Parents Guide to "Get Good"
Grade School
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Obtain a quality instrument in known working order from a reputable retailer.
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Help student musician identify a practice space at home.
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Have a straight-backed chair and music stand for the best practice experience.
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Acknowledge students efforts at home. Concerts are far apart while regular encouragement encourages more practice, which leads to success!
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Help identify a time for practice at home.
Middle School
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Practice time each day should be locked into minimum of 30 minutes each day with a weekly goal of three hours total a week.
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Supplemental playing material i.e. pop music books, movie music books, Broadway books.
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Optional: Private one-on-one lessons. This makes your student strive to be the best musician he/she can be.
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Find out about band: Who is in their instrument section, who do they like, who do they not like, who is their band director.
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Look into your district’s parent music organization: Boosters, Guild, club.
High School
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Minimum practice at home of 4 hours a week (FYI: In school rehearsal does NOT count as practice!)
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Seek involvement with music parent organizations
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Establish a relationship with your student’s director. The director WANTS to know you!
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BE prepared to learn a bunch of unfamiliar (to you but common to your student) common terms in High School band i.e. dot books, Dinkles, 8 to 5, battery, color guard, pit.
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CONTINUE TO ATTEND YOUR STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCES. Elementary and middle school concerts are usually stuffed to the gills only to have few people attend those same students’ high school concerts.
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Engage! These ensembles allow parents to be active participants in their teenagers life at a time when they want parents to stay out of their lives. Be present and be involved. This is the most important time to know what your student is doing and with whom they are spending their time.
Parent Online Resources
A survival kit for the new music parent
Association of Music Parents
National Recruitment Letter