Wanna give a special something to your favorite musician?

I’ve got 10 gift ideas sure to strike a chord with everyone – from toddlers to teens to teachers.

1. Music Bag

via Etsy shop MusicVillageGifts

I’ve let my bags practically fall to pieces before I make the move to order one for myself. The poor things are abused! They get tossed on floors and thrown in cars all the time. But every musician- no matter what their age - needs a trusty music bag that can travel anywhere. We’re notoriously bad for letting this one go by the way side because instrument repair and music books get first priority (those are the pricier items we’ll justify spending more money on).

So if you see your musician carrying a bag that’s seen it’s better days, give them a gift they’ll be sure to use.  I found these on Etsy. If you prefer a a solid background, here’s one you might like even more in red, black, or blue. And this one with give them some extra motivation before they grab their music out to practice.

2. Practice Dice

via Etsy shop CaityAshBadashery

Got a little gift getter who hates repetitions? Make it fun with practice dice!

From now on, the dice get to decide how many more times they have to play their piece before practice is over. No cheating! It’s all fair game once you roll. Go with this mix or some cute wooden ones. A small music bag like this one can keep them together so they don’t get lost!

3. Necklace

via Etsy shop applelatte

Jewelry preferences are pretty personal. But if you know what kind of jewelry they tend to go for, you could have a happy little girl on your hands. Honestly, you can grab two and gift it to your teacher if you want to be extra sweet. This one here is simple and classic enough for a range of ages.

Want a necklace more instrument specific? Here’s a violin, french horn, flute, and a piano.

4. Bow Hold Help

The Cellophant via Things for Strings

Ask anyone who’s ever played a string instrument and they’ll tell you: one of the most difficult skills to master at the beginning is just learning how to hold the bow.

But Ruth and Martha Brons have created some pretty cool accessories to help violinists, violists, and cellists learn how to master it a little easier. Their store is full of fish, elephants, and frogs ready to jump on for a bow ride full of fun!

5. Holiday Music Games

via Music in Practice

Why not gift some games to spice up their boring practice routine?

Right now, Sue Hunt is offering “12 Magical Christmas Practice Games” for kids on her website. And here are more to choose from for the rest of the year. Go check ‘em out!

6. Playful Rosin

via Magic Rosin

How cool are these? It’s magic rosin for your little string player!

It’s just like regular rosin for their bow, only it’s clear and features fun designs on the bottom. Some have backgrounds with animals, holograms, and even composers. I would have gone crazy for these sparkle ones when I was a kid.

Ok. Honestly? I want them now!

7. Instrument Hanger

via Amazon String Swing store

I reallllly want to call this the “there’s no excuse not to practice” holder.

No need taking forever to pull your instrument out of your case. Just hang it up in a safe place, and voila – right there ready to go. A procrastinator’s nightmare quick fix.

String Swing makes an assortment of them for violins, guitars, mandolins, banjos, and ukeleles.

8. Picture Inspiration

via Etsy shop mackydesigns

Practice isn’t easy. And some days are a heck of a lot harder than others.

So when the going gets tough and your musician needs some motivation to keep on keeping on, an inspirational quote might just do the trick. I love this picture featuring a quote from Robert Schumann. Here’s a decal I would have liked to have on the wall of my bedroom as a kid – where I did the bulk of my practicing growing up.

9. Keychain

via Etsy shop catonealdesigns

Ever watched a musician get out the door? Let me tell you – it’s a riot.

You’ve got your instrument case on your back, your music bag on your shoulder, and a music stand in your hand. A real balancing act to say the least.

Oh, and did I mention there are doors to get through?

I would love a keychain like this one when it’s time to travel.  No stopping and digging around for your keys when you’re carrying your entire music studio from point to point. Just toss it on your wrist and you’re good to go.

10. A Little Black Book

via Staples

There’s always a piece to practice, a rehearsal to remember, and a tip from a teacher to write down.

And your musician can keep track of all of them in this little black book.

I found this one online at Staples, but moleskin notebooks are all over the place these days.

None of these are affiliate links. Just me, clicking around online to help you pick out presents

Happy gifting!

I’m over at Loving Simple Living, making the case for minimalist parenting when it comes to scheduling activities for your kids.

Here’s a bit of it for you…

Violin lessons, academic clubs, and sports practices filled my calendar to the brim every weekday. Recitals, competitions, and games crowded my weekends. Volunteering and church activities filled in the rest.

Sure, I got straight A’s, won tons of competitions, and made it home in time for dinner.

But I never formed a genuine bond with my parents. We didn’t have the time, and we certainly didn’t have the energy. Instead, all I remember is lying in bed every morning, dreading the day ahead of me – every over-scheduled minute of it.

“You’re so lucky to have a mother who can do all this for you!” the other moms would say to me after mine proudly rolled off the laundry list of activities she drove me back and forth to.

