The Parent's Role in Piano Lessons

Whether you choose to use a ‘live’ teacher or your child’s music study or the online and software options in our reviews – Piano Software and Learn Piano Online – your role in your child’s lessons literally spells their success for failure.
If you have little or no musical expertise, it may seem easy to give up and feel you can’t add anything to their experience but you are the key ingredient to their ultimate success.

Here are some basic guidelines to help your child benefit from piano lessons:

1. Make a commitment. You have to first believe in the importance of lessons. Would you allow your child to drop out of school because they found it tedious or boring or aggravating? View lessons in the same manner and decide on how long you expect your child to take lessons and what goals you expect them to accomplish before they quit. A firm resolve to not waiver when the going gets tough is important because many adults have said how much they wish their parents hadn’t let them quit piano and they really mean it. Adults need to have the maturity to realize the importance of commitment, more than a child.
2. Define a Schedule. Have a regular time each day that you expect them to practice and stick to it. They will come to expect that time to be for one purpose and this security in their daily plans will help accomplish this goal.
3. Keep distractions to a minimum. Make sure there is no TV, music, or other noisy distractions in the same room. This will enable your child to focus better and accomplish more
4. Practice, practice, practice. Set a set amount of minutes per day that your child will practice and make it productive. Listen to them, read teacher’s notes, or follow the suggestions in your software or online program to monitor consistency. Even without musical expertise, you can make sure practice time is productive by following a lesson plan and adhering to it. No one ever failed at mastering the piano by practicing too much!
5. Encourage your child. No one wants an angry parent nagging them to practice, but do point out their progress, compliment advancements, and generally use this as a relationship boost. Setting specific goals and offering rewards for milestones along the way are great enticements to keeping at it when they become discourage about the time needed to play the piano well.
6. Communicate with the teacher. Ask to watch lessons, express concerns, and discuss your progress with the piano teacher just as you would a school teacher. Many misunderstandings that may end in termination of lessons can be avoided this way. Remember that your teacher usually only sees your child 30 minutes a week so the rest is up to you.

Parental support is vital in your child’s learning process. By keeping your interaction positive while being firm about teaching principles of commitment, your child’s piano lessons can be a ‘win-win’ situation for everyone.

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