What To Do If My Child Stops Practicing Guitar

I’ll admit it, this happens quite frequently. For any number of reasons, a child can gradually stop practicing. So what then? Most parents would say “if you’re not practicing, then you’re not doing lessons”. This is one idea, but in my experience it’s not the best one, and here’s why.

The vast majority of students who stop attending lessons will completely stop playing their instrument and most likely never take it up again. This is not what we want at UGA and not what you as a parent would want if you’ve already invested in a guitar, some lessons and your child’s musical interest. Every journey has it’s ups and downs – and guitar is no exception to that.

Have any better ideas?

What a great questions, I’m glad you asked. I have many ideas!

1. Talk to them and find out why. It sounds a little harsh, but usually it’s due to laziness. Discuss with them the need for some practice and that it only really needs to be three 15 minute sessions per week. I for one believe that pretty much every single person in western society can find three 15 minute blocks of time each week if they actually try.

2. Talk to your UGA tutor. Chances are they already know, but this will help them adjust their teaching and lesson style – this actually makes a huge difference. Their focus will shift from “instruction” to “rehearsal”.

3. Help your child find a time they can set aside for practice their guitar. In between Maths and English homework is a good option!

4. Help rekindle their passion by taking them to a concert, buying them a CD or iTunes album, buy them a guitar related tool like a capo (they can be very cheap), show them awesome guitar playing on YouTube or even better – ask them to play a song for you. I have a young son and I would love for him to one day play a song on an instrument for me.

5. Use any one of the practice schedule and routine templates that we give students and parents. You can download them from our website if you’ve lost them!

Still stuck? Contact us and we can help!