Suzuki practice ideas
At our Suzuki parent class, one assignment was to share our ideas for making instrument practice fun for our preschool kids. One of the parents mentioned she was surprised she couldn’t turn up more ideas on the web, so here’s a start - please add your own to the comments section on this post !
One of the most daunting ideas conveyed in the parent class is basically “if your child doesn’t succeed it’s your fault (or the teacher’s) for not providing the right environment”. It has been interesting to think about what really motivates my son, or me for that matter.
Some practice-enlivening ideas from parents in our class
- Stuffed animals as audience
- Run to the door and back between each practice item
- Receive 3 puzzle pieces after each practice item
- Make a paper chain of completed practice items
- Practice as an animal or mood - “play Taka like an elephant”
- Invent a new mnemonic phrase on the spot (for example, “dog bone shh chew” holding a pretend bone in your mouth)
- Include skills being acquired in another discipline, like bent knees for skiing
- Counting or mnemonic phrases in another language the child is learning (”uno, dos, tres, quatro!”)
- Puppet tells child, “I can’t believe you already know stop-pony-stop-pony! Can you show me how to bow it please?”. Next, puppet wants to try but needs help.
More fun practice ideas on the web
- PracticeSpot: Ideas and resources for great music lessons
- This one was my favorite, I got sucked in and read a whole lot of the articles. Most of them are for older (school aged) kids, but a lot of them apply to preschoolers and even to my own practice as an adult!
- Lyrics for Suzuki Book 1
- A fun collection of lyrics– some are even Alaskan, like this delightful innovation attributed to Shelley Gill:
Twinkle, twinkle little light,
sparkling in the arctic night.
Up above the clouds so high,
Blue-green ribbons in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle Northern Lights,
shimmer in my dreams tonight. - Kids and Music Lessons — Problems and Solutions
- Several parents respond to a mom having trouble getting her 7 year old to practice
- Carol’s Music Studio - Suzuki Violin&Beginning Piano
- A few good ideas and several books and resources for sale
- MacPhail Tips
- A collection of tips for various age groups
- MSU Community Music School Suzuki Parents Association
- A list of various Suzuki-related web sites
December 27th, 2005 at 11:16 am
Thank you for doing this, especially in this busy time of year. I saw the birth announcement in the paper yesterday - congradulations! Karen
January 20th, 2006 at 9:21 pm
Thanks for the congratulations, but what I was REALLY hoping for were some more tips posted in the comments here!