How can my child learn music faster

Yes, all of our seven children play a musical instrument, but not all of them play the violin.

Even though they all get some benefit of having someone with a musical background to help them along their journey, these three strategies I'm going to share with you will work even if you don't play an instrument yourself.

One of the main worries I hear from parents is that they wonder if they'll be able to support their child as they learn the violin if they don't play a musical instrument.

The truth is, you don't have to play the violin yourself in order to best support your child as they learn! 

There are actually 3, really easy things that you can do to improve your child's success while also making the whole violin learning experience more enjoyable for both of you.

#1 - Use the power of listening

Listening is the foundation of all learning.

Just as your child learned to speak by listening to you, your child can learn music by listening to the patterns, nuances and sounds.

Music is just another language!

When a parent sets up an environment where beautiful music is played, the child immediately begins learning. Even though they may not have the skills to replicate it yet, the child is still absorbing the language of music like a little sponge.

One of the reasons why children of musicians seem to advance faster is because the child is immersed in the language of music all the time.

Great news!

You don't need to play the violin to recreate this environment. 

You literally have this benefit right at your fingertips!

You don't need a music degree to push a button on your phone and give your children an immediate benefit to being surrounded by music.

When I was little, my mom would always play music. We'd heard it on our drive to school, at breakfast, and when my mom would take us to concerts.

You can recreate this powerful listening and learning experience for your child and help them learn faster and better.

Your child will save hours of training and practicing later on because they're already learning the nuances of rhythm, inflection and articulation while you run errands together in the car, or play together in your living room.

Need some ideas? Try this one, or this one.

#2 - Provide structure to your practice time

Having a specific, guided practice plan can make all the difference when helping your child learn the violin faster.

This structure will save you time, energy, and help reinforce the lesson in a strategic way that builds on the skills they've learned.

Rather than wondering what to practice, or to keep playing the same part of their song over and over again because it's "easier" - your child will be able to advance steadily and continuously.

Some teachers will provide the practice plan for you (as we do with the Violin Practice Partner app) but others will leave it up to you.

Either way, creating a consistent structure in your child's practice plan is essential to their success.

#3 - Mistake Management

Fear of making mistakes can be a huge obstacle for growth.

Why?

Because children who avoid mistakes also avoid the benefits of learning from mistakes.

Great musicians and leaders use mistakes as stepping stones, rather than an obstacle.

Where there is courage to work through mistakes, rather than be stopped by them, children learn music faster and develop a skill that will help them throughout their entire life.

Showing your child how to manage their mistakes as they learn the violin releases the fear and creates momentum.

The key is to notice the mistakes, correct them early, and encourage growth.

You as the parent can help with mistake management by listening to the lesson and the piece of music your child is learning so you can catch when something doesn't sound right and help guide them through the process of correcting it.

Your child's violin teacher can help with this, too!

We offer options where you can record videos of your child practicing and send them to us for your child's teacher to respond personally to provide feedback, encouragement, and guidance.

So you see, you don't have to have the knowledge yourself to provide this kind of between-lesson support!

You just have to play music for your children, structure their practice time, and help guide them to see mistakes as essential parts of the journey.