#120 How to Keep the September Spark Alive — All Year Long
Updated: 3 days ago
By Christy Hodder, Expert Music Educator
Did you catch it this month? The new folder your child picked out just for their music book. The way they've been talking about their new music teacher all week. Maybe they've even asked to practise before you asked them to.
That's the September feeling. And if you're anything like me, you know exactly how good it feels — and exactly how fast it can also fade.
I stood in front of a room full of our Scotia Suzuki families a few weeks ago at our September parent workshop, and I asked them the question I want to ask you now: how do we keep that feeling going — not just through September, but through the whole year?
Right now, this month, you and your child are in your watering-can season. Here are the three things that do the watering.
1. Instrument Out
If your child's instrument lives in a closet, or zipped in its case under a bed, the odds of it getting picked up go way down. If it's sitting out — on top of the piano, on a stand, hanging on a hook by the door — the odds go way up.
This is one of my own tricks, from seasons when I'm swamped and still need to practise without missing a day: I balance my toothbrush right on the bridge of my violin, which hangs on the wall, so I'm reminded to play — even just two or three minutes — every single morning and every single night. There's no way I'm brushing my teeth in the morning without playing a song first, and no way I'm going to bed at night without doing the same. A little silly, but wildly effective for me.
You don't need anything expensive — a cheap stand, a hook, or simply propping it on top of a bookshelf works. Even if you don't want to buy anything yet, just put it on the floor where they'll trip over it. (That can also work — but I'm joking, mostly.)
🎵 PP TIP: Watch what happens the first week the instrument comes out of the case and stays out. You'll likely see your child pick it up between homework, before dinner, in odd five-minute pockets of the day — not because you asked, but because it's right there.
2. Listening On
Here's something we tell every family at the Scotia Suzuki School of Music: playing your child's music for them at home — even in the background, even while they're colouring or having a snack — is like winning the lottery for their ears.
Play for them next year's songs this year. That way, by the time their teacher hands them the piece, they can already sing it in their head. Their teacher will love you for it, and your child will feel like the piece is already half-learned before they've touched a single note. You're basically making it easier and faster for them to learn.
You don't need a fancy listening setup. I keep an old CD player tucked under my kitchen cabinet — I still don't know where my husband found it — and whatever I need in my head goes in there. I listen to it months before I ever need to play it. Right now it might be a piece for an upcoming concert, or music from wherever I'm heading next on a trip — I just play it on repeat until it's simply in my brain.
If a CD player feels like too much, we've already done the work for you. Every listening track for your child's current book is sitting on the Student Portal. Bookmark it, press play, and leave it on in the background of ordinary life.
🎵 PP TIP: You don't need your child's full attention for listening to work. Some of the strongest musical memory gets built while a child is not trying to concentrate at all — just absorbing.3. One Win, Named Out Loud
This is sometimes the hardest one for me, and I'll be honest with you — I still catch myself getting it wrong. It's something I'm constantly thinking about and working on.
When your child plays for you, the instinct is to jump in — "sit up straight," "that note was flat," "do that part again." Try instead to bite your tongue until it bleeds, as my own parenting coach in my twenties, Sandra, used to say — a phrase she may have borrowed from the parenting educator Barbara Coloroso.
Let them finish. Then say one specific thing you noticed they did well. If something needs fixing, save it — that's a teaching moment for tomorrow's practice, not a correction mid-performance tonight. You're teaching them, not correcting them.
Make the compliment specific. Instead of "good job," say something real: "I noticed you didn't rush that tricky part right here." Or, "You kept your bow so steady in that section." One true, specific thing — said out loud, every single time they play.
🎵 PP TIP: "Good job" is forgettable. A specific, true observation is something a child files away and tries to earn again tomorrow.The Bigger Picture: Music Is a Long Game
Here's what I really want you to leave with today — more than the mantra, more than the three tips.
Music lessons aren't one activity on a list of nine. They're not a "let's see if she likes it" trial. What you're actually handing your child, every single week, is something that will stay with them for the rest of their life.
I want to share a story about my daughter — she gave me permission to tell it.
When she first got married, she and her husband both played piano. Growing up in our home, she practised every single day before school. Sometimes long, sometimes short — but it simply happened, the way brushing your teeth happens. It was never up for debate on any given morning. It was a decision we'd made together as a family, and we stuck with it.
Her husband also grew up taking piano lessons — but differently. His family found a teacher who was convenient, close by, good enough. He wasn't asked to practise daily. Mostly, it happened the day or two before his lesson, in a flurry, so he wouldn't feel embarrassed in front of his teacher.
After they married, they started comparing notes. He told her, honestly, that he wished that he'd grown up being asked to sit down and practise every day — even just five minutes. And she noticed something about herself: when she takes on a big project now — at work, in the garden, anywhere — she instinctively breaks it into pieces. She tackles the hardest part first, works it in small repetitions, and finishes well ahead of any deadline. Never an all-nighter. She traces that skill straight back to learning music, one small daily repetition at a time.
Together, they've decided to raise their own son exactly the way she was raised: five or ten minutes a day, every day, made as fun and positive as they can make it. Not "if he feels like it." Just — “this is what we do, and I’m here to do it together with you”.
That's the long game. That's what you're actually building this year, underneath the music. Not just a violinist, or a pianist — a person who finishes what they start, who learns that big things can be accomplished by just doing a little bit every day.
So here's the framework I hope you'll carry with you, past September and straight through to June: not "will my child like this," but "I am giving my child something that pays out for the rest of their life, as long as I stay the course with them — through a long stretch of many years, and even when it gets hard."
What's Coming the Rest of This Year
September's theme is roots. But we've already got the whole year mapped out for you, and I don't want to give it all away today — half the fun is watching it unfold month by month, in your child's lessons, on our Instagram, and right here on the Practicing Pro blog.
Here's a peek of what's ahead: Community & Belonging. Effort Over Talent. Look How Far. Connection Over Perfection. Curiosity & Ownership.
Each one gets its own month, its own mantra, and its own blog post here. So if this is just your first year with us, welcome to the long game. If you've been with us for years already, welcome back to it.
For now, this month, just three things: instrument out, listening on, one win named out loud. Roots come before the fruits, and yours are already growing, whether you can see them yet or not.
And I have a gift for you: each month, I'll drop a free printable practice chart to help you remember that month's mantra. September's, of course, is roots come before the fruits, and October's chart is ready for you too. Download both below.
You've got this!
GRAB MY FREE CHECKLIST
Check out my Free PDF download, the Checklist for a Successful Music Practice for teachers and practicing parents. Your easy checklist for successful home music practices from Christy Hodder. Whether you are a new or seasoned practice parent or music teacher, this checklist will help you organize before, during, and after practices for effective and fun practices.
INVITATION from Christy Hodder: DIGITAL COURSE from the Practicing Pro Academy
Speaking of amazing practices, let me tell you all about the digital course, the Practicing Pro Academy. This is for the serious practicing parents and music teachers and is an at-your-own-pace, step-by-step, online course to bring you more effective, positive, and fun home music practices. Registrants receive a special package in the mail from me, and I am with you in person with Q&As to answer all your questions.
Learn more about PPA and join the waitlist HERE for the next Practicing Pro Academy course. It's only offered once a year so you don't want to miss it. The registration will only open for a few weeks and I'll let everyone on the waitlist know immediately so that you can grab one of the spots.
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