Posts Tagged ‘Piano Lessons’

Piano lessons provide a great advantage for children schooled at home. Because parents are in charge of their children’s schedule and curriculum, homeschool students can set their own pace and spend more time on music than in the public or private schools. In the public schools young children go to music class about once a week. Not nearly enough time to develop their musical talent, and rarely are they able to learn an instrument such as the piano. This is unfortunate because of the educational benefits of piano lessons for elementary school age children. Home school parents, however, can provide all the benefits of piano for their children right in their own home. And there is no reason not to with all the resources available to homeschool parents on the internet.

So gather your homeschool team of friends and discuss this wonderful opportunity. Music is even more fun when you can share it with others. Small groups of children can develop their musical talent using keyboards and ear phones. Today the keyboards available are of good quality and reasonably priced. Create a space in your home and start your own homeschool piano club. Below are five things your children can learn in piano at home.

How to -

1. Set Goals to achieve their music dream;

2. Overcome worries and performance fears;

3. Become more patient with their learning;

4. Be persistent in their lessons; and how to

5. Take responsibility for their success.

These are character traits all children need to reach their dreams. So don’t wait to give your children the gift of music!

Piano lessons have so many benefits for children, such as improved math skills, improved reading skills, and improved overall educational progress. Parents don’t want their children to miss out on this fun, educational experience. The fact is, however, the earlier your child begins piano lessons the more they will benefit. Many parents wait until their children are 9, or 10, or 14 years old to finally enroll their child in piano lessons. Why? The excuse most often stated by parents for this delay is, “I’m not quite sure my child is ready for piano lessons.” Here’s what parents need to understand about waiting to give their children piano lessons.

Music is a language. Young children are programmed to absorb languages. So waiting to give your child piano lessons doesn’t really make sense. Here’s what you can do, however, to make sure your young child is ready for piano lessons. Just as parents can teach their young children pre-skills for learning to read at home they can also teach their young children foundational music language pre-skills at home. But to do this well, parents need the right materials to guide them in a step-by-step process so learning goes smoothly for their child. Today there is no reason why this should be dificult.

In the past music educators have tended to view themselves and their profession as an elite group with special talent others should be so lucky to have. Music materials were often couched in unnecesarily technical language that made learning inaccessible to the “lay person.” With the advent of the internet this is no longer true. In fact, piano teachers who still operate under this dogmatic perspective are shooting themselves in the foot, while other piano teachers are sharing what they know with the world, so that everyone benefits from the gift of music.

If you’re a parents of a young child don’t hesitate to enroll them in piano lessons. But first prepare them for piano success at home. This way you won’t have to worry about whether or not your child is ready for piano, because you’ll know that they are. You may even decide to take piano lessons yourself.

I am often asked by parents of young children what is the best age to begin piano lessons. Well, although I have seen children as young as four start to learn to play piano it is a tall order for most so young to cope with the physical and mental demands.

I specialize in a course designed for very small children which uses a lot of singing and all round musical tuition, but there are the physical hold ups of tiny hands that just aren’t ready to use the fingers independently and most children will progress much faster and therefore enjoy the experience much more if they are around six.

It may appear obvious, but there is a marked difference between a five and six year old learning to play piano. It’s not just hand size to reach the piano notes but ability to concentrate too. Basic knowledge in other ways of the world makes a big difference too. For example, knowing the first seven letters of the alphabet.

A lot depends ‘though on the course offered and the skill of the teacher. When I teach the very little ones I encourage their parents to sit in on the lessons and help to guide their child. I can then lead from the front of the class whilst parents can help to guide their child’s hands in to place on the keyboards whilst I move around the class to check that all is well.

Lessons for the very young need to be fast and flexible. Singing, and perhaps even dancing help to develop children’s musical skills. Even most adults will find it difficult to concentrate for long if the work is intense.

It not only takes skills in the movements that we produce with our fingers, but our brains have just such a lot to assimilate and analyze. It’s only when you think that you’re asking a very small child to read two languages at the same time, use their two hands in totally different directions and then put expression and feeling into the music that you begin to realize what a task it is.

