Because we’re all busy preparing our students for the spring recital, I thought I would re-post about this activity that I do every year with my students around this time.
I normally do not require students to track the number of minutes practiced–I prefer to set specific goals and the students should practice for whatever amount of time is needed to reach those goals.
But around recital time, I like to encourage students to spend extra time at the piano to help them get their recital pieces polished. While I still assign practice goals, I also ask kids to record their minutes.
Before beginning the activity I set a goal with each student for how many minutes they will practice during the month before the recital. I’ll often email their parents to get their input on what they think would be a good goal for their child. Then all kids who reach their goal are awarded during the recital.
The goal should be high enough to require the student to stretch a little, but not be overwhelming. Each week, students are to bring in their practice chart signed off by a parent.
One element that I love about this activity is that once students get going, they often get excited and exceed their goal. During this time we make terrific progress, not only with their recital pieces, but also in their method books.
I learned this fun piano recital practice incentive from my first piano teacher, who had a special gift for making all of her students feel loved and for making our lessons fun. She ordered trophies for everyone who reached their practice goal and she had them print the number of minutes beneath our names on the trophy plaque.
My siblings and I LOVED receiving those trophies! Every year I would look at the number printed on the previous year’s trophy and commit myself to surpassing that number. I always did, and I’ve noticed my students doing the same thing.
After visiting the local trophy store, I decided to do awards a little differently. I order gold medals for students who achieve their practice goals, and I put a sticker with their name, the year and the number of minutes practiced on the back of the medal. I also recognize the student who practiced the most minutes and give him or her a certificate. I order trophies for students who score 90% or higher on their theory exam.
The kids want those trophies and medals, so they practice extra hard and study extra hard. It is so much fun for me to hand out the awards and see those ear-to-ear grins.
I do charge a recital fee, most of which goes towards the awards. When I was debating whether or not to begin this tradition, I called up my own mother to ask her how she felt about the recital fee and trophies. She said she felt like paying for the trophies was worth it because we accomplished so much during that time and because we kids were so excited to get the trophies. (Funny note–I still have my trophies sitting on a shelf in my parents’ home, and so do all my siblings). The parents of my students haven’t seemed to mind the fee, and the kids have loved this tradition.
I encourage you to try the All-Star Recital Practice program with your students this year. Even if you don’t opt for trophies or medals, you could award your students with a certificate or a treat. But keep in mind that the more excited they are about the award, the more they’ll practice.
To use this piano recital practice chart, set a goal with the child for the number of minutes to practice each day. Then multiply that number to get the monthly total. Write the big monthly goal inside the star at the top of the page.
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