How do you get your students to practice? It's a question that comes up again and again. Here are some suggestions!

• One of the tips that Matt Rigdon has told me in the past is if a Student "memorizes" pieces very quickly by ear but doesn't take the time to read, he makes them ready the music by starting at the end. The kids then can't play it by ear!
• Louann Flaherty said she had a student who wasn't practicing at all, so for a week she had him call and leave a message on her cell every time he practiced. That way, he knew how much she cared about his practice.
• I picked up this tip from a teacher who is from Dubuque. Take erasers or pom poms and have student place the item on the piano key that they pointed to on the staff. By having the student do a reading activity that involved picking up an object and putting it on the keyboard rather than pushing down with their finger, it challenges a different part of the brain. Having a keyboard drawn on poster board or cardboard on the floor is also a good example of challenging the student's brain. Show the student the note on the staff and then have them stand on the drawn keyboard. The more ways you can present it, the better.
• A tip I pulled off the internet was to reward practice with a lego block. The lego blocks are stored in a plastic bag and at the recital, students then take the bag of legos they have earned and build something with it to show how much they have practiced.
• The Lorenz Punch cards are a great tool for teachers who want to reward practice without giving out little prizes every week. Plus kids are motivated because mom and dad has a punch card, too.
• I also loved Bradly Sowash's use of a hand drum to help students keep time rather than using a metronome. Try it at home and have parents participate as well!

I hope these suggestions give you some ideas to get your students practicing, while making practicing more exciting!