I therefore have all praise and admiration whenever I see a six year old, who probably has difficulty reading English, make a success of playing the piano. There are lots of children of this age who cope very well, however. It’s wonderful to see a small child learning to sit comfortably at the piano and looking at ease as they play their simple but challenging pieces.

To summarize, therefore, I would say that, on average, seven would be the ideal time to start to play the piano. The child is old enough and physically big enough to cope with the academic work and the size of the keys on the instrument but a keen, musical six year old from a supportive family would probably be far more successful than a sullen eleven year old who is being pushed into learning by eager parents.

Each child and each piano teacher is different. Don’t worry too much if the first attempt of getting your child off to a musical start doesn’t seem to work out. They have plenty of time and opportunity ahead of them and if the door is left open they can return to and enjoy the experience of making music when their time is right.

No matter what your age, you can still learn to play piano. Though children do tend to pick up on their piano lessons fairly easily, adults often approach their lessons in a more structured manner, which makes learning piano manageable for them as well.

You will likely find that when you learn to play the piano it is one of the most enjoyable things that you will ever do, and today finding options to help you in learning piano is easier than ever.
To learn to play piano most people take music lessons, and there are a variety of methods in which you can do this. You can look in your local newspapers classifieds to see if there is someone locally who may be giving piano lessons, you may also want to ask around at your local schools and churches to find out if they can refer you to a piano teacher.

The fees associated with piano lessons vary with each instructor; while some may only charge a small fee because they are only teaching part time, professional music teachers may be quite expensive.

Another option to learn to play piano would be to opt to take online lessons, or you can choose to learn through a DVD program. The online lessons tend to be less expensive than traditional piano lessons, and if you do have problems in learning to play the piano, there is an instructor to help you. On the other hand if you choose to learn to play piano on your own and begin to have some difficulty, you won’t have an instructor to help you understand the lesson.

Each method of learning how to play the piano has its advantages and drawbacks; so it really comes down to personal preference when it comes to how you will go about learning piano.

In addition to taking piano lessons, to learn how to play piano you will also need a piano, or a small, portable keyboard. A piano purchase can be quite a large investment, so to begin with while you are learning piano, the portable keyboard may be your best option. You can shop around and find several portable keyboards that have all the same keys as the standard piano, but they are far less expensive.

Once you have bought a piano or portable keyboard, you’ll be all set to learn to play the piano, all that will be left is to find a good piano teacher, and to set your mind to learning how to play piano.

Parents can play an important role supporting their child’s piano lessons and their piano teacher. However, about a third of parents do too much and try to take over responsibility for their child’s progress, which hinders their child’s ability to develop positive learning skills on their own. In contrast, about a third of parents don’t do enough, and fail to support and can get in the way of their child’s learning. The remaining 1/3 gets it right.

Take the survey below to find out which group you fall into.


1. Regarding your child’s progress, do you

a) feel personally embarrassed if your child is not progressing as fast as you think they should;

b) want your child to do their best;

c) feel that it doesn’t really matter how your child is doing, as lessons aren’t that important anyway.

2. When your child’s lesson is over, do you

a) come into the lesson at least five minutes before it ends so you can quiz the teacher about how everything is going;

b) pick them up on time and be available in case the teacher needs to talk to you about your child’s lesson;

c) try to get back to the studio within 15 minutes or so of the lesson’s end and figure that the teacher will come out and talk to you if anything really important is going.

3) Regarding bringing your child’s music books to lessons, do you

a) Send in other music books you would prefer your child play from;

b) Make sure your child brings them to their lessons;

c) Figure that the teacher has extra books in case you forget to bring yours.

4) if your child is going to have to miss a lessons, do you

a) demand an immediate make-up lesson to get your money’s worth;

b) call the teacher ahead of time to try to reschedule if a space is available;

c) figure it’s no big deal and the teacher will figure out that your child isn’t coming when they don’t show up.

