The key for kids progressing on guitar (especially under the age of 10) is their parents. The parent’s role is to help them to practice guitar daily and ensure that they’re playing the exercises set by their guitar teacher. The amount of daily practice time doesn’t have to be long as even 15-20 minutes a day will result in playing improvements. However without this regular practice students won’t progress and will find playing guitar frustrating and chore and eventually give up stopping guitar lessons.
For younger kids progression can be slower than for teenagers and adults due to more limited fine motor skills and shorter attention spans. So for parents it’s important to recognize that most kids won’t be playing Stairway to Heaven or Hotel California after a handful of lessons.
For older kids (10 and up) they generally tend be more independent and should require less supervision with their practice. However the same rules for practice apply to progress on guitar. For older students they should be able to concentrate for longer and be able to practice 30 minutes a day and as a result tend to progress more quickly.
To help students practice I use a few tools to keep them on track. One is a Practice Log where students take note of how many minutes they practice every day. If they can practice 5-6 days a week using the log can help to remind them to do their practice. |