PPP093: What Should You Practice Between Sessions?

21May 2018 by Shelly Davis

I love taking a break from the routine. Crossing the finish line of one thing and catching a breather before I start the next thing.

Even as I type this, I’ve had a bit of a break from my routine over the weekend. My older children left for their summer jobs at Pine Cove Camp in the City and Allaso Ranch and my husband was out of town on business. This left my youngest daughter, Tracy, and me to enjoy a girls weekend together. We were able to focus on our relationship in a different way that we can when everyone else is home.

I think the same is true with breaks in piano lessons. Taking a short break offers students a chance to use the skills they are learning. They can play music they want to play just because they want to play it!

The question is, “What should you practice between sessions?”

Here is what I’ve been telling my own students as we wrapped up the spring semester.

Just play!

One of the easiest and most satisfying things to do in between sessions or semesters of piano lessons is to simply play the piano. Play your favorite pieces, play pieces from books you’ve already finished, play pieces you might have skipped in your book.

This is why we take piano lessons, right?! To be able to play the piano?

Sometimes students don’t realize how much they’ve progressed until they take note of where they’ve been. If your piano kid goes back to play music from an old piano book, he might be surprised that he can play a piece that he once

thought was too challenging. Now it’s much easier because his skill and piano fluency have grown.

If, when you child reviews old music, they don’t seem to be able to play it, then this is a good time to review and build up skills that might be lacking. Sometimes students keep moving forward in their lesson books before they’ve really mastered previous concepts. Use this time to lay a solid foundation by reviewing music they once knew.

Get SMART with your music

Once a child has mastered a piece of written music, give them the freedom to change the music in some way. This allows them to add their own personality and creativity to the music.

Rather than feeling bound to executing every detail on the page, they are free to experiment with sounds and listen to the music they create.

I often tell my students, if they’ve played something different than what is written in the score, “Hey! That was an interesting sound. You got SMART with that part!” I don’t view it as a mistake; just a different way the music could be played.

For more details and samples from my own students about getting SMART with music, go to Episode 036: Getting SMART With Your Music and 039: Get SMART with Your Music…Again

Try something new - YOYO pieces

Sometimes students want to keep moving forward in their lesson books while they’re on a break. I encourage that to a point. Let me explain…

Often during our lessons I will help a student work through an assigned piece to help them know how to practice it at home. There is usually a second piece in the same unit that we don’t work on together. I tell them they are welcome to give that piece a try as a bonus or a YOYO piece. They should play it only if they want to. Somehow, giving them the option actually motivates them to give the piece a try. They are so proud to show me how they learned to play the piece on their own when they come to their next lesson. I love this!

Sometimes, however, a student gets impatient with the process of working systematically through the book and they jump ahead to the back. To me, this is the equivalent of framing a house and installing a roof before the foundation is dry and set.

If your piano kid wants to try new pieces, offer them music that is at the same level they are currently studying or, better yet, a level or two below what they’re studying. Ask your teacher for recommendations. If your child is in a method book (I use Piano Adventures), the publisher most likely has supplemental books that give students new music to play without jumping ahead too far, too quickly.

A teacher’s ultimate goal is to give their students the ability to read, study, and learn music on their own. We desire to create independent musicians. However, we don’t want our students to jump into music before they are ready and capable of handling it.

The idea of YOYO pieces is not original to me. I first learned of if from a well-respected piano teacher, Diane Hidy.

Some tips and resources for Piano Parents

I hope your teacher structures breaks into their teaching schedule. It is good for your student and it is good for you teacher. We all need a break from time to time.

In the meantime, you, Piano Parent, don’t want your child to lose the skills they’ve worked so hard to learn. You need to keep them playing the piano and enjoying music so that they are not out of practice when the break is over.

Here are some resources to help you as you help you piano kid:

Episode 010: Ten Ways to Encourage a Love of Music

Episode 043: What About the Summer?

Summer Survival Kit FREE mini eBook (Complete the form below to receive the eBook)