5) When your child plays in a recital, do you

a) cringe with embarrassment if they miss a note and admonish them later for embarrassing themselves;

b) encourage your child to do their best but have fun with it;

c) tell your child it isn’t important enough to attend.

6) Regarding your child’s weekly piano lesson, do you

a) insist that your child practice and know every song perfectly before the next lesson;

b) know what they should be practicing each week and keep track of whether they are doing it

c) don’t sweat it if your child doesn’t practice during the week.

7) Regarding the music that your child’s piano teacher assigns, do you

a) want to be personally involved in picking the songs so that your child will play your favorites;

b) think your child’s teacher is the best person to assign music that is appropriate for your child’s skills;

c) try to avoid knowing what music your child is assigned.

Regarding your child’s practice, do you

a) tell the teacher each week in front of your child that they aren’t practicing hard enough to make them feel ashamed and spur them on to greater effort;

b) make sure you are home enough so your child can set a pattern of routine practice and make consistent progress over time;

c) Feel that your child shouldn’t have to practice if they don’t want to.

9) Regarding your child’s progress, do you

a) Compare how fast they are progressing to other children you know;

b) Encourage them to do their best and discuss their progress periodically with their teacher;

c) Believe that progress is all relative, so why worry about it.

10) If you are concerned that your child isn’t doing something right, do you

a) discuss it with your teacher in front of your child so they will know you are monitoring their progress;

b) discuss it with your child’s teacher, but not in front of your child;

c) don’t worry because it is the teacher’s problem.

If you find that you have answered “a” to several of these questions, you may well be taking TOO much responsibility for your child’s progress and can be viewing their progress as a reflection of your skills as a parent rather than your child’s own development. You may need to mellow out a bit and realize that your child’s piano lessons aren’t about you, but are a gift to them. If you find yourself answering “c” to several questions, you may well be abdicating part of your responsibility as a parent and may be missing out on a wonderful way to encourage your child’s success. If you find that you have answered “b” to most questions, relax. You are doing well as a piano

Today digital pianos range in difference by size, weight, and quality. Many digital pianos have weighted key action, and their advantages over traditional pianos is in their portability and the fact they never need to be tuned. This digital piano review gives some general information about digital pianos that I have played with and provides a link for recommend sites to buy these and other great digital pianos online from trusted sites.

Yamaha P120 Review

The Yamaha P120 is a very good replica of an acoustic grand piano, and the key-weight is very close to the real thing. You have options to change the touch of the keys to soft, medium, and hard. This digital piano will weigh a little over 40-45 pounds. The Yamaha P120 have impressively realistic sounds, especially the two settings for Grand Piano. The other incredible sounds that you will like would also be the organ and harpsichord which are also very realistic. A downfall though is that there are few bells or whistles for this digital piano.

Roland HP137 Review

The Roland HP137 is realistic enough for practicing on, but this piano in my opinion is best for beginners. The keys are a bit light and not so realistic, and would be fine for non-professional players, or players in the early stages of learning how to play a piano. The piano can play the sound of a grand piano, electric piano, harpsichord, pipes, and also come with a demo of eight songs. The piano do not take up much space and also have two headphones jacks so when you play, only you can hear the sound.

Casio CPS-85 Review

The Casio CPS-85 is a very good portable piano that is not too heavy. This digital piano have the feelings of a upright piano, which is good for practicing piano lessons but the keys are a bit light. There is a option for piano 1, (which is higher in sound), and piano 2 (which is more relaxed). The choice of different voices such as the harpsichord and vibraphone will provide enjoyment while playing and practicing your favorite pieces.

Kawai MP9000 Review

The weighted-keys are actually wooden with the “bounce back” action as an acoustic grand piano. The hammers are on top and below the keys, and this is what creates the bounce back key action. The piano is a bit heavy and weighs about 100 pounds. This digital piano is good for pianists interested in jazz and classical music. The Kawai MP9000 is limited in that there are just 16 sounds (plus the changes you can make) but they are good quality sounds.