Practice, Practice, Practice

The theme for September is PRACTICE and the goal is EVERYDAY.

But why?

Playing EVERYDAY can be hard. It takes commitment and discipline, perseverance and consistency. It becomes even harder to not only play everyday, but to practice the right way so that we can be constantly improving and constantly making ourselves better.

Why should parents in particular put in the effort to establish daily practice for the young 3 & 4 year old's and encourage teenagers and the ones making their way through high school and beyond? What is the point when there can inevitably be immense struggle? It can take so much energy to establish, maintain and then reestablish these routines. So why do we do it? Is is just about the violin? About what level we can get to and what pieces we are able to play?

We need to remind ourselves as Suzuki Students & Parents that we establish daily practice because of WHO WE WANT TO BECOME WHEN WE DO IT. It's about what we are learning from the act of daily practice and not necessarily the end result of it on the violin.

Imagine two students leaving high school who have practiced daily from childhood and one has finished Suzuki Book 9 going off to University for Music and the other has completed Suzuki Book 5 and leaving for business school. Just because they are entering University at two different violin levels, does not mean that they are entering school with a lesser understanding of how to work hard, how they learn, how to break things down into small chunks and how to not give up. The act of daily practice can set both of these students up to be successful in their chosen field. The speed at which we learn the violin does not discredit the skills we learn through daily practice. For all we know, that Book 5 player may be far more proficient at their review pieces than the Book 9, which is setting them up with a strong foundation of skills they will carry through their entire life.

Suzuki violin lessons is not just about how high we can push our violin skills, although this can be fun and rewarding work. Suzuki Violin Lessons has always been about, first and foremost, creating exceptional human beings. It is about who we become in the process of learning the instrument and what we learn about ourselves along the way. These are the skills that will benefit us in all areas of our life regardless of if we ever fully master that fast finger passage in Gossec Gavotte. The struggle and the effort is what matters and it sets the stage to who we are as parents and who our kids will grow up to be.

So parents, keep doing your best, encourage every child to do their best, and remember to ONLY PRACTICE ON THE DAYS YOU EAT!

Happy Practicing.