10 Creative Ways to Reinforce Great Practicing

If you aren’t having fun, you aren’t doing it right.  Every heard that? With musical training it is true about ninety per-cent of the time. So here are some ways to fill that ninety percent.

1. Use counters. Beans, pennies, stickers and paper clips are good devices to keep track of how many repetitions have been completed.  Edible counters like miniature marshmallows, chocolate chips and M and Ms are also fun.
2. Play a board game or card game with your child during practice sessions. Every time they complete a small task, they get to take a turn. Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, checkers, chess, Go Fish, and Memory are winners. This one takes extra time, but it is well worth it.
3. Spins. Didn’t you love to have your Mom or Dad hold you in their arms and spin you around until you were dizzy? I did. One of our favorite rewards for small children is to have them earn “Spins”. I give them some choices about little tasks and what they want to earn. Like, “You may play this measure three times perfectly for three spins, or the whole piece with the metronome for two spins. What do you want?” The upgrade on the game is to let the child “save” spins, thereby delaying gratification and accruing a dizzying number of rotations for tons of laughs and fun.
4. Jump Rope. Tie a long rope to a piece of furniture or stair railing and do a few of rounds with jumping rope. We count the “misses” as what the child earns for good practicing (You’ve earned 3 misses for that flawless scale!) This is really great because: It develops cardio fitness, it improves coordination, it improves rhythm, it gives their mind a break and it is fun to learn the sing-song chants.
5. The interrupted story. This can be done with simple storytelling or with a favorite book that is not too short.  After the child completes a small goal, read or tell the story to him. Here’s the fun part: If they did the task really well, you tell a great deal of the story, if not so well, you read just a few words.  Try to end at an exciting part of the story (even mid-sentence), as you say, “Alright, let’s choose another thing to fix and I’ll tell you some more.”
6. Closer and Closer. A family tradition that also works great for fussy eaters at dinner-time.  Take the reward (candy, trinket, money, etc) and place it on the floor or on the piano lid a few feet (4-10) from the child’s bench or some other predetermined “finish line”. As the child completes little tasks, you move the reward closer and closer.  If the work really diligently, move it alot. And vice-versa.
7. Prove me wrong. The parent makes a challenge to the child which will stretch him just a little. You say, “I don’t think you could EVER play that correctly in three tries!” Alot of children will do it just to prove you wrong.  Express a great deal of dismay and shock when your child proves you wrong. Kids love that feeling of power.
8. Drill Auction. Make a friendly bet with your child about how many attempts it will take to get a passage right (or a task completed).  You say, “I think it will take ten tries!” Your child thinks he can beat that and says, “Nine, tries.” The you, “Eight tries.” And so on until one or the other says, “Show me what you can do!”  If the child can’t meet the terms, she has to “pay” you some housework or some other thing you wagered. If she CAN perform the task, then she wins something from you!
9. Let your child make a recording of their piece and play it back. See if they can beat their best recording by recording an even better version. Then let the other spouse hear/see the best recording and make a big fuss. (This includes a video, too.)
10. Let them earn TV, Computer or Video Game time. According to how many things they fix.

Two important points to remember as you deal with your child:

• Always let them know that your love for them is NOT conditioned on their behavior or skill at anything.  Your love is non-negotiable, right?  They are not trying to earn your love with their efforts, but instead are earning some fun things.
• Keep the rewards small. Psychological studies show that if people are showered with large rewards, that the instrinsic joy of the task completion is compromised. (Counter intutitive, isn’t it?) The best way to develop instrinsic satisfaction of a job well done is to keep rewards small so that the person doesn’t attribute the motivation to the rewards. The interior conversation goes something like this, “Wow, that was a really big thing I did.  All I got was a stick of gum. . .I must have wanted to do it on my own, because it sure wasn’t worth a stick of gum!” 
• Don’t keep escalating rewards.  If for some reason your child is getting demanding and selfish, back off the positive reinforcement for awhile. Return to it later.

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