Keeping Your Child Engaged While Learning an Instrument

In our music classes, we are committed to developing musicians who have healthy bodies and minds—and a healthy outlook on life!  We want our musicians to feel confident about themselves.  

One of the most important aspects of learning a musical instrument is for it to be engaging and fun, especially for kids. If a child can enjoy their music lesson or practice session on the piano or guitar, then they will easily become a better musician and have fun in the process.

Keep It Short and Realistic At First

To force your child to practice the piano for an entire hour may be way too long for them, especially if it is not something they are motivated to do. But keeping the practice short for ten minutes a day, especially for younger children, can help keep their interest and focus and help advance their musical skills.

Figuring out what time of day to practice is also important to help your child as well. Your child may not be able to focus effectively in the evening after a long day of school and other activities. Practicing before school may help your child focus better if this time of day works better for them.

Finding the right piano or guitar teacher is also very important. Whether it’s through word of mouth, reputation, or online praise, it is helpful to know whether or not a teacher will help your child reach their full potential with the piano or guitar. If the teacher cannot connect or relate to your child, then it may be best to find a new teacher to help your child reach their full potential.

Showing Your Support

As a parent, we try to give support and encouragement to our children in all that they do. Encouraging your child when they first begin to learn a musical instrument is important to show them that they are doing a great job. This encouragement can help motivate your child to stay engaged in their practice and music.

If you play a musical instrument yourself and can play along with your child, this can show even more interest and encouragement to them while playing the piano or guitar. Without this encouragement and support from you or even your child’s teacher, your child may be less motivated to play piano or guitar.

Online Resources Help Further Instruction

So many online resources are out there to help keep your child engaged in learning piano or guitar – some reviews you can find here. Some online video tutorials help beginners learn the piano or guitar while others are specifically geared towards young children like kids music workshop. Other resources like Kids Guitar Zone show how young children can learn guitar in ten lessons with additional video resources.

With piano resources, there are easy video tutorials online that help show you slowly how to play popular songs like “Happy Birthday To You” and slightly more advanced tutorials using some basic chords like “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen for your child as well. Playing along with these video tutorials can help your child learn their favorite songs, which are mostly available online.

So with all of these online resources, your encouragement and support, the right teacher, and realistic practice expectations, it is very possible to keep your child engaged when they are learning the piano or guitar.