Is it okay to skip practice? According to most memes you see on the internet the answer is no, but is practicing daily really beneficial? My answer? It depends. Let’s dive in…
The above meme was posted on Instagram a few days ago and for some reason it made me angry. Does skipping practice for a day make you worse? Before we get to that, let’s talk a little bit about my experience with practice.
The one question I hear from parents over and over again is how do I get my kid to practice more? How much practice is enough? The more I think about it, I think the question we should be asking is, “How much practice is too much?”
When I first started playing I ran into the same road blocks all beginners run into. I would master a new chord or song and get so excited, only to get crushed by the next technique.
I remember vividly in 8th grade trying to learn a simple blues pattern on the guitar and I COULD NOT GET IT!!!! I played it over and over and over again and I couldn’t play it. Nothing that I did worked.
Then I remembered something my teacher told me, “When you are ready to throw the guitar out the window, it’s time to stop.” I was there and so I stopped. I actually didn’t play the guitar for several days.
When I finally picked the guitar back up something unexpected happened…I could play the pattern without making a mistake! My brain actually needed that break to process the info. If I would have kept practicing even though I was frustrated, it could have lead to a much longer break, committing to memory the mistakes I was making, and possibly hating practice all together.
The point is this. Practice is good, but only when you are in the mindset to enjoy the process. It’s not always going to be fun, but we should strive to create an environment where we can enjoy the process of learning, creating, and making mistakes. After all music is creation and the art of creation should be enjoyed. If it’s not, then we will tend to start to distance ourselves from it.
I know what your thinking. “But my kid still doesn’t practice.” Here are some tips:
- Become their audience and biggest fan. Do this by asking them if they could teach you something they’ve learned. Compliment whatever they do and work on keeping the environment relaxed.
- Have them teach you. Just say, “Hey, I heard you practicing and I thought that song was really cool. Could you teach me how to play it?”
- Invite them to Jam with you. Learn a song and invite them to help you with it.
In all of these things don’t ask if they have been practicing. Asking it constantly can feel like failure and start to snowball into a feeling that they will never catch up. If you are interested in learning guitar with your child, then consider becoming a part of my guitar community and check out more of my articles on practice!