The Real Reasons Why Your Child Hates Music Lessons

The Real Reasons Why Your Child Hates Music Lessons

Most parents have high hopes for their kids as far as musical talents go, as they should. But these dreams can come crashing down as soon as your child expresses disinterest in their music lessons. There are several reasons why your child might not be a fan of classes right now, but the good news is you can help encourage them through their process.

As parents, you want what’s best for your child, so read on to find out why music lessons might feel like ‘torture’ to your kid and how you can show them the value of music!

 

1. They don’t like to practice.

Practicing can feel like a chore, especially when parents don’t encourage music time outside of practice. Help your child learn discipline by incorporating both practice time and playtime into their daily routines. Practicing is probably the #1 reason children hate music, but every great musician has to practice.

 

2. They don’t like their instrument.

Just because you envisioned your kid playing the violin doesn’t mean that’s their instrument of choice. Your kid might be wanting to skip on their weekly lessons simply because they aren’t excited about the instrument they play. So instead, encourage your children to play the instrument that they’re most interested in.

 

3. They feel pressured.

At the end of the day, music should be fun! Creating a positive environment around music and recognizing your child’s accomplishments will help calm their inner-critic. Feeling pressure to meet high expectations or play a particular instrument can turn any kid off their music lessons.

 

4. They don’t like their teacher.

Not every teacher is the right fit, and that’s okay. If the connection between your child and their teacher isn’t there, you both have every right to find a teacher that can meet their needs. Before immediately signing up for lessons, you and your child can plan a visit to the music school to meet prospective teachers!

 

5. They think that they aren’t musically talented.

Kids can be pretty hard on themselves, especially when they aren’t picking up a new skill quickly. But the reality is, not everyone is a musical prodigy, and most of us all start at step one. Music is a craft, and if students put their minds to it, they can find success in it. But they’ll have to push past the hurdles, just as every great musician has done.

 

Conclusion

The next time your kid says, “I hate music!” find out what they’re really saying. More often than not, they don’t actually want to stop music lessons, and likely you can help them sort out what’s truly going on. Music lessons have an incredibly positive impact on children’s lives, so don’t be quick to let your child quit their studies.

If you’re thinking about enrolling your child in music lessons, Spark School of Music is ready to work with your budding musician! Learn more about our music lessons here.

How to Find a Good Music Teacher

music teacher teaching a kid how to play piano
music teacher teaching a kid how to play piano

How to Find a Good Music Teacher

Finding the right music teacher is like finding the right friend. You want to find an instructor for yourself or your child that can provide a learning environment that is encouraging, safe, and trustworthy. Music lessons are a worthwhile investment so ensure that you find the right one by doing your research!

Here’s a step by step guide to finding a music teacher and setting up your first lesson:

Where do I find a music teacher?

First things first, you need to know where to search for your potential teacher. The search for the best music teacher out there can feel overwhelming, but rest assured, there are many easy ways to find them. Here are a couple of ideas:

1. Search for “music school” online

With just a quick Google search, you can pull up plenty of information about music teachers in your area. Be sure to read the reviews to see what past and current students have to say about the instruction.

2. Ask your friends and family

This is probably one of the best ways to find a great music teacher because you can ask people you trust! Someone in your circle is likely taking lessons, so asking your coworkers, friends, or people at church for suggestions will undoubtedly land you with a name or two.

 

What qualities should I look for in a music teacher?

So what makes a good music teacher ‘good’? Sometimes you have the option to meet with an instructor and even attend a trial lesson before committing to weekly classes, so you need to know what to look for in a teacher. Be on the lookout for the following traits in an instructor:

  • A good teacher can make the student feel confident mastering a complex skill.
  • A good teacher challenges students to accomplish goals they thought they couldn’t.
  • A good teacher listens to students’ desires and creates a personalized lesson plan.
  • A good teacher can be honest without belittling students.

 

After I’ve picked out a teacher I like, what happens next?

Once you’ve identified what you’re looking for in a teacher, all you’ve got to do is pick up the phone and call them! Then, make sure you ask them all your questions about what supplies you need for music lessons, how much it costs, cancellation policies, and more.

After you’ve covered all the basics, it should be time for you to look forward to the very first lesson!

 

Conclusion

Finding the right music teacher doesn’t have to be a feat, especially when you know what you’re looking for and have done your research. 

Still on the search for private music instructors? Spark School of Music provides personalized music lessons for adults and children ages pre-school and up!

