Automatic Piano Practice

I had planned to present a session at the KMTA Conference this past weekend, (Covid threw a wrench in that plan, so I'll be trying again next year), but my topic was 'Business Strategies for Independent Music Teachers'. Presenting like this is a new opportunity for me, and a way to grow in my profession. But working on this presentation has got me thinking a lot about automation, because it just so happens to be one of the best tools for surviving as an entrepreneur. The more you can automate, the less you have to spend valuable time manually doing tasks, and the more you have time for doing the parts of your job that you love. 

And thinking on this topic has also got me thinking about how automation could be useful for piano students. Especially when it comes to building a practice habit. How can we take advantage of automation to support home practice? 

Here are a few ideas off the top of my head: 

• Automatic reminders - setting an automatic alert or calendar reminder for both lesson time and home practice can help build consistency (and help make sure you don't miss a lesson for losing track of time!)
• Habit building - even if you don't use a digital calendar that can send you alerts, choosing a part of the day where your piano kid can automatically go practice will strengthen the habit AND help them enjoy more progress. Maybe after getting dressed but before breakfast is ready each morning, maybe after brushing teeth, or when homework is finished. Build piano practice into your daily routines.
• Check your weekly assignments - Once at the piano, help your piano kid build some automatic habits open up their binder and check the week's assignments, paying attention to any special instructions or concepts to review. This will ensure that they are practicing what they are supposed to. Its easy to forget all the details between lesson and the first practice - and that's why we write them down! However, I have more students than I would like who come in each week and are surprised when I ask them to play a song that was on their assignment sheet - only to admit that they never actually checked it. Checking weekly assignments should be an automatic first step in home practice.

This month we are doing the Fall Into Music practice challenge to help reset our practice habits at the beginning of the school year. Students are encouraged to try practicing 20 days during the month of September. And for this challenge, the duration of the practice isn't as important as just getting to the piano in the first place. I'd recommend using this as an opportunity to encourage making piano practice an automatic part of your piano kid's week!