It’s here and finally available to you! After several years of testing and tweaking in my own personal studio, I am super excited to introduce you to the number one practice enhancer that has transformed what at-home practice looks like for most of my students 🙂
This is a piano practice journal, but not your average practice journal … so what makes this different?
As a teacher you undoubtedly know that consistent and efficient practice trump talent every time. So I got to thinking … how can I encourage more consistent practice, while ensuring that my students are getting the most out of their practice time?
Enter The Piano Student Practice Journal.
Each week contains several elements to ensure your students are working on consistency and making the most of each minute they practice …
- Space for the teacher to write notes on what the student should practice that week.
- Space for the student to jot down any questions that pop up during practice. (How many times do they have questions but can’t remember them?!)
- A practice prompt that will get your students thinking about proper and efficient ways to practice.
- 6 blocks to write about their practice time during the week (based on the practice prompt)
- Space to document minutes practiced (although time is rarely my goal – quality over quantity is the aim!)
- Space for students to note how they felt about a day’s practice (and give the teacher insight as to how home practice is going).
In this digital download, you will also get …
- 12 different animal cover pages with original artwork
- Set of 13 week’s practice pages (print x4 to give a student an entire year’s worth, or print for your specific studio schedule)
- A “year in review” page to add at the end for easy reflection and goal setting.
- Original artwork and small bits of color scattered throughout to be printer-friendly, yet still engaging.
When I first introduced these in my studio, I had mixed results. As I’ve added practice prompts (versus encouraging students to list their work in each box), and implemented the journals for several years now, 95% of my students are on board and have found distinct benefits in their practice.
Some of the feedback I’ve gotten and witnessed:
~ accountability for which days have actually been practiced (my son can see how many days right in front of him. There’s no questioning or overestimating the amount of practice happening).
~ accountability for quality of practice (writing “I practiced everything” doesn’t cut it. My daughter has to take a step back and think about how she’s practicing.) (We no longer focus on the amount of time practiced, but rather what musical elements my son has specifically worked on and progressed through the week.)
~ accountability for looking at the teacher’s notes (the practice journal gets opened at each practice now that my daughter has prompts to respond back to your notes.)
~ accountability for playing the long game (it’s given us a good idea of our practice habits throughout the entire year. All the notes in one place give us a framework to set goals for the next year.)
Full disclosure … does this work for all students? No. In all honesty it only works for the students who actively use it. But I’ve learned not to put any of my students into a box. Those that use it thrive with it. Those that don’t I continue to point in the direction of better practice, and I continue to take notes so they at least have the opportunity to track what they’ve worked on throughout the year.
Sound compelling? This piano practice journal is now available as a digital download with license for unlimited printing as needed in your studio! I would love to hear that you and your students are embarking on the goal of improving practice in the New Year 🙂 It is a journey, yet one that has shown endless fruits in my studio, and I am so excited to share it with you! Remember the 95% success rate I mentioned earlier? The students who have benefited and thrived using this resource far outweigh those that don’t!
Check out the Piano Student Practice Journal in the shop!
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