PPP223: The Fresh Start Effect - Piano Parent Podcast

11Jan 2021 by Shelly Davis

I believe we all love new beginnings. Some new beginnings are obvious: January 1, the first day of school, your birthday, any random Monday.

Gym memberships and diet program sales surge at the beginning of a new year. This school year will be the one where I really buckle down and study. We decide we will start that new project next Monday.

We often use those arbitrary dates as an opportunity to have a Fresh Start; to begin again. Another aspect of these dates is that they give us a reason to pause and reflect on the previous time period. We want to erase the past, learn from our mistakes, and figure out how to move forward in a new, fresh way.

There is a name for this phenomenon.

Listen to the full episode here

The Frest Start Effect

Professor Katherine Milkman and her team at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania have been studying the habits of people and what motivates them to move beyond perceived failures and keeping aiming for future goals.

Researchers gave a group of participants a series of dates. They were told to select a date to receive a reminder about a goal they hoped to achieve. Both groups had March 20 listed as an option. For one group, March 20 was listed as the third Thursday. For the other group, March 20 was listed as the first day of spring. As I’m sure you have already guessed, most people selected the first day of spring over a random Thursday, 3.5 times more often!

We are more inclined to attempt a fresh start on a significant date.

The good news is we don't have to wait for a certain date to have a fresh start.

If you find yourself in the middle of a semester with an unmotivated child, here are some ideas for creating your own fresh start effect.

Each session with your teacher can be a fresh start for the coming week

I will occasionally have parents text me to let me know their piano kid had an off week. They ask if they should cancel their lesson and I always tell them to keep their appointment. We can use that time to work through tricky passages in the music and establish a fresh start for the coming week.

Each new book or piece of music can be a fresh start

I use the Piano Adventures method books. One of the many things I like about these books is that the lessons are divided into units. Within each unit, there are several songs of different styles and time periods from which to choose. When I teach the concept for the unit, I give my student the option to select a couple of different pieces. They don’t have to learn every song in every unit.

When the unit is complete, we mark their favorite piece with a post-it note flag. These “tag songs” become mile markers for my students. They can go back and play their tag songs to remind themselves of the progress they’ve made.

We celebrate the completion of one unit and use the next unit as a fresh start.

What date or event could you use to establish a fresh start for piano practice for your piano kid?

Is a family member’s birthday coming?

Can you book a Zoom call with grandparents so your piano kid can get some encouragement and maybe share a performance?

The Fresh Start Effect seems to be most effective after a negative experience.

If your piano kid is making steady progress and they are enjoying making music, they likely don’t need a fresh start. I would suggest that you keep bragging on them and telling them how much you love hearing them play.

The Fresh Start Effect seems to be most effective after a negative experience.

PPP017: Be Your Child’s Biggest Cheerleader

PPP110: Ten Ways to Genuinely Compliment Your Piano Kid

If your piano kid is struggling, however, you may need to use the Fresh Start Effect to help get them over this hump.

Talk to your teacher about starting a new practice challenge in the studio.
Buy a new book of pop songs from your parent’s era. Let your piano kid learn to play something for their upcoming anniversary.
Celebrate the completion of a unit in their lesson book by memorizing their favorite song. (PPP133: What’s really going on when your piano kid says, “This is too hard!”)

“If the vision of our future selves is better than the past or current then we are definitely willing to make a change.” -SmarterMarketingGuys

I’ve heard more than one person say how ready they are for 2020 to end in the hopes that 2021 will be much better. Personally, though I had some major life events in 2020 and had to deal with similar setbacks, 2020 wasn’t a terrible year for me. That being said, I am looking forward to making some positive progress in this new year.

Social Sharables

Click an image to share directly to your pinterest account. Download an image to share in your social circles. If the image isn’t branded, please link back to this page and help us spread the word about all the great resources at Piano Parent Podcast. Thank you!

Thanks for listening!

To share your thoughts:

Leave a note in the comment section below
Ask a question at pianoparentpodcast@gmail.com
Share this show on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest

To help out the show:

leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. Your ratings and reviews help other piano parents and teachers find the show.
Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Podbean, Stitcher, or your favorite podcast player.