So if you’re searching for private music lessons in Maple Grove, MN, or Blaine, MN, Spark School of Music has an incredible lineup of teachers who are passionate about nurturing musicians. 

Learn more about our private lessons and how you can schedule a trial lesson here.

The Best Ways To Motivate Your Child To Practice Piano (Without The Temper Tantrums)

child screaming because they have to practice their instrument
child with a red shirt practicing piano lessons

The Best Ways To Motivate Your Child To Practice Piano (Without The Tantrums)

We’ve all been there. Getting your kid to sit down and practice piano for an uninterrupted time can feel like pulling teeth out. It’s a slow and painful (seemingly impossible) process. Motivating your child to practice piano for their piano lessons can be challenging, but try to be empathic, and if you can, recall what it was like to sit down and be still for a full half-hour as a kid. Probably can’t, right? 

Parents, you want your kids to take the time to master the piano, so you have to encourage them to put in the work to do it. Here are 5 ways to help you motivate your child to practice the piano! 

Get creative with piano practice times. 

Playing the piano or any instrument for that matter takes intense focus and concentration. If you notice that your child struggles to concentrate during certain times of the day, take that as a cue to play around with practice times. Some parents have reported that getting their children to practice piano before school is an easy feat compared to practicing after-school when they’re tired. Try it out for yourself and see if it helps! 

Set a routine. 

So, you want your child to practice the piano like clockwork? Make it into a daily routine and teach your kids the importance of discipline and structure. If you really want to increase your chances of motivating them enough to practice regularly, let your child be in control and in charge of making their own schedule. 

Remember to make time for play. 

Practicing is necessary, but so is having fun too! Encourage your child to play the piano throughout the week just for fun. Maybe they can learn to play their favorite song or get creative and make a song of their own! Either way, don’t forget to give your child the space to be an artist. 

Create incentives with music games. 

The easiest way to trick, I mean, motivate your kid into practicing piano is by making a game out of it. Decide on a reward together that they’ll receive if they play the piano for x amount of time or master a scale or song. You can come up with your own game that works best to motivate your kid!

Be their biggest cheerleader.

Offering words and acts of encouragement to your kid is a tried-and-true method for motivating your child to practice the piano. The piano isn’t an easy instrument to master, and it’s important to highlight all the milestones along the way so that they feel motivated to keep going! Celebrate your child’s accomplishments no matter how big or small they may be. 

Options may seem slim when you feel like you’ve tried everything to encourage your child to practice, but if there’s a will, there’s always a way! Try out these tips for yourself and see if that makes practice time go a bit smoother. 

7 Tips to Encourage Your Child’s Musical Success

Parent and child playing piano, ukulele, and guitar
Parent and child playing piano, ukulele, and guitar

7 Tips to Encourage Your Child's Musical Success

So, you’ve just enrolled your child in music lessons. Congratulations! It’s an exciting time for both you and your child, and I’m sure you’re eager to set your child up for success. Learning to play a new instrument isn’t easy, and your child will need your encouragement and guidance to keep at it. 

If you’re wondering what steps you can take to set your child up for success early on, read on to learn 7 tips to help you encourage your child’s musical success starting today!

1. Consider reframing the idea of “practicing.” 

Let’s be honest. The word “practice” just feels void of fun for kids. Try to keep things light and relaxed, and consider practicing time as “playing time” instead. It feels a lot less restrictive. 

2. Be involved in the process.

Encourage your child’s musical success by showing them that you’re interested and want to be a part of their musical journey. Sit in with them during their lessons or playing time at home, and ask them questions about their music. 

3. Praise your child every step of the way.

Being your child’s biggest cheerleader goes a long way. It doesn’t matter the size of the accomplishment. Just celebrate your child’s success! There will be highs and lows throughout their experience learning music, so be sure to praise them during the highlights. 

4. Establish a routine.

It’ll be challenging to get your child into the habit of practicing for music lessons and playing regularly if they don’t have a routine. Incorporate times for music in their daily schedules so that they’ll establish discipline and good habits early on. 

5. Refrain from making negative remarks about music sounds.

Listen. Your child is a beginner and of course, listening to them play is not the same as going to a concert at Target Center. So, be careful about making negative comments because this could really discourage your child from trying to be better. Refrain from negative comments altogether, and make this rule clear to other family members, too. 

6. Introduce them to a role model.

One of the best ways to get your child excited about music and becoming a better musician is by introducing them to a positive role model. Perhaps ask a musician in your community or church to mentor your child, or you can simply prioritize taking your kid to amateur and professionals music performances. Show them that it’s possible to be a talented performer. It just takes a bit of work! 

