So, it’s been about a year or two into lessons. Things have been going well for your little musician up to this point, he or she’s been practicing pretty regularly, progressing through music at a good pace. Everything has been looking great up until recently. Then about a month ago, your little musician started to practice a little less, and not really progressing like before. The phrase “starting to lose steam” fits this situation perfectly. Not long after this, your little musician utters those terrible words that we all at some point say in our musical journey, “I don’t want to take lessons anymore, I’m tired of music lessons.”
Now, if you’re a parent, chances are he or she will say this to you first, before letting your teacher know. Also, this is pretty normal, so it’s okay if this is being said. Learning music can become pretty difficult, so we all lose a little hope that it may be too hard. So, there are some things that should be done right now.
Ask why they are tired of music lessons
Sometimes us teachers can be moving too fast because our student seems like they understand and answer our questions correctly. Your insight always helps.
Ask your teacher to help make a practice schedule.
This one really depends on age and experience, so ask your teacher the best amount of time that your student should be practicing.
Tell your teacher.
A lot of times, as a teacher, our students don’t tell us how they really feel. They’re much more likely to share with you, the parent, what they feel long before saying anything to us. If you share that our student may be becoming uninterested, there are several things that we can do to change the pace or atmosphere of a lesson. So, don’t be afraid to tell us if they’re losing the fire. The majority of us teachers lost some steam early in our musical education too, but we got through it. So, there’s hope.
