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Resources for Students to Practise at Home (All Teachers)
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That was a very interesting read (I’m just in a cafe catching up on admin!) I particularly like the idea of students making a note of when they practice. I might get them to do this on the MGR website. Short and achievable makes sense – I try to get students to see practice as something to be enjoyed, not a chore, even though I am guilty of this myself, in my own practice. Good relationship with the parents for the young ones that need to monitor their practice more effectively is all great. This has really made me think about how to assess their practice more, so thanks for this! I certainly have too many students skipping practice and not really moving forward as much as I’d like them too. It’s mainly adults though, so it’s sort of down to them and they enjoy their lessons for different reasons (less goal-focused as much as the kids for example, as it’s a nice hobby/escape from their hectic lives!)
No resource can fix a bored student – well said, couldn’t agree more!
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I do simple drills for all my students.
1. Playing a scale along to a metronome; beginning slowly and increasing tempo upon success until unable to. Logging the highest bpm and aiming to improve the following week. Ive found it gives the student an objective target to aim for(thats they can also replicate in their own time too). Plus, it functions as a diagnostic when the bpm speed is just out of their reach it highlights the good/bad aspects of their technique, which can then be addressed.
2. Timing common chord changes in a minute, Loggin the result from one lesson to the next. Again the numbers are a focus and are an objective result. If the numbers go down form one week next we can address the what the potential causes etc.
I think these approaches work because anyone can tell someone how well they’re doing and stroke people egos etc. Numbers/result cant be the whole story, but they’re a useful indicator of progress. Im sure in the beginning we’ve all felt like we weren’t improving from one day.week to the next. Ive found this gives the student a way of mapping their progress, or encourages adjustment to make the most of their practise
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