Do you want to ignite a lifelong passion for music in your child's heart? Are you looking for ways to deepen your connection with them while fostering their personal growth? If so, you're in the right place. In this post, we'll explore five powerful reasons why parents should actively participate in their children's music learning journey.
Reason 1: Strengthens Your Parent-Child Bond
In this day and age, we are always running from point A to point B and, as a result, we often miss out on valuable opportunities to connect with our children. I know I want to connect with my children in meaningful ways each day, and I'm sure you do too!
Even if you are not a musician yourself, studying music together or simply being a supportive presence to your child in their music learning journey can be a profoundly connecting experience. Just by attending lessons with your child, being nearby during practice time throughout the week, and offering encouragement, you are deepening the bond you share.
When you engage in the process with them, you are showing them that you are interested and care about what they are doing, which fuels their motivation and fills their cup. As you learn together, you will gain common ground and something beautiful to share together.
I grew up with a mom who has always had a love for music and plays piano herself. Through her presence, her encouragement, and her unwavering support over the years, I grew into a passionate and skilled musician myself.
Today, we are still bound closely together by music. My mom and I love to play new piano pieces we are working on for each other and even collaborate on some duets from time to time. (There is usually a lot of laughter involved when we are sight reading something together for the first time!) Music has created a platform where my mom and I can thoroughly enjoy each other's company and deepen our relationship, despite our many differences. I will never stop being grateful for this amazing gift we are so blessed to share with each other.
Reason 2: Fuels Your Child's Motivation
When you are enthusiastic about helping your child practice and consider it as quality time spent together, your positive attitude and genuine interest will absolutely fuel their motivation! Children don't always show that they appreciate it in the moment, but when they are grown, they will likely reflect with fondness on the time you spent together at the piano each day.
Simply being present with your child at their lessons and taking notes so you can help them at home shows them that this is important to you and you are dedicated to helping them succeed. Making sure you understand the assignments helps you to assist your child with practice in between lessons.
With regard to practice, this can look very different from one family to the next, but the thing I want to highlight here is consistency and your presence. When you are committed to spending time with your child practicing piano each day, you are not only helping them progress (which is super motivating!), but you are also showing them how to stick with something even when it feels difficult or isn't what they want to do right now.
We know, as adults, that the process of becoming proficient at a skill takes time and effort. Often, children do not view things from this "long-term gains" perspective. So when they are not particularly excited about practicing, your reassurring presence can help see them through a lull in intrinsic motivation.
Reason 3: Encourages a Lifelong Appreciation for Music
Children notice what their parents prioritize in their lives – for better or for worse. Is music part of your family culture? Do you listen to classical music or jazz together? Do you have dance parties to pop tunes? Do you sing to you children? Do you go to live performances together?
When music is part of your day-to-day outside of piano lessons and practice time, it can be so inspiring to both you and your child. Engaging in the world of music together as a rhythm of everyday life weaves together threads in your child's heart that will one day culminate into a beautiful tapestry of love, sensitivity, compassion, and appreciation for music and the art that is unique to each human being. What a tremendous gift to nurture in your child!
Reason 4: Fosters Discipline and Responsibility
We all know how cultivating good habits relies heavily on self-discipline. It takes discipline to be consistent about doing something every single day. And here is the really important part as it pertains to learning music: children are not going to be consistent by themselves at first. This is why it is so crucial for them to have a dedicated practice partner that makes sure practice is happening each day and that assignments from their teacher are being practiced.
If you aren't sure how to best support your child in their practice sessions, discuss your dilemma with your child's teacher. That is what the teacher is there for – to help you and your student succeed not only in the lesson, but at home between lessons too!
As you consistently commit to making music practice a priority in your home each day, your child will gradually build that discipline within themselves over time. Where in the beginning you may be heavily involved in facilitating your child's practice sessions, they will begin to take more ownership over their own pursuit of musical excellence over time. This may look like them simply needing you to be nearby hearing them play and offering a word of encouragement, a gentle reminder, or feedback in the form of a question like, "Can I hear that one again with bigger dynamics?"
This level of discipline and responsibility will not only apply to your child's study of music either. Over the course of years being engaged in music study, these qualities naturally begin to transfer to other areas of life as well. But this takes time, so be present along the journey and appreciate where your child is at today, keeping that long-term perspective of who you hope to see them become.
Reason 5: Builds Confidence and Resilience
When we set out to learn how to play a musical instrument, we are setting out for a long-term journey to musical proficiency. Just like any skill, it takes time and perseverence to develop musical skill. Take learning to write, for example. We started off practicing the basics of writing letters, numbers, and our name. Slowly over years, we began learning to write short words, then longer words, sentences, paragraphs, and essays. This did not happen overnight. It took several years. The study of music shares many parallels.
Resilience is something that can only come from repeatedly overcoming challenges. It is okay for your child to struggle and to get frustrated. If you are there to cheer them on in these moments, your encouragement will spur them on to keep working through it until they break through and succeed.
Each time your child goes through this process, they will gain confidence in their abilities and a resilience built up by their own efforts, failures, and problem-solving skills. What parent wouldn't want this for their child?
Thank you for reading – I hope that you have been blessed by this post! Whether you are a new piano parent or have been in it for a few years, I genuinely hope you have gained some valuable insights into the significance of your role in your child's music education.
I would love to hear from you! Drop a comment below or hang out with me in the DM's over on Instagram @alyssaalexander.music.
Comentarios