If one of the main reasons we play music is to enjoy it with other musicians or with an audience, why do we ask students (particularly young children) to practice alone all the time? Music is fundamentally social and students will be more motivated to practice if the music teacher helps students to be part of musical social experiences.
For example, there is always the jam session. Getting students together to play with and for each other on a regular basis helps students to interact with other musicians the way adult musicians do. The more informal the session, the more it will feel like being social rather than being a formal performance. For example, the music teacher might have students play duets, trios, or rounds with each other. A jam session might also be an opportunity to teach folk music by ear.
Another way to help students have a social experience with music is to have a friend with whom to take lessons. If you give a thirty-minute lesson to each of two students, you could actually take that hour, and give each one a twenty-minute lesson and then spend twenty minutes on music the two can play with each other.
Often you can pair students who go to the same school. You may find students getting together after school to play music with each other, which reinforces important musical skills of being able to play with other people and which is enormously motivating.
If a parent or other family member plays music, then incorporate that music into the lesson. A parent who plays guitar by ear can accompany folk music tunes that are so great for establishing good tone and intonation. It is helpful if the parent plays something different from the student so that the sessions together are more social than formal, parent-led practice.
Create a small group of students and find venues for playing. If you have a group of students, who play folk tunes, many nursing home and retirement centers will welcome their performances.
Pair up an older student with a younger student as a practice buddy, again thinking of pairing students who live near each other. There is nothing like teaching a skill to help a person learn it. The older student will be reinforcing his or her own skills. Younger children respond well to having an older buddy.
All of these ideas take time and organization, but if they become part of your practice as a music teacher, parents will quickly see the benefits and will likely be willing to pay a small amount extra for their children to be involved. Your students will become stronger musicians who are motivated to play their instruments as a result of your taking advantage of the social nature of music.
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Earl Marsden started developing a passion for music at the early age of twelve. He first learned to play the guitar at thirteen, and from there he pursued the study other instruments including the violin, piano and flute. Currently, he devotes some of his spare time to writing articles about music teaching while managing his own music studio.
