How to teach really little kids the piano?
I’m going to teach the piano to kids who are JUST starting out the instrument. The problem is, I have a to-be-student child who is about 3. She can’t read nor write, loves to chat and has the attention span of a, well, 3 year old.
I’m very uncertain how I’m going to start her off. Trying to teach her the different notes and stuff would be too much, let alone reading the scores.
Should I start her off with playing by the ear or something? Also, how can I help keep her attention? :/
Im not expert at the piano but I am a mother and a nanna, as well as having trained as a teacher assistant for kids with disabilities as well as specialising in guiding childrens behaviours.
I suggest just making it fun, let her bang away on the keys for the first lesson just to satisfy her curiosity,
second lesson just try to get her to follow your prompts – hit a key saying the key name (for example hit "c" and say "c") this will promote learning the of correct terminology even if they don’t understand what it means at this time as they have fun.
maybe find out from the parent what tv shows the child likes, most have theme tunes, perhaps learn one and play it for the child this will then involve a personal interest in the music.
The most important thing at this stage is fun, they then get into the habit of attending lessons early and consider it part of their routine, they also learn that it is fun and associate pleasant memories with attending lessons, this is all preparation for the later learning. But dont underestimate how much some children will learn, while they are still very young, kids learning capacity at a young age is amazing they CAN be absolute sponges for information, hopefully you may find yourself with one of those children rather than a little terror on legs.
either way a steady approach with lots of scope for adaption – some on a moment by moment scale is the best way to go
hope that helps
Comments
Try leaving her alone with the piano! I had a piano when I was three and practically taught myself! Shows her the wonders of it and ask her some nursery rhymes she knows (or teach her some) then gradually show her that you can make the rhymes on the piano! (Try Mary Had a Little Lamb or Twinkle Twinkle), soon once shes got some basic songs down, you can start slowly adding in teaching techniques and all that jazz!
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Lol…I don’t know, It kinda just came to me. Loved messin’ around with my piano as a kid! Oh well though, I’m a drummer not a pianist!
wow from that early age!?
just let her play for fun
youll probably want to teach them single note melodies (if possible)
and yeah do the old "tape on the keys with A-G written on them" trick
no wait, she cant read…. use colors? kids understand colors before letters and numbers anyway
man this does sound like quite the predicament, and im not too good with the piano (guitar guy)
instead of teaching her how to play sooner than she can really understand, make her listen to the piano. Put on music and ask her about it
hahaha i’m ranting on, …and probably not helping
goodluck though =)
References :
Vira…… it is simple….no force but to create interest in music & piano. Get a kid piano (toy piano made in China, Cheap) and let him/her play it the way he/she likes. Watchful eyes will tell you what to do next. Learning music is natural (70%) and training (25%) with CARE(5%).
Just to let you know ….I play my organ (Casio) at 60 without teacher or training or read notes. I play by ear and movement by finger touch. Now I play 20 numbers in memory. Tempo is auto fixing & matching.
Interest & practices are the main factors.
Do you know there is a female performer who do concert with kid piano. Another thing for you to know …..I play only the black keys for all songs with my own arrangement. What do you think, teacher?
References :
Im not expert at the piano but I am a mother and a nanna, as well as having trained as a teacher assistant for kids with disabilities as well as specialising in guiding childrens behaviours.
I suggest just making it fun, let her bang away on the keys for the first lesson just to satisfy her curiosity,
second lesson just try to get her to follow your prompts – hit a key saying the key name (for example hit "c" and say "c") this will promote learning the of correct terminology even if they don’t understand what it means at this time as they have fun.
maybe find out from the parent what tv shows the child likes, most have theme tunes, perhaps learn one and play it for the child this will then involve a personal interest in the music.
The most important thing at this stage is fun, they then get into the habit of attending lessons early and consider it part of their routine, they also learn that it is fun and associate pleasant memories with attending lessons, this is all preparation for the later learning. But dont underestimate how much some children will learn, while they are still very young, kids learning capacity at a young age is amazing they CAN be absolute sponges for information, hopefully you may find yourself with one of those children rather than a little terror on legs.
either way a steady approach with lots of scope for adaption – some on a moment by moment scale is the best way to go
hope that helps
References :
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