By Andrew White

When I was 8, I remember sitting on my bed in floods of tears coming up with every excuse why I did not want to practice! I couldn’t practice because my finger hurt, because the piano needed tuning, because I had lost my book, because my brother was practicing, because, because because... And now I run a music school! How did that happen?

Occasionally, I get to hear some great reasons for a lack of practice that week, and a handful of times have heard kids say “I just don’t want to play piano anymore” to which I reply, “Oh no! I said that when I was your age, and now I run a music school – be careful what you wish for!” Practicing an instrument is something that takes time and effort. At first it comes easily, but when pieces get more challenging it can become a tougher daily task to achieve.

Some parents take the view that their kids should practice on their own without any reminders – good luck! I love music but I also required daily reminders – “Andrew, you need to practice the piano!” Sometimes I happily obliged, sometimes I kicked up a fit. But, I appreciated the reminder because it made me all the more excited for my lesson knowing that I was well prepared for it.

This week, try reminding your kid on a daily basis to practice their instrument, sit with them, enjoy their achievements in it and praise them for their efforts! I guarantee it will make their lesson day something they look forward to even more!

Interested in reading more about practicing? http://aficionada.hubpages.com/hub/Whose-Responsibility-Is-My-Childs-Music-Lesson-Practice

We had some outstanding entries for our blog post competition. The winner receives the privilege of having their post as AWSOM's very first blog entry, and the winner is... Ankita K!

Top Ten Tips to Learn an Instrument

By: Ankita Kumar

Here are my top ten tips to learn an instrument:

Make sure you actually want to learn the instrument. When you’re forced, you don’t do your best.
Put all your effort into learning it. Keep practicing; it’s important.
Getting a teacher who’s a professional is important too. It’s ideal to have someone teach you instead of you teaching yourself. You can make many mistakes and continue them.
Try using different brands of piano books, the different tips in each piano book would be helpful.
Using theory books would also be helpful, it’s like having homework but instead of math it’s about the instrument you’re learning!!! Theory would help with learning the notes, and all kinds of things.
Make sure you’re having fun learning the instrument. It’s important to have the excitement and the will to learn it.
Always start with the basics. As you become better, you advance to the harder pieces of music.
Make sure you are comfortable while playing the instrument, have your back straight and your chin-up.
Make goals, like practice every day for thirty minutes or master a piece of music by the end of the week.
Before you start any piano session, it’s best to warm up your fingers, like do scales.

“But Mom! I Don’t Want To Practice!”

Ankita's Top Tips for Learning Music!