Everyone would nod together, and I’d smile. On the inside I was dying, but no one could see me crumbling behind my shiny medals, perfect grades, and flashy dance costumes.

After all, I was lucky.

Click here to read the article.

Admit it – I know you don’t always love practicing with your kids.

It’s ok. I won’t tell.

But do you know who’s spilling your dirty little secret to them?

Your body language. And it’s making practicing with them a heck of a lot harder than it should be.

I know practicing can be tough and tedious for both of you. But your kids are going to need every ounce of positive pushing you can give them - even when the music makes both of you a little bit crazy.

When you give off bad body language signals while they play, they’re going to make less progress (and secretly start to hate practicing with you too).

So before you start practicing again, see if these secret signals are blowing your cover…

1. Your furrowed brows

You know that gut reaction you have when you eat something sour that you didn’t expect would taste that way? You probably scrunch your face up a little and start furrowing your brows because it’s so startling and unexpected to you.

Chances are this is the same face you make when your child plays the wrong notes while you listen to them practice. When you make that face, and furrow your brows they think you’re disappointed with their performance. And when your child thinks you’re disappointed, it’ll completely throw off their concentration.

This is because kids don’t know the difference between, “Mom thinks the music sounds bad” and “Mom thinks I’m bad” when they’re practicing. If you’re watching them play and they look over to see your disappointed face instead of a smiling one, they’ll take your criticism more personally than ever.

That’s why they lash out and say something like, “I hate this song!” or even worse, “I hate you!” as they cry, running out of the room.

You might think they’re just being unreasonable or undisciplined. But really they feel hurt because they think you’re disappointed with them. And they don’t want you to be disappointed.  So if that means they have to cut a practice short to make you happy again, they’ll do it. It’s how they protect themselves from feeling bad – it’s their defense mechanism.

Now, I’m not saying you have to smile all the time, but you at least have to look encouraging (even when you hear the sour notes).

2. Your crossed arms

Here’s how your kids interpret your crossed arms: There you are sitting on the couch with a disappointed face, crossing your arms while they slave away at their music to make you proud. And in their eyes, you’re not really helping them or acknowledging how hard they’re working – just crossing your arms. And you’re looking a little judgmental.

So now they’re less frustrated with the music and more frustrated with you.

Musicians worry about what other people think of their performance – some of them cover it up better than others, but there’s always some anxiety there. I’ve even had a few conservatory friends confess to me that they take a Xanax before their big performances…and those musicians were professional 20-somethings!

Just because your child isn’t a professional performing on stage doesn’t mean they aren’t worried about what you think when you hear them play at home. In fact, younger ones who are less confident in their skills are even more self-conscious when they feel you’re judging their half finished piece of music.

Kids know when they sound bad—and believe me, they’re just as frustrated as you are.

3. Your nervous tick

Whether it’s pen clicking, foot tapping, or deep sighing, your kids pick up on your nervous ticks—even the ones you don’t know you have.

Without realizing it, your body’s telling your kids: “Hurry up—I don’t have all day! Why aren’t you learning this quicker? I have better things to do.”

And if you practice with them right after having your cup of coffee, this nervous tick can get really out of hand. (One time I tried teaching my students after a few cups of coffee, and I was a pen-clicking, foot-tapping mess)!

I know. Listening to “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” for the 200th time can get pretty boring. So, to get past the boredom you might cling to nervous ticks to prevent yourself from raising your voice or giving negative feedback.

But these little ticks irritate them, which makes them stop focusing, and that can make your tick even worse (see the cycle here?). They’re getting the message that you’d rather be doing anything other than practicing with them. And if your child thinks you’re not focused on practicing and improving, why should they be?

4. Your technology

Let’s face it: online shopping, grocery list making, and solitaire playing are all more interesting than listening to a screechy half-finished song all day.

Kids know this – they don’t think their half-finished song sounds very interesting either. But helping your child practice isn’t just about sitting there and getting through it.

If you really want to help them get better, you have to be present. You said you’d help…but your body language is saying something different. Kids feel a little betrayed when you do something else that looks more interesting to you.

They’ll act out and zoom through their songs just to get through them because they’re a little angry and hurt that you’re not following through with helping them or listening to them like you said you would.

So if you’re not interested in what they’re doing, they’ll do something to get your attention.

Because when your attention isn’t on them when you said it would be on them, they’ll settle for just about any attention – even the bad kind.

You don’t have to understand everything your child’s learning

I’m not saying you have to understand everything your child’s learning. You don’t even have to act like you do.

But 20 minutes of focused practice time with them is going to be worth 40 minutes of unfocused practice time. And if you stick to a routine, help them with their music, and just listen to them, you’ll avoid wasting precious time in your day. That means less frustration, less acting out, and less stress for everyone.

