We had a wonderful time chatting about practicing with our amazing parents who came out to Max Cafe last night! If you weren’t able to make it, notes from the evening will be posted here soon. We hope to have many more similar discussions in the future, and in the meantime we’d like to offer this blog space as a great way to stay inspired, not only by reading our thoughts but by sharing your own. Please jump into our discussions in the comment space, let us know what you think–what works, what doesn’t, and if you have any questions. We’d also like to invite you to be a guest contributor to our blog! Send along a short post about a great practice discovery you’ve made with your child and we’ll throw it up on the site, complete with pictures if you like, or totally anonymously if you prefer.
To start us off, I’d like to share with you a fun practice game one of my parents recently showed me:
Take a stack of index cards and write activities on each card, both instrument related and otherwise–jump up and down 5 times, play Song of the Wind, blink your eyes twice, play 5 4th finger exercises, give your teddy bear a hug, etc. Then let your child pick a card at random and as you go through the stack the “hard” practice demands will be interspersed with silly and fun moments of relaxed enjoyment with your child. Tailor it to your child’s age and interests and give it a try this weekend! Let us know how it goes.