7. Encourage others to praise your child.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, right? Your child will love to hear praises from other family members and loved ones when they accomplish a milestone, so encourage your village to say a kind word or two when you know your child could use some extra loving. 

Get excited about your child’s new musical journey because it is a special time, and before you know it, your child won’t be playing beginner’s music anymore. Encourage your child’s musical success today with these tips!

How To Choose Your Child’s First Guitar

guitar teacher showing child how to play guitar chords
guitar teacher showing child how to play guitar chords

How To Choose Your Child's First Guitar

If you aren’t a musician yourself, you’re probably aren’t well-versed in the world of guitars enough to know how to pick the right one. That’s okay because we’re here to help you! Your budding musician is likely ready to rock and roll, so let’s get right to it. 

Whether you need help choosing the right size, or you don’t have anything idea where to start, we’ve got you covered. Here’s everything you need to know about choosing the right guitar for your child.

Step 1: Decide on the type of guitar. 

There are three types of guitars: acoustic, electric, and classical. Depending on what kind of music your kid likes, they will likely gravitate towards a specific guitar. Here’s a breakdown of the three different types of guitars: 

Electric Guitar

  • Smaller than an acoustic and classical guitar 
  • Great for musicians who like country, rock, or pop music 
  • Can be heavy
  • Has steel strings that can be hard on young fingers 
  • Needs an amp

Acoustic Guitar

  • Similar in shape to a classical guitar 
  • Bright and loud sound 
  • Has steel strings that can be hard on young fingers 
  • Good for contemporary music 

Classical Guitar

  • Has nylon strings that are softer for young fingers 
  • Warm and full sound
  • Tend to come in a default shape and size
  • Suitable for classical and Latin styles of music 

Step 2: Find the right size.

The last thing you want to do is do all this research just to buy a guitar that’s either too big or too small for your child. The size of the guitar matters, and if your child is having a difficult time playing their instrument, that might be a sign that the guitar isn’t a good fit. 

Electric Guitar 

  • Recommended size for ages 5-8 is 1/2 size 
  • Recommended size for ages 8-12 is 3/4 size
  • Recommended size for ages 12+ is a full size 

Acoustic Guitar 

  • Recommended size for ages 5-12 is 3/4 size 
  • Recommended size for ages 12-15 is a small body 
  • Recommended size for ages 15+ is a full size 

Classical Guitar 

  • Recommended size for ages 2-5 is 1/4 size
  • Recommended size for ages 5-8 is 1/2 size
  • Recommended size for ages 8-12 is 3/4 size
  • Recommended size for ages 12+ is a full size 

Step 3: Purchase the guitar and enroll them in lessons.

Woohoo! Now that you’ve gotten a complete breakdown of the different types of guitar, you and your child can go out and choose the best fit. Afterward, don’t waste another minute and go ahead and enroll your child in music school. Or even better, enroll them in music school before the process to receive extra help choosing the right guitar.

Your child’s guitar teacher at Spark School of Music is the ideal person to consult when you’re buying your child’s first guitar or even when you think it might be time to size up. Your child’s musical success starts with choosing the best guitar suited just for them! 

Back To School Music Lessons

Scrable letters spelling out Back To School on a yellow notepad with two pencils4 Reasons Fall Is The Best Time for Music Lessons

 

Getting A Routine With Music Lessons

Getting back into a routine during back to school season can be extremely tough. Wether it’s getting your kids to understand they can’t play as many video games because they have homework, or just getting them to wake up to go to school, it’s hard to find a good routine. The repetition of consistent weekly music lessons promotes routine, and then when you add in practice, you have a beautiful recipe for routine! At Spark, we have tons of awesome ways to encourage kids to practice including our rock star recitals, and our massive prize wall that rewards kids for good practice.

Academic Enhancement 

People have done studies on how music lessons help kids advance in all different subjects at school. It doesn’t matter if it’s a child taking violin lessons, viola lessons, or even ukulele lessons – they all activate the brain in amazing ways. Kids who are learning scales, rhythm, or beats are also learning the way that fractions work. Through this they are also recognizing patterns and mnemonic devices that help with memory. Music lessons also teaches kids about physics. When a student strums guitar strings or plays a violin they are learning about vibrations. Even drums and the mallet percussion, give children the opportunity to understand some basic scientific principles.

