When the entire piece is difficult, another suggestion is to go slowly and divide the piece into very small “bites” (only 2-3 measures at a time) and repeat each small section until it gets easier. I take a small section in the lesson and make them go through this process so that they see how quickly a problem can improve when they just do this once. Then I tell them that if they practice this way each time that in a week they’ll be very happy with how much improvement they’ll see.

I’ve found that most students think that playing through each song once is “practice.” I explain to them that this is more of a first step and a final step, and that the detailed repetitions are the way that they should be spending most of their practice time. It’s tedious work, but it’s also the only way to real progress. That’s an even greater challenge in today’s “sound byte, instant gratification” culture. This only reinforces the benefits of studying a muscial instrument; these are disciplines that children are not likely to get from very many other pursuits.