If you haven’t heard it yet, you probably will! The inevitable. . . “I want to quit!” What can you do to prevent your child from (most likely) making the same mistake you did as a child musician? Here are some helpful hints to keeping music in the house: Find out the real reason behind wanting to quit. Is your child overloaded with too many activities? Are they progressing and the music feels too difficult? Are they bored with their music? Is there a problem between student and teacher? Talk to the teacher immediately. We teachers WANT to know how the student is feeling. We can come up with a game plan together. There are many creative things teachers can do, IF we know what is really going on at home! Encourage your child that anything worthwhile takes effort and discipline. The road won’t be easy at times, but it will definitely be worth it in the end! Remember that not every child is destined to have a career in music or even make it to an advanced level. THAT’S OKAY! Making music and enjoying music is a wonderful part of every child's life. Work together with your teacher to make lessons FUN and enjoyable! Jen Hickle has taught piano lessons for 17 years. She owns Signature School of Music in Rogers, where she has 15 teachers and over 200 students. She recently received the 2013 Excellence in Business award for the 94 West Chamber of Commerce. She was voted National Studio of the Year in 2012. To learn more about what Jen believes about music lessons, just visit www.signatureschoolofmusic.com
