Music Blog

Playing the piano - whether grand, upright or digital piano - is a fantastic skill that once learned can be used throughout your life. But for the complete beginner it can also be very intimidating to compare their efforts against a master, or even someone who has been practicing longer. The difference between someone who is just learning where the keys are and how to read music and someone who has several years experience is clearer in Piano than in most other arts. It is important to remember this when planning beginner piano lessons for children or teenagers. Unless the children’s piano books are fun and the lessons interesting, very little progress will be made.

Piano lessons for children begin with the children’s piano books. Are they fun? If not, why not? Children respond to bring colors and shapes. The younger your child the more likely they are to be interested by the appearance of children’s piano books rather than the content. This is just one example of how making your beginner piano lessons fun for the class can increase their enthusiasm, and thus their progress. There are several other ways to consider:

1. Always look to practice at the same time. This will establish practice as a habit.
2. Keep the practice area consistent. Do not move things around if this can be avoided - especially the piano itself.
3. Make sure there is no possibility of interruption from a television. If there is one in the same room turn it off. If there is another that can be heard from the practice room, close doors or do whatever it takes to drown out the noise.
4. Remove as many ‘other interruptions’ as possible. For instance pets or siblings that may demand attention.
5. Do not have food or drink near the piano practice area. Piano lessons for kids should be about the piano - not about a snack.
6. Keep books tidily and teach the child to respect them. Scattered books are a distraction, and moving the books to bedrooms etc can lead to them being damaged or lost.
7. Where piano practice conflicts with another activity such as playing with friends, it should be made clear that piano practice happens first, and then the child can play. This needs to be done in a positive way to both the student and the friends. IE/ “She can’t play now she has piano lesson” is negative, while “She can play right after her piano lessons” is positive.

Follow these 7 tips to create positive piano lessons for kids, but also seek their input as to what they enjoy so this can be incorporated into the lesson. Numerous educational studies have shown that children are more likely to follow rules and guidelines if they have had input in making the rules. This is a favorite trick of early childhood teachers which can easily be incorporated into piano lessons for children. Have a set of piano practice rules in your head, and ask the child what rules need to be in place for the piano practice. Then gently steer them in the direction of the rules you have in mind. “Do you think we should have a special place for your piano books?” or even better(because that question can be answered with a ‘no’), “Where do you think we should keep your Piano books?”.

Ultimately getting beginner piano lessons for kids to be productive is about designing them and their objectives with the child in mind. Children’s minds work differently at a younger age, and piano lessons for children should take this into consideration. The best lessons will have a clear objective, but also many smaller objectives so the child always feels they are making progress. So long as you keep things structured and keep your piano lessons for kids fun and interesting then the student will find them enjoyable and interesting enough to remain enthusiastic about, and will progress at a much more satisfactory rate.