still practise on a bad day?
Both Lang and Dr Collins emphasise that practice is about the daily process of learning music instead of tallying accomplishments.
"Sometimes it goes up, sometimes it goes down, but ultimately, it's always going generally up," Dr Collins says.
Lang explains why it's not a straightforward process.
"[Just like adults], kids are not the same every day, and you can't set the same expectations from day to day," she says.
She describes how at the end of school terms when kids are tired, they're not able to learn new things.
After the holiday, "they come back and they are like sponges for instructions," Lang says.
"The important thing is that they just consistently persist," Lang says.
"You need to meet them where they are, push them forwards, and do it again the next day. That's [when] they get better through repetition."
Sign up to the ABC Classic Newsletter
