First week back, stars and stickers and practising.

And so we have enjoyed the first week back cakes and the stars, stickers and 40 piece challenge chart are all out and being used, but what about practice? How much and what should we practise?

For beginners- Prep Test level the most important thing is to practise every day- 10 minutes is fine. This will build habits and strengthen the fingers. I only see your children once a week so parents, this is down to you! You can make charts, download them or reward regular practice. Try to establish a regular time each day to practice: as soon as they come in from school, after dinner, early in the morning- whatever works for you all.

For Grade 1-3 level pianists daily practice is vital but the amount and length of pieces means 20-30 mins at least is necessary.

For Grade 4-5 pianists, things are getting serious now and very enjoyable too so you will want to be doing at least 30 mins daily, maybe even 2 x 20 mins?

For advanced pianists of Grade 6 + 45- 60 mins per day is rewarding and enjoyable.

There will be times when whatever your level you will want to increase your daily practice/ playing. This might be before a concert or recital, leading up to an exam- grade or school exam, or if you have an audition.

Have enormous fun playing and I look forward to using up all those stickers in my folder and having a chart full of ticks!