"They never practice."
"I have to force them to do any practice."
"I have told them we will stop lessons if they don't do more practice."
How much practice is enough practice? How often should it be? How long should it be?
Practice is building knowledge and skills. There is a lot going on when mastering an instrument - Learning music notation, developing co-ordination in both hands, understanding rhythm and finally bringing it all together in the song structure and timing.
When you are six years old we are celebrating small successes - small steps toward a lifelong enjoyment of guitar. I suggest three practice sessions a week of just 10 minutes each. This will reinforce what has been introduced in the class. In these early years it may be necessary to assist with the practice. "Show me all of the notes you know." "Play me your favourite song." "Play me the song you were asked to practice this week."
TIP - You might have noticed we have begun introducing a Practice Form for younger students. This will be found in the front of their Resource Folder. Each week it will list the songs and exercises to practice.
As students develop skills and move to more advanced material, the practice time will need to increase. This is where just playing through the songs needs to become more focussed on skill development. Pick out the difficult parts in songs and work on them - over and over.
GENERAL GUIDE - Younger, beginner students, three sessions of 10 minutes each. More advanced students, three sessions of 20 - 30 minutes each. Help the kids develop routines - just like sports training - schedule the times each week for these practice sessions.