No matter who you ask, everyone will tell you that the past couple of years have certainly been some of the most challenging years we’ve faced – especially when it comes to education.
Schools everywhere were forced to adopt an online learning environment so that students young and old could continue to learn in the safest way possible. In addition to schools having to opt for virtual classrooms, in-person music lessons were also brought to a standstill and many teachers had to switch to online music lessons.
While it wasn’t a difficult transition for some, lots of parents struggled with keeping their children focused when learning an instrument virtually. It might seem like an impossible feat without having the teacher physically in the room to help but I’m here to give you the six best tips for keeping your child focused in virtual music lessons.
- Keep the learning environment free of distractions -
Let’s be honest – kids get distracted easily enough as it is and, if they’re learning anything from home, there are distractions everywhere, especially if their dedicated learning space is in their bedroom. When it comes to online music lessons, they should only have these things in their learning environment: their instrument, a computer or tablet, and any sheet music or other learning materials needed for the lesson.
Since it’s hard to completely rid their room of distractions, we suggest giving kids a dedicated space elsewhere in the house so that there isn’t any temptation to go play with toys or a game.
- Make sure your child has a healthy meal or snack before the lesson -
Food is incredibly important for memory and concentration! In a study of five-thousand 9-11 year-olds done by health experts at Cardiff University, research found that children who ate a hearty breakfast were more focused during school and had improved academic performance overall. Learning an instrument virtually can be difficult but ensuring that your child eats well before an online music lesson sets them up for success.
As a personal anecdote, when I was in high school, my Chemistry teacher always gave us pistachios as “brain food” before a test because he stressed the importance of having a good snack before taking tests or learning anything and it seemed to help me focus more.
- Have your child set goals for each lesson -
In addition to eating healthy before a lesson, it’s important for kids to go into their online music lessons with goals in mind! Having goals encourages productivity and focus so ask them beforehand what they want to work on. Is there a note that they’re struggling with? Is there a specific song they’re wanting to learn? Do they need help tuning their instrument?
Whatever goals you set for your kids (no matter how small the goals might be) help them feel accomplished and motivated to keep improving. Encourage them to continue working towards that goal after the lesson is over as homework or, if they completed their goal during the lesson, branch off of that goal and give them something to work on before their next lesson. That way, they can show their teacher next time that they completed their goal or learned something new.
- Make yourself available to help during the lesson -
Learning how to play an instrument via online means can be hard, especially for young kids. Teachers do their best to verbally and visually explain how to play a note or position hands on an instrument but sometimes your child might need some extra assistance. When children get frustrated, they often stop trying and makes it hard for them to want to continue.
By making yourself available to help, you can eliminate stress and frustration for your child. After all, no one knows your child as well as you do so you know best as to how to handle them when they are frustrated.
- Don’t make the lessons too long -
Here at Virtu.Academy, we often find that kids aged 10 and younger tend to do better with only 30-minute music lessons. Anything longer could make them lose focus because they get tired so we always recommend starting with 30-minute lessons and potentially increasing the duration of the lesson later on. Communicate with the teacher to see how they’re doing with 30-minute lessons to get a better idea of whether or not they could benefit from longer lessons.
- Remember to provide positive feedback outside of the lessons -
This is one of the most important tips that I can give you. When your child is practicing or working towards one of their goals outside of their online music lessons, remember to let them know when they’ve done a good job! It could be as simple as a compliment towards how they sound when they’re playing their instrument or singing. Positive reinforcements will encourage your child to continue and stay focused.
These are only a few things that you can do to help your child succeed in online music lessons and, if you have any tips that aren’t listed here, please feel free to share them with us by sending an email to hello@virtu.academy! We want to hear from you and help more parents that are navigating the world of online music lessons.
Thank you for taking the time to read!
