by Shabnam Aminmadani
After group class in November, Roxy celebrated her first one hundred days of practice. Roxy was actually celebrating day 128. If someone had told me in July that November 27th would mark Roxy’s 128th consecutive day of practice, I would not have believed it. After two years of failed attempts to develop a consistent practice routine, I was almost ready to give up. Then something seemed to click. In July, I made a proposal to Roxy. I challenged her to practice seven days in a row. (There may have also been the promise of a trip to Target for both of us if we made the seven-day goal.) Roxy accepted the challenge. Little did I know what a big difference just those seven days would actually make.
At the beginning, my only requirement was that practice had to be 15 minutes long. We would set our timer and then practice A Major Scale and some Twinkle variations. Fast forward seven days and there appeared to be a transformation. She had more confidence with the violin. She, herself was amazed at the progress and was ready for more. Our next goal was 20 days. Then 50. By now she was starting to play more advanced songs in Book One by ear. “Mom, listen! It’s the beginning of Long Long Ago!” Her latest accomplishment is that she has just composed her own piece. She loves to play it for anyone willing to listen. There have been tears and tough days, but I am so glad that she and I have stuck it out and are in this together.
Here are my tips for creating a successful practice habit:
Be consistent: At least to begin with, practice at the same time every day. Starting out, I gave Roxy extra incentive to get practice done in the mornings. I made a deal that if she practiced early, she could practice 15 minutes. If she waited until the afternoon, then it would be a 20-minute practice. Once practice became more routine, (and once school started again and mornings were tight), we moved to afternoons most days so that we could have longer practice sessions.
Be creative: Change up the practice routine to keep things interesting and fun. We may roll dice to decide what songs to play. Sometimes we take turns each playing a line of a song. There are also days when playing the instrument is not possible. These days, especially if traveling in the car, we play “name that song.” Additionally, I have 20 minutes of one of Roxy’s lessons on video in my phone that she can watch in lieu of practice if necessary.
Be patient: Creating a habit takes time. Sitting through hours of violin practice each week—especially through the squeaky, crunchy phase—is not always fun. There are days when Roxy is distracted, and it has taken an hour to get through 15 minutes of focused practice. These days are the toughest, but we push to get it done. Roxy and I have been patient with each other and the benefits have far outweighed the struggles.
Consistency, creativity, and most of all, patience have paid off as Roxy and I have started this violin journey together. We were both excited about Roxy’s first 100 days, and look forward to seeing what the next 100 will bring. Who knows? Maybe this time we will both make it to 100!
Ms. Aminmadani is a parent to a 6-year-old violin student of the Franklin Suzuki Academy program.
