What is good practicing?

What constitutes a good practice for an instrument? According to Robert A. Cutietta, author of the book "Raising Musical Kids", a parent can help the kid in the following ways:

1. Planning the practice time
- Warm up
-Synthesis/analysis/synthesis of a work in progress
- Synthesis/analysis/synthesis of another work in progress
- Work on a new piece
- Cool down

2. Fixing a specific mistake
- Back up to several measures before the problem note. Begin there at the slow speed at which the child can successfully play the problem notes. The child should then continue a measure or two beyond the problem notes without speeding up.
- when hear a mistake, point it out, then have the child go back to the start of the chain and correct it.

3. Whole versus parts
- divide the piece into logical sections.

4. Mental practice
- the child works to hear the music in his head while actually moving his fingers on the instrument. The child has to actually concentrate on hearing the music.

5. Modeling
-Recording the teacher at the lesson to let the child hear the music piece at home.

6. Using an accompaniment tape or computer

7. Using a metronome

8.The role of parent
- Get involved to answer questions, keeping the child on task, or listening out to the lesson and pointing out obvious mistakes.

9. Learning to hear own mistakes