I never used to be a planner. I just jumped in to whatever I was doing with both feet. Practicing my instrument? I did it when I felt like it. Things could have gone so much better, and I could have accomplished so much more.
I realized much later in life that my problem was never about not wanting to play my instrument. I love playing the viola and the violin. I love making music with people. My reason for not wanting to practice was that I didn’t know what to do, besides play through what the teacher asked me to prepare. I didn’t really know how to prepare it.
As a teacher, I have tried to turn that notion on its head. I try to give my students specific and measurable tasks for their practice sessions in between lessons. It started with requiring students to have a notebook for me to write their practice tasks for the week. It eventually turned into a planner that gives students room to write their own successes and be an active part in the learning process.
I truly believe that every private music teacher should use a notebook to write the practice assignments down. There are so many things to remember in our lives today, and kids are getting busier and busier than ever before. If we don’t give them a tool to remember our expectations, they will never meet them.
Take a look at the planner I’ve developed. I have one version for my own studio that includes specific target sections for each of the five categories of music learning: new material, working material, review material, technique, and musicianship. A journal page on the right gives room for the student (or parent) to log practice activities or times or write questions for the next lesson. The back of the book has motivational pages for mastery repetitions, and pages for a review schedule once the pieces have been mastered; an important feature of the Suzuki Method.
The second version I’ve created will be a helpful tool for any music teacher. It has plenty of room to write the practice tasks on the left-hand page, and the student can journal their practice sessions on the right. Other pages can be added to customize the planners for your studio.
Let me know what you think!