We’ve all done it. Crammed. Remember back that time in school when you would look over final notes before a test or quiz thinking that it would help you. In reality, if you didn’t adequately study and sleep on it, cramming doesn’t actually do you much good. In an article put out by UCLA, Professor Andrew J. Fuligni stated this,
“In the study, UCLA professor of psychiatry Andrew J. Fuligni, UCLA graduate student Cari Gillen-O’Neel and colleagues report that sacrificing sleep for extra study time, whether it’s cramming for a test or plowing through a pile of homework, is actually counterproductive.” So yes, you not only need time to study adequately, but you also need time to sleep on what you’ve studied.
The same can be said then about music practicing. Each day that you or your child practices, their muscles are forming memories, or what is known as muscle memory. Each day, with each repetition, muscles remember what they need to do! Imagine if you add proper sleep into the practice equation and you do the practice repetitions every single day. You and your teacher will definitely see progress for sure!
By the way, if you are struggling to get your daily practice in, try changing WHEN you practice. Maybe before school is better than after school. Or maybe right after supper is when you can be most consistent. Or maybe you need a combination approach, fitting part of your practice in before school and the rest after school.
Daily practicing an instrument is a life skill that every music student can learn. It is a self-discipline that will take them far as they continue in grade school, go off to college, and enter life as an adult. This superpower of consistent, daily practice will equip your student to conquer any mission in life. Who knew that practicing could do so much or have such lifelong impact?!