Music lessons for children

when i was 7 or 8, i started taking piano lessons and it's been a while for me so i don't know how updated my info is, but i learned from a teacher and went weekly. i had never heard of a group thing and honestly, i would imagine that it is not as effective. it's like tutorials or classroom setting-which would you prefer?

we did also have a Theory session before the lesson where we learn about the different chords and things like that. once a year, we took a theory test, sight reading competition, etc. i forgot the name of the competition...renaissance festival? i dunno...anyways, you win trophy's and stuff.

in looking for a teacher, find someone that is patient and not overly pushy. some teachers can be really mean and i don't think kids need that at age 10 if they are learning things like piano for fun and to better understand music.

my 2 cents....

 

i think it was called Gold Cup Festival and it tests you on 3 things-theory, sight reading and something.


anyways...as long as your kids enjoy it, it should be worth it.

 

My recommendations: I don't like the Suzuki method - if I understand correctly, they de-emphasize reading music. I think it will make things easier for the player in the long run if reading music becomes second nature. (Just like reading words... and these kids are old enough to be learning to read regular words. The method may have more benefit for really young kids who are not up to that yet.) I don't think that necessarily takes away from ear training... with a good teacher, you should learn both.

I started at 7 with my mom, which helped... we bought some introductory piano course books. It was nice because we could have "lessons" whenever we felt like it, and I think I was able to progress a lot faster than some kids get to. I realize this isn't an option for most people. When I was 8, I went to having the usual private lessons with a teacher. That worked well. A group lesson might be OK for kids who are shy about it or need some peer reinforcement... but I can't imagine it would work as well.

Since your kids sound motivated (they want the lessons, and are not being forced into it), I would go ahead and start with a regular private teacher if I could afford it. Those other methods might work, but make sure you're not "underestimating" your kids... they might be ready for the real deal already.

 

Me neither. The Kawasaki method has always been the preferred way.

Seriously, this is the one instrument I should've listened to my mom about playing. I'm still kicking myself for not being able to play.

 

There is a great music education program for children at Rice University at the Sheperd School of Music. My 8 year old has been doing that for 2 years now, studying piano. They place your child with a graduate student for private or semi-private instruction. They also have violin. You can also sign your kid up for a music theory class, which is a really good idea. There's also summer camps there. Rachel Buchmann is the lady in charge, and she does a good job.

My three year old is doing kindermusik at our church, and that seems to be going well for her. It's pretty cheap through the church, too. We go to Palmer Episcopal, on Main. The 8 year old has been in the kid's choir and she gets a lot of practice reading music and learning tone.

 

I don't really believe the Suzuki methed is the best way to teach kids. You gotta get 'em reading music, the ear training can come later.

I was always at a disadvantage in college playing mallet instruments because I couldn't sightread. I could sightread rhythms, just not notes. I would always have to take it to the practice room and memorize it. It was because I was self-taught to play by ear and never had much practice at reading.

JeffB, what part of town do you live in? My Mother teaches piano lessons in the Cy Fair area and she specializes in teaching the little tikes.

 

It seems like there are a few schools of thought on the board. Emphasize reading music versus ear-training.

I think that the answer will lie with your kids and the type of personality that they have.

My brother and I took lessons when we were younger. I hated our teacher and I didn't like the way that we were taught. We never really sat down at the piano, she just kept going through flash cards for us to learn to read music. How boring! I wanted to learn how to play the piano, or at least feel that I was learning to play the piano.

So I quit after 6 weeks and my brother ended up taking lessons for about 10 years. He had some recitals and could read music okay, but he never really learned how to "play the piano" in my estimation.

Even though I never took lessons again, I always loved the piano and I still wanted to know how to play. One of my friends as a kid took lessons since he was young, so he was at the point where all he was doing at his lessons were learning songs. So, once per week, I would have him teach me a song and I would practice it and memorize it. This worked for me because I was learning songs.

When I was twenty, I was very interested to know how to improvise, so I learned the blues scale in C and I practice doing the blues scale over a basic 1-4-5 progression. I joined this crappy country band and realized that I was better than them even though I sucked. My dad told me to drop those guys and to try out for a band that he used to play with.

I tried out and got the job not because I was a good keyboard player, but because I worked hard loading and unloading equipment and I had the desire to get better. The funny thing was that I played every song in C and used a module to transpose the key to C.

That was a hard habit to break. Anyway, I got much better through the years and after a long story, I now make a decent living just playing the piano and singing.


So, back to your question - I would definitely suggest that you let your children meet different teachers and let them decide how they want to learn the piano. I think that most musicians know that the main way to learn music is practice, practice, practice. Your children need to be in a system that fosters an intrinsic motivation to practice the piano.

 

Musicians. Gotta love 'em.

 

My mother had some lessons, but wasn't able to take for that many years because she usually lived out in the country with no one around. She practiced out of hymn books and was able to play at her small church during high school. She still tries to do some of that... but I feel bad for her now that she never got to really follow up on it.

I'm an analytical type person... does well as long as things are straightforward and can be thought out. The kind of person that does well with SAT questions (not so with playing the stupid games you have to play in real life... I don't have as much "instinct" as some people). I can't imagine not reading music. I can still pick things out by ear (though it takes a while to find the starting note... after that I can get the intervals right away), so I don't think it hurt me.

What I would like to learn is how to play keyboard in a band... I'm learning how to read chord charts now and that part's fairly easy, what with all the classical training. I just don't know... what to do with them. If that makes any sense. Has anyone tried any of those "keyboard for dummies" books or CDs? I have all the classical training and reading ability... just need to learn how to improv and mess around.

(on keyboard... can already do it on vibraphone, strangely enough, but I was taught that. Like ima_drummer2k said, that helps with the mallet instruments.)

I encourage everyone to at least give their kids a couple years of piano lessons. If they don't like it at that point, they can quit, but at least they'll know how to read music and have that foundation knowledge, should they ever want it later. I hear it's harder to learn when you're older.

 

do re mi fa so la ti do

 

Quoted for truth. Plus the fact that I was usually the best rhythmic sight reader in the section in both middle and high school, and I had VERY LITTLE mallet experience before college.

 

I'm confused, my son took Suzuki guitar and was playing small classical pieces within a year at age 5-6. He was reading music.

I've got video!

 

Everyone has their own style of music. When I was young, my teachers emphasized theory and technique and as I grew older, I learned to develop more unique, indivudual styles. Make sure your kids have the basics down so that they wont develop any bad habits and as they grow older, given them the freedom to develop their own preferrances. (I find Czerny works well, but that's just me)

Ive been trained in classical piano for more than 10 years, mostly under private lesson. The most important thing is that your kids actully enjoy playing. Thats the key, cuz if they dont, I may not work out.

best,
-nos

 

whole whole half whole whole whole half

 

from experience, i would go motorola or samsung personally...

 

A Parent's Guide to Music Lessons