by Kathy Morrison, Director

At Kathy’s Music, we pursue progress through out the year with each student. However, in February and March, we invite every student to achieve 5 goals in 8 weeks. Why is that?

Confidence: We want students to see and celebrate the goals achieved when we challenge them and add intense focus. Seeing is believing that the work is worth the effort and that THEY are capable.
Maturity: We want students to feel the difference in how they are mastering the instrument over time when goals are reached. It feels so good! The positive emotions light up the brain and create motivation to work for the next milestone.
Process: We want students to develop a cadence of good habits that will promote on-going progress. A focus on goals over a short period of time almost always leads to new positive habits. Sometimes, students just need a reason to make those habits part of their routine.

How can parents help at home with progress? Whether parents are a musician or not, there are practical things you can do no matter what time of the year or how new your student is to an instrument.

Three tips for Lesson Parents:

1) A little progress each day, adds up to big results! 
We coach students to get some practice in over several days rather than trying to sit down for a long practice on one day. The repetition over time strengthens brain connections, builds muscle memory, and feels lighter. This becomes part of a the process that leads to mastery. Get creative with the time of day, the practice space, and even the practice order to find the right fit that works for your student. It’s not always fun, but practice means progress. Period. And it’s a great life skill to push through those “less than fun moments” to reach the end goal.

2) The goal is progress, not perfection. 
Ask yourself, what is your student focused on when it comes to achieving their musical goals? There’s a temptation for some to go for perfection (perfect practice, perfect playing of a piece, perfect memorization, perfect technique). Rather than a focus on perfection, we encourage a focus on excellence. What does excellence mean for you student? Talk to your student and his/her teacher. Decide together what excellence means in this context. Let that definition drive the work.

Author’s note and opinion: Perfection is the enemy of excellence. One sabotages the other. My mentor, Carol Penney, coached me on that for years. I’ve done the same with my own daughters. Perfection leads to unnecessary pressure and it’s unattainable. Excellence is achievable with vision and effort. May excellence always be our endgame. Start now talking to your student about the difference between these two paths and what your expectations are for them. Invite them to take the pressure off. At Kathy’s Music, musicians and music educators strive for mastery on an instrument (and in the classroom) that results in excellence. It’s an ongoing journey, not a destination.

3) It’s never too late to get started.
There is always time to make some headway on our goals. We want every student to feel a sense of accomplishment, so even if you accomplish 1 or 2 goals over a series of weeks, your student can celebrate and acknowledge that their efforts are paying off.