As the year begins anew, it seems like the perfect time to cover our last remaining R in “The 4 R’s of Routine,” Repeat. Repeat is particularly interesting to us as music instructors because, on the surface, it can seem so, well, redundant. Many students think, “Repetition is just a practice routine, right? You just play a song over and over again.” This kind of oversimplification of “repeat” is what gets many young musicians stuck in a rut. Often, students practicing at home develop play-it-from-the- beginning-itis — the idea that if they make a mistake, they should start again from the top. This frequently leads to young musicians who can nail the opening of a song but never really master harder elements down the line. If this is the case for your student, ask them instead to take the time to simply focus on the part of the piece, even down to the phrase or measure, that is giving them difficulty. Being able to zoom in on a particular trouble spot and repeat it is a far more fruitful use of time than repeating the same 65 percent of a song the student has already mastered. A method our teachers have found particularly effective here at MnSOM is to keep a tally of how many times a student can play flawlessly through one of these trouble spots. If you want to be involved in your child’s music practice, this can be a great way of jumping in. If your child is struggling with a particular area of a song, zero in on it and challenge them to play through that part flawlessly three times in a row. You can keep score for them, but remember, a mistake means the count resets to zero. When done properly, this method can keep students fired up in moments when they may otherwise feel frustrated or disheartened. But you also need to take care you don’t push a student to overcome a musical piece that is simply beyond them. At the end of the day, it is normal for music students to hit a wall in their practice at home. There will always be certain areas that prove too hard to overcome without an expert to guide them past pitfalls and spot subtle mistakes in technique. That’s where lessons with a professional music educator come in. With weekly lessons, we’re here for those trouble spots that prove to be too much on their own. A student who makes use of fruitful repetition at home, comes into their lesson knowing what they’ve mastered, and knows what still needs ironing out is in a very good spot to succeed. In this way, intentional repetition can make home practice sessions and lessons here at MnSOM harmonize beautifully. THE 4 R’S OF ROUTINE: REPEAT A MEASURED APPROACH KEEPING SCORE PROVIDING A BASELINE
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