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I've been playing piano for over 50 years (started at a young age) and I teach young beginners. I enjoy teaching the little ones how to read music, and they're fun to teach IF they're interested. So as a teacher, I have a slightly different viewpoint of kids taking piano lessons than a non-musician parent, I think. I DON'T recommend pushing kids to take piano. My parents were both professional musicians - one classical, one jazz - and our Juilliard-trained mother ONLY had us start piano when WE wanted to. My sibling and I both wanted to play and started in first grade, and continued the rest of our lives.
I offered to teach my own son piano when he was small, but he had no interest in it, so I didn't push it. But in 5th grade he began flute, which he practiced hours a day, and he finished a music degree in May and is now a grad student in composition. I'm forever grateful that I didn't push him to take piano and make music a chore for him, because it wasn't the instrument for him, and his considerable talent lay elsewhere. Of course, as a composer, he uses the piano all the time, but picked that up later as needed. And when he needed to learn a technique, THEN I was able to give him the help he sought from me.
Music should be fun for children. Yes, they need to practice - I ask my little ones to practice 30 minutes a day - but if it's drudgery for them, find something they're more interested in for them to do. I've talked to more adults who hated practicing piano than those who wish their parents had "made" them practice.
I've been playing piano for over 50 years (started at a young age) and I teach young beginners. I enjoy teaching the little ones how to read music, and they're fun to teach IF they're interested. So as a teacher, I have a slightly different viewpoint of kids taking piano lessons than a non-musician parent, I think. I DON'T recommend pushing kids to take piano. My parents were both professional musicians - one classical, one jazz - and our Juilliard-trained mother ONLY had us start piano when WE wanted to. My sibling and I both wanted to play and started in first grade, and continued the rest of our lives.
I offered to teach my own son piano when he was small, but he had no interest in it, so I didn't push it. But in 5th grade he began flute, which he practiced hours a day, and he finished a music degree in May and is now a grad student in composition. I'm forever grateful that I didn't push him to take piano and make music a chore for him, because it wasn't the instrument for him, and his considerable talent lay elsewhere. Of course, as a composer, he uses the piano all the time, but picked that up later as needed. And when he needed to learn a technique, THEN I was able to give him the help he sought from me.
Music should be fun for children. Yes, they need to practice - I ask my little ones to practice 30 minutes a day - but if it's drudgery for them, find something they're more interested in for them to do. I've talked to more adults who hated practicing piano than those who wish their parents had "made" them practice.
Thank you! (You are my new favorite poster, BTW.)
I come from a long line of musicians, and have a family full of musicians. Including family members who have very nice careers in music. (And everyone chose their instruments. We never got the memo about floundering. I'm assuming it was lost in the mail.) We'd all love playing and singing even if all we did with our passion for music was sing fortissimo in the car on road trips.
1,000 reps if I could because I SO agree music should be fun for children. Fun. What a wonderfully odd concept to apply to music!
Last edited by DewDropInn; 12-02-2012 at 07:28 PM..
I've been playing piano for over 50 years (started at a young age) and I teach young beginners. I enjoy teaching the little ones how to read music, and they're fun to teach IF they're interested. So as a teacher, I have a slightly different viewpoint of kids taking piano lessons than a non-musician parent, I think. I DON'T recommend pushing kids to take piano. My parents were both professional musicians - one classical, one jazz - and our Juilliard-trained mother ONLY had us start piano when WE wanted to. My sibling and I both wanted to play and started in first grade, and continued the rest of our lives.
I offered to teach my own son piano when he was small, but he had no interest in it, so I didn't push it. But in 5th grade he began flute, which he practiced hours a day, and he finished a music degree in May and is now a grad student in composition. I'm forever grateful that I didn't push him to take piano and make music a chore for him, because it wasn't the instrument for him, and his considerable talent lay elsewhere. Of course, as a composer, he uses the piano all the time, but picked that up later as needed. And when he needed to learn a technique, THEN I was able to give him the help he sought from me.
Music should be fun for children. Yes, they need to practice - I ask my little ones to practice 30 minutes a day - but if it's drudgery for them, find something they're more interested in for them to do. I've talked to more adults who hated practicing piano than those who wish their parents had "made" them practice.
