How to encourage children to practise their musical instruments

[TheAvocadoOfWisdom]

Any tips welcome. I have a 6yo who started violin in September. He likes it, and is pleased with the squeaking tunes he can play. But he seems to think that if he has played something through once, it doesn't need any perfecting. He doesn't resist practising once per day, and I don't want to start a battle, but I'd like him to start going over the bars where he's making mistakes, rather than just battling through.

How much should he be practising at this age, and how can I get him to practise usefully?

I follow what you're saying morning. The situation here though is that a teacher who didn't recommend taking exams would have no pupils, such is the strangehold the exam culture has.

Also, because teachers have themselves been brought up in the ABRSM culture, they have no idea how to teach improvisation, how to teach a child how to pick out their favourite tune, how to change a tune each time you play it, etc,etc. Those are put in a special ghetto marked "jazz".

Not a total stranglehold. I changed teacher when ab2out 17 to a student at the RNCM, who didn't yet have her diploma so couldn't enter me for exams. I ended up a much better violinist. But the interesting thing was that she had attended Chethams' music school in Manchester, and had done no grade exams at all - simply auditioned for the RNCM at the end of her school career. She now has a stellar career leading one of the London chamber ensembles.

But I'm finding this thread very thought provoking, in terms of coming up with strategies to make practise fun rather than a chore. What motivated me as a child was joining the local youth orchestra and wanting to keep up with my peers. Not an issue yet cos DS is still young, but the county youth orchestra where I live is of the "intensive weekend once a term" variety, rather than weekly rehearsals, which is rather sad I think.

Oh, and when/if DS learns an instrument, I'd already decided before I came across this thread that I'll be actively seeking a teacher who's prepared to put off exams as long as possible and sees them as a very small part of the business of learning an instrument.

How interesting that Chethams' music school wasn't doing grades.

My 8 yr o is do piano. I ve made a rule that she has to start her 15 min practice at 8am every day and then timestable practice before we go to school. It works well between Mon - Fri. It gets harder over Sat and Sun. I think it is about establishing a routine.

My DS started being taught piano by DH when he was 4. Not even thinking of exams. Then at age 8 they started preparing grade 1 because DS wanted to do it. By then he had built a very solid base buy mostly a sense of fun and now he does tend to play around with the grade pieces. He changes them, experiments and composes new stuff always inspired by the syllabus. Every practise finishes with DS going his own free route which is nice.
I think a few years of relaxed free learning before the goal becomes the exam is better than starting a child on an instrument and immediately setting an exam date IMHO. The relationship with that instrument will be different, sort of dating before marriage.

buy mostly = but mostly