Practice timing

One of our problems with piano practice is the timing. No, we don't need a metronome! My son's piano teacher has always advocated practising in the morning before school. This makes a lot of sense. Many children are at their brightest in the morning after a good night's sleep. Also, because it is a set time of day where activities must follow a fairly strict schedule, it's easier to set up good habits by practising in the mornings. Like brushing your teeth, if practice is embedded well enough into the morning ritual, it can feel wrong if it isn't done.

However, morning practice won't work for us. It was fine when my son was doing 15 minutes a day, just a little tinkle and a Twinkle, but now with practice time lasting about 45 minutes on average, it's expanded into something a little too unwieldy to slot between getting dressed and having breakfast.

Then, of course, there is the noise factor. Pianos do have muffle peddles, but I can't understand the point of practising if you can't hear yourself. Here I have to confess that we're a late-sleeping household, or at least some of us are. While other family members could tolerate a brief 15 minute interruption to their restful slumber, a whole 45 minutes would rob them of their ability to get back to sleep and result in some grumps for the rest of the day.

Another problem I found was that morning practice means we can't take our time over things. My son's enthusiasm for practice waxes and wanes. It would be a shame, on those days when he wants to spend 10 minutes just improvising, to tap my watch and tell him to hurry up or be late for school. And if he wants or needs to spend a few more minutes to work something out, it wouldn't be productive to cut that process short.

So on school days, practice is scheduled to happen after school. Problem solved? Or course not. After school practice brings its own problems, which I shally discuss in my next blog.