How Do I Get My Students Excited About Piano Practice?
We’ve all heard the phrase before… Practice makes perfect. For some reason, the term “practice” has a bad reputation… especially with KIDS. Perhaps it’s because kids are constantly having to “practice” their math equations and writing skills at school. That type of practice definitely isn’t always fun.
Whatever the case, we carry this negative connotation over in all things we work towards. As a piano teacher, I’ve seen students dread practice yet they claim to love playing the piano. How does that make any sense?
How do we change the way our students feel about practicing the piano? With the correct curriculum, your students can be excited about piano practice! The Cascade Method has created practice workbooks that will have your students eager to sit down and get to practicing – I guarantee it!
How do I get my students excited about piano practice?
All my piano students are given homework to practice before their next lesson and we tend to do a little practice warm-up to kick off each lesson. Needless to say, my students need to enjoy practicing in order to excel in their learning! So, how do I get them excited to practice?
Positive reinforcement.
If you’re unsure what this means, positive reinforcement is a method that suggests if you give a reward after a certain performance has been done, the individual will associate the experience as positive and be more apt to do it again.
Our mission is to provide fun and encouraging ways for students to learn the piano with the hopes to create well-rounded and passionate musicians.
There’s nothing fun about opening a dull, black and white theory book when you’re a kid.
Think about it for a second! Kids thrive off of enthusiasm and interactive experiences! They become mesmerized by pops of color and cute characters that they can imagine coming to life.
The Cascade Method Training Program is an online piano teacher certification that introduces fun and proven methods that piano students LOVE to learn. Prior to this year, The Cascade Method released one book (that happens to come free with the training), The Cascade Method Piano Theory Book.
This book is filled with colorful pages that intrigue students the minute they catch their eyes on it while teaching them all the theory concepts! After seeing much success with the theory book, Cascade Method decided to release a full book collection which is continuing to grow!
From beginner books to student duets to chords training and more, this book collection is teaching students piano in a revolutionary way.
What Piano Practice Workbooks are available from The Cascade Book Collection?
As of right now, we have two piano practice workbooks released! Both workbooks have a similar framework but vary in design and level of skill.
Back in January, we released the 100 Days to Practice Workbook! This piano practice workbook is a coloring book that takes students 100 days to color in a beautiful, practice-inspired picture!
Since these coloring pages take 100 days to complete, this workbook serves older students best. Once all the coloring sheets are completed, your student will have practiced for a total of 1,000 days! Not only do they get the satisfaction of completing a beautiful picture, but they also start to look forward to practicing! Your students will be eager to color in another bubble of their picture! Check out my students proudly holding up their completed sheets below!
Next up is the Cascade Method Monthly Practice Challenge Workbook! After releasing 100 Days of Practice, I noticed we needed to launch a piano practice workbook that was geared for younger/beginner students.
This coloring book is laid out month to month and each month begins a new challenge! This practice book keeps your younger students intrigued that may not have the attention span to practice 100 days before completing a full picture. With monthly-themed coloring sheets, each picture is designed out of coloring bubbles that match the number of days in each month.
The goal is to get your students to practice every day of the month so they can finish the picture. If they don’t color in all the bubbles by the end of the month, it’s okay because they start a whole new challenge the next month! You can constantly encourage your students to practice harder than the month before! Not only does this workbook hold your students accountable, but it keeps them entertained and hungry for more practice so they can finish their pretty picture!
Practice is no longer a drag with these Piano Practice Workbooks!
Before releasing another book to the market, I introduce the concept to my students and see if it’s a hit. Let me just tell you… these piano practice workbooks ARE a hit! I no longer have to beg my students to practice. They know that if they practice, they’re one step closer to coloring in that picture and they can’t resist!
Another helpful tip to hold your students accountable and entertained is by promising a little prize at the end of each sheet or month. No matter what, I always gift my student’s prizes to emphasize how proud I am of them for trying their best.
Once my students complete their practice sheets, they get to pick a reward/prize from a box of goodies! If you need ideas, below are the links to some of the goodies I’ve bought! I’ve also bought some girly gifts at Claire’s such as keychains and anything I could find that was on sale.
- Sports Themed Stress Balls
- Emoji Keychains
- Noise Putty Slime
- Animal Erasers
- More Animal Erasers
- Kid Stamps
- Flashing LED Rings
- Mini Rubik’s Cubes
There is no better feeling than knowing your students are enjoying themselves in their learning. If you’re ready to watch your students learn the piano with ease and excitement, shop the Cascade Method Book Collection on Amazon today!
