One of the things I hate the most about moving is finding a good mechanic. I personally know nothing about cars; I've never even successfully performed an oil change. So I'm forced to put a ton of trust in my mechanic to honestly and expertly service my vehicle. Because, when it comes down to it, I don't have enough knowledge about cars to tell a good mechanic from a bad one until it's too late.

That's how a lot of parents are with their music teachers. They don't know enough about the subject to tell a good teacher from a bad one, so they stick with what they've got until their car (aka: student) quits. And that's sad to see. Lots of people have disqualified themselves as "not having what it takes to play music," when in reality it wasn't them but their teachers who failed. I've seen this too much in music education, so I've posed 4 questions for you to determine if your music teacher is worth your money...

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...