Show them that nothing exists except the two of you and the music when you practice. Show them that right here – right now – you’re there to help.

Once you do that, both of you will start dreading this part of the day a whole lot less.

Are you guilty of any of these habits? (My Mom was an arm crosser!)

Wish they'd practice...without the whining?

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You know that really sour note your child keeps playing over and over and over?

And you know how you keep reminding them over and over and over to play the right note next time?

Don’t worry. They’re not ignoring you. They heard you loud and clear.

But they’re not playing those sour notes because they want to. They just don’t know how to break their sour note habit.

Here’s an easy way to help your kids turn those pesky sour notes sweet! Try this game next time you catch yourself saying, “That’s an F sharp!” for the millionth time.

The Game

First, figure out what note is the problem.

Got the note?

Great!  Now, have them play the note slowly and correctly – 10 times in a row - before starting to work on the song again.

Now here’s the fun part: Tell them every time they’re about to play the note, they can’t play it.

Instead…they have to say a funny word.

Here’s an example: Let’s say I’m playing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. And let’s say I’m having a problem with the note when you sing “little” (this is an F sharp in a lot of editions of that song). I’m going to say “ROOSTER” every time I need to play the note “little.”

So when I play, it will sound like this to you: Twin-kle, Twin-kle, ROOSTER!, ROOSTER!, Star. How I won-der what you are.

Why The Game Works

When musicians haven’t mastered a hard part in their piece, the notes leading up to it are pretty stressful.  Sometimes kids speed up to the part right before, stressing themselves out a little.

Most of the time kids know what the notes should sound like. But once they get to that part, they worry they won’t play the note correctly and start freaking out. They’re thinking, “Oh no…This is going to be just like last time: all sour notes…again.”

On top of that, they’re frustrated because you’re telling them to play the note they already know they should be playing. But they can’t do it when all the other notes are jumbled in.

It’s like putting puzzle pieces together. You can put the corners together first and then fill in the rest of the puzzle gradually. Just because it isn’t completed doesn’t mean you don’t know what it’s supposed to look like in the end.  It’s just a matter of putting it all together.

To you, you’ll hear a funny word like “ROOSTER!” when your child stops the song. But your child will hear that note in their head every single time they’re saying “ROOSTER!” It’s a way to make playing the song less stressful and more fun.

And playing the note 10 times correctly before they start playing the whole song again proves to your child that they can play that note – it’s possible! Instead of playing the song over and over and over again with the chance of maybe or maybe not getting it right, they isolated their problem spot from all the other parts of the song.

That note is the last note they heard and it’s ringing in their head – and this time, it’s the correct note.

It’s like when you do something the wrong way for so long, you wonder if you can ever do it the right way again. Playing this game, helps your child prove to themselves that they can play the right note.  And now, it’s just a matter of putting it back into the song.

When You Should Play The Game

Repeat this game a few times a day or until they get bored of it. Don’t force the fun, because it won’t be fun anymore if you do (and that’s the whole point of this exercise).

You want this to be an activity they actually enjoy instead of something they should be enjoying. If one day they beg to play this game 20 times, and the next day they just want to do it 3 times, then call it quits.

The point is they’re working on the hard parts.

“Can They Play This Game With Their Friends Too?”

Sure! This is a really great game to play with a music friend. If your child has a friend in their music program, have them play the game together. Tell them to pick a song they’re both having problems learning and then each kid can take turns choosing new words to shout.

You wouldn’t believe how much this game entertains kids when they get together. You might have to pry those instruments out of their hands!

Hearing teachers and parents remind you 100 times to play the right notes can get pretty stressful when you’re just starting out. And it’s a lot to handle when you’re focusing on 20 other things you should be doing (like sitting or standing up straight, paying attention to your fingers, playing on tempo).

But learning how to tackle sour notes in a song while making it fun too? Those are the kinds of practices that make them want to work out the hard parts.

“I think this is too hard for them right now…”

If your child can’t seem to get the hang of the game (because playing, stopping and saying funny words are all too much to handle right now) tell them do this:

1. Put down your instrument
2. Figure out the sour note
3. Sing or hum the sour note 10 times correctly
4. Now, sing or hum the song the whole way through replacing that sour note with a funny word.

“But Moooommmm! That game’s for babies!”

If your child feels like this game’s a little too silly for them, then do everything I said…but don’t require them to say the funny word.

Instead of saying the funny word, tell them to do this:

1. Play the sour note 10 times correctly before playing the song
2. Stop playing completely when you get to the hard part of the song
3. Pause! No playing the note – just sing or hum what the note should sound like
4. Continue playing the piece to the end

Once they’ve done that enough times (play song, pause, continue playing song), put the note back in the piece and play it through without pausing.

Try this game at home with your child…and let me know what they think!

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