Music Lessons Build Confidence 

Starting school, going to a different grade, or even going to a different school can be a terrifying experience. When students take music lessons, they work on turning negative feedback into positive! Learning music, wether through piano lessons, guitar lessons, or any other instrument, is easily applied to advancement of public speaking skills. Then, once the student is advanced enough, they will have the ability to play an instrument in front of people confidently. This will significantly set them apart from their peers.

Music Lessons Are Fun 

Nobody wants to do anything that is boring. Taking music lessons with cool teachers makes learning an instrument easy to love. When kids are playing songs after just a couple lessons, and then learning their favorite songs on that radio after that, their smiles are the best testimonies. We have had kids walking out of piano lessons or drum lessons playing songs by Kelly Clarkson, Justin Bieber, and Led Zeppelin. It’s the coolest thing to see!

4 Ways Playing In A Rock Band Can Help Your Child Learn Teamwork

4 Ways Playing In A Rock Band Can Help Your Child Learn Teamwork

As we roll out our “Rock Band Experience” program this fall, we wanted to share with you the 4 ways that playing in band can help your child learn about teamwork.

  1. Listen – Being in a band means that you have to work together to make something sound amazing.  The drums must be listening to the guitar and piano to know where they are at in a song or how loud to play, the vocalist must listen to the drummer to know how fast to sing, the pianist must listen to the guitarist to make sure they are playing the same chords.  The list goes on and on.  One of the most important skills in being a part of a successful team is learning to listen to each other and not talk (or play) over the other person.
  2. Appreciate – Being a part of a successful team means appreciating each individual personality and voice that is brought into the group.  Playing in a rock band means you have to appreciate what the drums are bringing to the group.  You have to appreciate the textures that a piano can bring to the group.  You have to appreciate the rumble that a bass guitar provides.  Without any of these other unique instruments and voices, we would be back to practicing our instrument all alone.  Music was meant to be done with a team!
  3. Persist – Have you ever been to see your favorite band or singer, then all of the sudden, they make a mistake!!!  Oh no, they aren’t totally perfect!  When they made the mistake, did they stop playing or singing?  Or did they keep on going?  I’m willing to bet they kept going!  Being in a rock band means that you need to be persistent even if you make a mistake.  You must keep going and never stop to derail the whole band.  Your job is to get back on, keep going, and proceed like nothing ever happened.
  4. Fun – Being part of a highly successful team means you get to have fun!  Have you ever seen your favorite band playing on stage and they look like they hate what they are doing?  Probably not!  When you are part of a team or band that values each other, and leaves egos at the door, you can’t help but have fun!  Some of the most magical music moments I’ve been a part of involve another person turning around, rocking out with me, and smiling about how much fun we’re having.  Being a part of a rock band is one of the most thrilling experiences!

If you are interested in having your child be a part of the “Rock Band Experience”, please contact us at (763)445-9516 or fill out our contact form.  We can’t wait to rock out with you!

4 Ways To Nurture Your Child’s Music Lesson Confidence 

 

4 Ways To Nurture Your Child’s Music Lesson Confidence

At Spark, we believe that we have the ability to change the lives of students. A big piece of that is working with students to develop and nurture their confidence. Wether your child has been taking piano lessons for years, self taught themselves drums, or just started guitar lessons, we work with them to build their confidence. Here are 4 ways we can help nurture your child’s confidence.

We Encourage Curiosity

We love helping our students explore styles that they might not be comfortable with. Wether it’s learning to sing a jazz song, or play a rock song on a ukulele, showing a child there is more out there than just the music they know, helps facilitate curiosity and build confidence.

Learn From Our Mistakes

Nobody is perfect. As hard as we can try to achieve perfection, we still make mistakes. Our music teachers use the opportunity to teach students the importance of learning from mistakes. We do this by recording students in their music lessons or encouraging them to record themselves practicing at home. These are opportunities to help students learn and grow to become better musicians, students, and community members!

Encourage Practice, Don’t Pressure

We all want the best for our kids, especially when it comes to making a piano or violin sound beautiful. We have found that pressuring our students to practice can actually make them resent playing music. We teach our students that practicing will help them grow their skills, and if they practice, confidence in their music lessons and abilities will grow exponentially.

Let Them Find The Answers

Life is full of surprises and situations where we have to dig for the answers. We love leading students to uncover answers. Our music teachers work with students by not giving the answers right away, but rather asking questions to help the student find the answer. For example, if a student is taking piano lessons and doesn’t know what note they have to play, the teacher will ask questions about notes surrounding the unfamiliar note, in hopes that the student will find the answer using context clues.