How to motivate my child to practice

There are a few things parents can do to help their child: firstly, at Tribeca Music Academy, we have biennial recitals. Recitals can be a wonderful way to motivate practice, since children will want to perform well for other kids and their families. It’s also a fun event that shows your child other kids who are practicing and playing piano, which can help give music more of an exciting social community feel, rather than just solo practice. We always get cute treats and flowers for all the kids to make it feel extra special. 

Another helpful tool is to treat piano practice like any other chore responsibility - like brushing teeth or cleaning a mess. We have had many parents use practice charts or combine piano practice into their home chore charts. Parents will use stickers or stars to keep track of even just 10 minute daily practice sessions, and when the child reaches 5 days (or whatever number you like) of consistent daily practice they get a little prize. Or you can add up the minutes each day and say when your child reaches 100 total minutes, they get the prize. The prize can be something small like an extra few minutes of screen time, choosing a dessert, choosing a movie, date night with mom/dad, a little toy like silly putty, etc. 

Lastly, we had a dad recently come up with this idea: the length of time his son practices is the exact length of time he can watch TV daily. His son immediately increased his practice time! 

Also, sitting at the piano and improvising sounds and their own songs can be a great way for children to enjoy playing! Even if the improv sounds a little off or silly right now, it’s a good way to encourage playing the instrument, experimenting with sounds, and having fun with music, and they will develop more with time. 

There are many cute practice charts that can be printed and posted by the piano or fridge to keep track of your child’s practice sessions and “reward” as you see fit.