Paul McCartney, Prince, Beck – what do they all have in common? Yes, they’re all successful recording artists and GRAMMY winners, but they all share something a little deeper: They are all successful multi-­instrumentalists who have recorded at least one album where they played most, if not every instrument from start to finish. Prince, in particular, is said to have played 27 different instruments with proficiency.

Whoa.

While you, I, or your young musician may never reach the status of those three, learning multiple instruments can have profound effects on one’s musicianship. Being a multi-­instrumentalist myself, I can attest to this.

I believe I’m a much better musician because I play more than one instrument, but it doesn’t come without it’s hurdles. Let me explain...

One of the most fascinating parts of my job as a music teacher is witnessing the different ways that the parents encourage and promote the musical development of their students. I’ve had parents who approach music lessons as a sort of “educational play-date” for their kids - not trying to overemphasize the work it takes to play music, and not seeing a need for any serious study or practice outside of the lesson itself. I’ve also had parents who have enforced strict practicing regimens on their students of an allotted number of minutes at the same time everyday. I’ve had parents request that I only teach their students music written by Classical composers. And I’ve had parents request that their students only learn contemporary pop music.

Some of these strategies have worked for the parents, and others have not. It is interesting to note that the success of these tactics have been based heavily on the tendencies of the students. There is no “one-size fits all” solution to helping a student engage in music. Over time, however, I’ve noted some common approaches that most parents of accomplished music students have used. So based on those observations, I’ve put together a list of 7 ways to promote a self-motivating love for playing music within your student...