I understand your point, but I think a lot depends upon the relationship parents have with their children. This might come as a shock to some people, but it really is possible to raise children who are eager to do what their parents ask of them. Perhaps it's a homeschooling thing. Homeschooled children have parents who are also teachers. Teachers don't give their students the "option" of learning arithmetic, or of quitting when they find it boring. Students who find piano "drudgery" at first often end up enjoying it later. In fact many worthwhile activities are drudgery at first. The enjoyment comes with skill and competence.
I consider musical instrument lessons to be an essential part of a child's education. It doesn't have to be piano, although piano or keyboard is a good place to start. It develops fine motor coordination, improves their musical ear, gives them a chance to move ahead as fast as they can. This can be particularly valuable in this age of no child left behind, which translates into no child may move ahead of the pack. I would advise that you quickly add in a band or orchestral instrument, because it is a lot of fun to play one in a group. Go for it!
I'm a big believer of music lessons for kids and both of my kids started piano around Kindergarten/1st grade. I think learning a musical intrument has so many benefits for a child. fMy husband and I have a lovely piano and we found an exceptional teacher who has been teaching for 40 years. She is a bit on the expensive side but she has her own private studio in her house, a very nice piano and is very experienced. My daughter has been taking for 6 years and my son for 3. My son just started clarinet in school and now my daughter wants to pick up a second instrument. We are especially proud of her because she is playing a holiday medley of songs at her Middle School show. She has been practing diligently and we are excited to hear her play in the show. This is a huge source of pride since she loves performing and is very gifted at music. To me, music is so important and I'm glad that I'm giving both of my kids the gift of music. Will they continue when they get to the busy high school years? Don't know however once they get to that point, at least they will retain the skill of playing an instument and can come back to it at a later date. My son is really excited about the clarinet, especially since he is in a group with his friends.
With all that said though, piano lessons over the years have had their ups and downs. Our piano teacher expects a certain amount of commitment (as do I since the lessons are pricey). There are those days when the kids absolutely don't want to practice and it becomes a source of stress. We try to have a routine though so the kids know that they have to do homework and practice. Last year, my daugther was put on a "piano break" by her teacher since her attitude was so bad (along with a host of other more serious problems). When lessons started up again in the fall and my son was taking them, my daugther actually approached the teacher about beginning again and she signed a contract with her that outlines expectations for the year. So far, she is doing really, really well and seems to have a pretty good attitude. She was able to pick up where she left off.
We are a fairly musical household. I also play and really enjoying doing duets with the kids. Both kids certainly have their own taste in music. I love classical music and always have that playing in the car. Both kids have certainly had their exposure to all kinds of music in their lives. The only music that we fight over occasionally is when I switch to my classic rock station and my daugther hears some of the old bands like AC/DC. She sounds like my 83 year old father and grumbles that "it isn't music or singing." lol. She also loves rap which I can't stand. All in all though, they have been exposed to a wide range of music.
Having your child try the piano and pushing them into it are two very different things. Like one poster said, at the ages of your children, how do they know they will or won't like it if they don't try?
I have a good friend with a Ph.D. in piano who teaches kids. Her rules of thumb for readiness:
1.) They need to be able to read. Not necessarily super-fluently, but, say, enough to get through one of those Level 1 easy readers. The skills you need to read music are similar to the skills you need to read words.
2.) They need to either be in first grade, or have enough fine motor control to tie their shoes -- whichever comes first. (Some first-graders have a hard time with that particular skill, but by first grade they've had enough practice with pencils, scissors, etc., that they have enough dexterity.)
So in practice any developmentally normal seven-year-old is a yes, and some kids are ready as early as four or five. She'll sometimes take a kid who doesn't meet one of those criteria, but only if they're highly motivated to learn and they have siblings who take music lessons (so they and the family know what to expect). It's not that you can't do it younger -- it just tends to be frustrating for the kids if they can't get the hang of reading music or they have a hard time moving their fingers in the right way, and she wants them to have a positive attitude about practicing and lessons.
Some people are good at things like playing a piano, for others, their brain is "not wired right" for that - it would be an impossible task to learn to play a piano.
For some who excel at that sort of thing, you could probably set them in front of a piano and they would almost teach themselves!
So I would say give them lessons. If they are good at it, interested in it, then continue. If they hate it and are not good at it, then don't force it.
Beautiful post and as a Chopin lover, I give this four thumbs up. How early did your son start?
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