Give Your Child Piano Lessons!Giving your child piano lessons is one of the greatest gifts you can give. In piano lessons children get multiple benefits; like doing better in school and improving coordination. Read more about how piano lessons benefit children and how to be a supportive parent.
At what age should a child start piano lessons?
This all depends on the child, the parent and the teacher. Generally, to teach a child piano lessons, the child needs to show interest in learning to play the piano, have enough attention span to sit still for 10 minutes, and be able to listen to and follow instructions. It is also good if s/he can count to five, and know the first letters of the alphabet. The parent needs to be aware that the child will need help with the practice at home until about 11 years of age. The help should consist in positive reinforcement, reminder about practice, seeing to maintenance and care of the piano, buying sheet music and supplies when needed, and overall showing a positive interest in the child piano lessons and learning. If the child is very young, 3-5 years old, it is also advisable that the parent is present during the lessons. This is to help the parent understand what to help the child with at home, as well as showing the child how important this lesson is! The teacher needs to be a skilled and knowledgeable piano teacher and pedagogue. If the child is very young, the teacher should also have experience and training in teaching child piano lessons. There are several special music programs for young children, like the Suzuki piano lessons and Kinder Musik for example. Is it better to start as early as possible?The answer is; not necessarily. The younger the child, the more assistance and involvement of the parent is needed, and the more specialized the teacher needs to be to teach young beginners. Some children can start at 3-4 years old, and some do much better waiting until 6-7 years old when learning gets easier as well. Instead of regular piano lessons, it is advisable that a very young child has some kind of experience with a preparatory group music program, like Kinder Musik, The Dalcroze method or an Orff program etc. before starting with actual piano lessons for children. This musical preparation makes an ideal student! A very young child also has a very “soft” hand- and small fingers- which makes it more difficult to press down the keys than an older child. The very young beginner does best when note reading is not the main focus, but rather learning by ear as much as possible. I do believe in using a special piano method for young beginners, because also very young children feel pride when reading the notes on a page. But at the same time they get a lot of pieces on a more advanced level to learn by ear, so the hands get the technical practice they need- and the focus is on the music, not only on the note symbols on the page. 6 year old piano prodigy:How to be a supportive parent of a piano student:
It is very important to take an active role in your child piano lessons. The best support you can ever give is to show interest, pride and joy for every little accomplishment! Never, ever say negative or critical comments. Sometimes parents are worried that they can’t help because they know nothing about music. Nothing could be further from the truth! The best support is your never ending admiration and praise, and helping to organize the practice time. Provide a quiet place where the piano is in your home, so that the child can practice without disturbances. Listen to your child perform, and praise, praise! Even if it is the same little piece for the 1000th time! Help the young beginner by making a practice schedule that works with the routines of the rest of the family as well. Stick to that schedule! My child wants to quit piano lessons...The most common reasons children wants to quit is that the piano lessons do not meet their expectations, the pieces they play are boring, they do not get along with their teacher, it is difficult to find peace and quiet at home to practice- or they simply have too many other activities. It could also be because they didn’t want to play the piano in the first place. It is natural for every child to have ups and downs. Actually it would be unnatural not too! A big dip down in interest usually comes during the third year. (Somehow I find a lot of the teaching material needs to be changed at that time.) Should you let the child quit? Well, it depends. The best is to discuss it with the teacher. I usually tell parents and students to stick with it for a semester at least. If the child really, really do not want to continue, it is important to let them know that it is OK to take a break and they can continue lessons later if they want to. It is NOT a closed door, neither a failure! Occasionally it could be a good idea to try lessons with another teacher instead. Remember- no matter what- the lessons are never wasted. Learning an instrument is something you never really forget! You might feel “rusty” after some years, but the skill stays forever. I took up cello playing again after 30 years. It was amazing- everything was still there! Yes, more pain in my fingertips, but “muscle memory” is not forgotten! And let’s not forget all the other benefits of learning an instrument- they stay for ever. How piano lessons benefit children:
Piano lessons help children to do better in school, help raise their self esteem, teach self discipline and organization, help increase coordination, and generally teach children to be well-rounded in life. I have parents who openly tell me they want to give their child piano lessons mainly because it is so good for their brain! Get a free PDF here about:
How Music Can Dramatically Effect Your Child’s Development and Life-Time Success
 Return from Child Piano Lessons to Piano lessons
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