For any parent, introducing your child to a musical instrument can be a difficult enterprise. If the instrument of your choice is the classic piano, be prepared, the nuanced nature of the instrument may leave you feeling slightly overwhelmed and anxious. Fortunately, breaking the entire process down to a fixed routine of categorical do’s and don’ts will ease the process to a great extent and the discipline will help your child grasp the intricacies of the instrument and enjoy the experience as well. Here’s your guide, read on.
Regularity of Lessons – The ‘Big’ Secret Everyone Ignores
Keep in mind; for sustained interest and regular growth in music, your child should not miss any lessons. Under no circumstances can a break in periodic tutorials be allowed or encouraged; it’s a sin really. Regular lessons will result in noticeable improvement of the skill set and also make sure that there is no laxity in interest. Scheduling the lessons may be a bit of a challenge initially in order to maintain the delicate balance between academics and learning an instrument, but once accomplished, the long term gains will be appreciable.
Habitual Practice with the Instrument – Building a Foundation
Undertaking a new venture requires, at the very outset, an enormous amount of discipline. Make sure that your child practices piano every day, even if it is for a brief interval of time. Without regular practice, it would be difficult for the child to show any continual progress and the effort will most likely go to waste. Even if your child is pressed for time, practicing for even ten or fifteen minutes is better than no practice for the entire day.
Proper Selection of an Instructor: The Masterstroke
For your child to grasp the complicacies and techniques required to master the piano, you will need to engage a professional piano instructor. Improper instruction at the initial stages will take away your child’s interest and in fact he/she may never be able to master the instrument in subsequent years. All this will result in a lot of wasted effort and money. A decent teacher will be able to provide the necessary attention required for your child and at the same time will be able to observe the weak areas and help your ward work on the specifics needed for improvement.
The Proper Ambiance at Home – A Step Ahead
In order to learn the piano properly, your child will need a supportive environment at home. The initial stages of learning any instrument require a great deal of hard work, and initial mistakes might discourage your child a lot. You must be able to provide an encouraging atmosphere at this juncture. Stocking your house with books on music is a great idea to help your child grow a natural interest on the subject. You must ensure that you buy new books to sustain the interest over the course of years.
The Right Methods in Practice – Science to Rescue
Practicing the piano does not necessarily mean playing a complicated piece from the beginning to the absolute end. Quality of the music is much more important the amount played. Make sure that your child perfects each section before moving on to the next. Another thing to keep in mind is that your child should follow the instructions of the teacher even when he or she is not present.
It is important to make sure that your child gets his basics right before moving on to more subtle and nuanced areas of the subject. You should avoid and discourage the child from learning from the Internet which can have a detrimental effect on his proper instruction.
Encourage Your Child to Participate in Recitals and Competitions
An atmosphere of healthy competition and proper exposure is crucial to your child’s growth and mastery of the piano. Your child may become complacent or bored if he does not have the occasional challenge to showcase his abilities. Rising to the occasion will not only help in his subsequent development but will also make sure that he does not suffer from stage fright later on. It is absolutely essential for him to participate, if he wants to make a career out of it in the future.
Communication with the Teacher – Facilitation of Continued Success
It is absolutely essential that you and your child communicate freely with your teacher. Sharing knowledge of your child with the teacher will help him identify and anticipate your child’s needs and understand him better. It will also help the child improve his relationship with his teacher and make steady and consistent strides in his future education.
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FOR PARENTS
One does not have to be a musician to help their children establish a good practice routine. (Tips for Parents.)
Establish a strategy before lessons start to keep from being worn down by children who would rather do something other than practice; they have vast stores of energy for these discussions. Some parents set a specific time to practice (e.g., while dinner is being prepared or after school before going out to play), others leave the time flexible, but don’t permit certain privileges until practice is done. Via Devonshire Piano
Help Kids Practice Piano with these 5 Tips from Disney Songs
Struggling to help kids practice piano? If you are the least bit musical, you know it’s hard to listen to your own child practice. In my early days of listening to one of my children practice, one of two things always happened:
I would yell from the kitchen about how to fix everything. “That’s an A!” or “Count out Loud…I think that rhythm is wrong!” or “Don’t forget your scale! Wait that’s a C#!”
OR
I would walk around the kitchen, trying to ignore everything I heard, and keep quiet until I was exhausted from just the attempt. I’m sure this resulted in a significant rise in blood pressure. Via Compose Create
Creating a “Practice Nest” – 5 Ways Piano Parents Can Improve Home Practice
I used to teach piano lessons in the homes of my students. In doing so, I gained something that was really valuable… an insight into where my students were practicing.
There were a variety of set-ups: upright pianos in basements, keyboards in bedrooms and digital pianos in spare rooms. There were also a variety of settings: pianos in a warm and welcoming living area, pianos in dark, cold and hardly-used rooms, keyboards in basements, beautiful baby grands in front of floor-to-ceiling windows.. and pianos covered in last week’s laundry… or yesterday’s homework, or – wait for it – last Sunday’s lunch… true story. Via Teach Piano Today
