Important Information for Parents
I. Commitment and enthusiasm
I recommend committing to lessons for one year. Why one year?
The one year commitment necessitates that the students complete several successful performance projects. If students experience successful performances they are learning an important life skill, delayed gratification.
When you’re beginning to study the drums there’s no shortage of exciting moments. There’s also quite a bit of repetition and problem solving. It’s natural for students to become frustrated or bored during portions of their individual practice. If students begin lessons with a predefined commitment it helps them focus on accomplishing the larger goals when their excitement wavers. Learning this type of impulse control is one of the main benefits of studying music.
If students decide to quit after the one-year mark, they leave with with several documented performances. This enables them end lessons with a sense of accomplishment rather than failure.
II. Individual Practice and Parent Involvement
For beginners between 7-12, drum lessons initially involve a commitment from both the child and the parent. Individual practice requires a combination analytical skills, time management, recall and concentration that’s extremely challenging for young students. Parents will initially need to assist during portions of their child’s daily practice.
Parents should plan to practice with beginners 5 times a week. These don’t need to be particularly lengthy periods of time. 5-10 minutes of assistance can provide the focus and structure that most younger students need. When combined with the weekly video assignments, parent assistance optimizes the student’s practice time.
This type of practice ensures students are well-prepared for lessons. If students come to lessons prepared, they will feel successful. When they feel successful, lessons and practice time will be more fun. When practice is exciting, students practice more. When they practice more, they do better, etc., etc. Once this cycle is started, parents no longer need to be involved in their child’s practice.
