5 Absolute “Must Do”s To Succeed When Learning Piano Online

While online learning in all areas, whether it is Math, Science or even learning piano is seeing exponential growth, research indicates that the completion rate for online courses, no matter what area or subject matter, is as low as 10%. 

As a proponent for online learning, myself, I cannot deny these facts. 

I myself, have been guilty of starting courses and not completing them and I know that my online students are no different. 

So I thought that this would be a really apt time to write a post and make recommendations on key habits that can be developed to help increase the success rate when learning piano online. 

Remember, many of the suggestions made in this post can also be used in other areas of study. 

So let’s get started. 

Make Sure All Materials Are Ready And Available

If the online program or course your child is following gives a list of materials that are required, then before you get started make sure that everything is available. 

This way your child can follow along uninterrupted and is likely to be less frustrated and distracted. 

Also he will progress faster and that in itself will help propel him further. 

Schedule Time and Stick To It 

I really cannot emphasize this fact enough. 

It is very, very important that you schedule time in your calendar for practice as well as for introducing new material. 

Can’t seem the time in your already over-scheduled calendar to add practice? Then I hope my post on 5 ‘No Fail’ Ways To Make Music A Part Of Your Daily Routine, can help you. 

Pick Only One New Course

With the proliferation of online courses and also the affordability of these courses, we often love to hoard courses when they are on sale. 

While it is ok to purchases as many courses as you want, when they are on sale. 

The downside of this is that we often get overwhelmed because we try to learn all of them at once. 

I know I am guilty of doing this and I think you are no different too. And this is exactly what happens to our kids too. 

So, here’s my recommendation. 

Even though you may have purchased a Recorder course, an online Piano course and an Online Guitar course, it doesn’t mean your child has learn all of them at once. 

And don’t let him try to learn all of them at once – no matter how enthusiastic he maybe.

Rather, your child should be encouraged to pick one single instrument and learn it for a year or the duration of the time necessary to complete the course, and be at least somewhat proficient before moving on to the next instrument. 

Does that make sense?

Figure Out How To Get Help And Be Ready To Use It When Necessary

This is another vital stumbling block. Most people simply don’t know where to find help when needed. 

So my suggestion is, that before you even start on the course, first find out where you can go for help. 

Is it a forum or a FB Group or somewhere else?

Join it and look around.

If needed write down the log in information and directions and keep it handy. 

This way when your child needs help, you  will know, how and where to get it. 

Another thing I’ve found very helpful is, reading through the forums and Q&A before getting started, because I am able to gauge the pitfalls, mistakes and stumbling blocks and even have the answers to get around those obstacles, before I even get started.

Thus saving me even more time and frustration later on. 

Now, on to the last suggestion. 

Know That Learning At Your Own Pace Doesn’t Mean Learning ‘Inconsistently’

Yes, this is something I am really guilty of. 

See, unlike with a real live face to face, one on one teacher, online learning provides a lot of flexibility and convenience. 

This strength of online learning also is its biggest achilles heal. Isn’t it?

The convenience and flexibility, often translates into inconsistency or lack of focus. 

However, it does not mean that online learning bad, it only means that we have to recognize the achilles heal and then take steps to mitigate the drawbacks. 

In this case, my students that while there are many conveniences to online learning, in order to get the most of it, there are instances in which, it should be treated like a traditional learning method. 

That means we have to think of it as being finite (which means have an end date for completing the course). Just writing down a date and working towards meeting that goal alone helps me stay focused and complete it. 

If you don’t try any of the other tips, at least try this one. 

It’s absolutely ok if you don’t make it to the end date, but having that date, planning for it, targeting it and scheduling their learning with the aim of meeting the deadline, will help you and your kids immensely. 

It will create a habit of consistency and keep you and your kids focused. 

One caveat though, while you should not simply extend the deadline when trivial obstacles pop up, you should not be overly inflexible with the date either. 

So that’s it. 

What do you think? 

Which of the above suggestions are you going to implement, first?

Please feel free to comment and ask questions about this.