How much practice is actually enough

Fifteen minutes on a Tuesday is worth more than an hour on Sunday. This is the least romantic and most useful thing we tell students.

Why little and often wins

Motor learning consolidates between sessions, not during them. Six short sessions give the brain six chances to file the movement away; one long session gives it one, plus a sore shoulder.

The 15-minute shape

1. 3 minutes: warm-up or the scale you hate.
2. 7 minutes: the hard four bars, slowly, hands apart if needed.
3. 5 minutes: play something you enjoy, badly, for fun.

What parents can do

Do not supervise. Ask one question afterwards: “what was the hard bit today?” That is it. Sitting next to a child with a metronome is how practice becomes a punishment.

When a week collapses

Skip it and say so at the lesson. Teachers can hear it anyway, and a student who lies about practice learns to avoid the instrument, not the excuse.