Tag: piano

How Can I Know If Piano Is Right For My Child?

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Sometimes I get calls from parents who are somewhat interested in enrolling their child in piano lessons but are a little reluctant because they are not quite sure if  their child will be interested enough to stick with it. I always tell parents that when dealing with children and piano lessons the parent needs to be able to commit to at least a school year of lessons before making a final assessment of whether or not this is right for their child. The reason for this is that learning to play an instrument is a slow process for most people since there are a variety of skills that must be learned. This takes time and dedication. Truthfully, there will be lots of days when the child will need the parent to encourage him or her to stick with it. The following is a list of clues that can help parents know if piano might be right for their child:

1. Your child gets excited whenever they hear music.

2. Your child often sings along with music or makes up her own songs to sing.

3. Your child sings in the tub/shower.

4. Your child loves to dance.

5. Your child watches other people play instruments with great interest.

6. Your child asks you to get him lessons.

These are just a few clues that learning a musical instrument might be right for your child. If your child exhibits any of these behaviors, give lessons a good try – at least a year and see what happens. They will love it and stick with it as long as you show a genuine interest in it (at home and at lessons) and you have the right teacher!

FREE Concerts!

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 With Memorial Day just around the corner here in the United States, it’s a great excuse to have your piano player give some FREE Concerts. If you have guests coming in town or if you will be gathering with friends, why not take advantage of what you’ve invested in music lessons and let your piano player provide some of the entertainment? Music streamed through ipods and speakers is fine, but NOTHING beats a live performance from your kid!

To make it happen, get them involved right now! Suggest it casually and throw out some ideas about costumes. Kids love to dress up and they get caught up into what they are going to wear forgetting to protest about performing. And be sure to get some Funky Cool sunglasses!

Of course you will want to put out a tip jar so that guests can show their appreciation. You will need to put $2-$3 in the tip jar before setting it out so guests know that’s what it is for. Getting paid to play the piano? Now that sounds like something a kid could go for! Let them know that they can buy a new video game or some other thing they’ve been wanting with the tips.

If you really want to go over the top, get some prints of them at the piano and have them autograph the pics for your guests. Be sure to give guests the heads up that they need to ask for an autograph after the performance! For something to add that “extra touch” get invitations here.

What other ideas do you have for getting kids to play at family gatherings?

Summer Practice Challenge

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Summer is here! The school year is almost over for many kids right now and that means that parents and piano teachers have to have a plan for helping kids continue to play (piano that is) over the summer. So, here is a Summer Practice Chart you can use. The Summer Practice Challenge is to practice playing piano for 100 minutes each week. That’s only 20 minutes a day! Each day they reach their goal they get to color in, check off, or put a sticker on one piano key. If they practice this way for only 5 days they will reach their goal.

On the right side of the chart is a To Do List that takes the guessing out of what to practice. Summer is a great time to focus on scales so that is the first thing in the to do list. A summer of scales will make learning new songs in the fall so much easier and faster!

The second practice step is a new song for the week. If the child is taking lessons over the summer this is the one song that is covered in the lesson. I set a goal of learning one song a week because most people are doing more leisure activities this time of year and so there won’t be as much discipline when it comes to new repertoire. I suggest using a practice prop such as an abacus or dice to help the child do repetitions. For example, they can stop practicing a particular thing once they have played the song the number of times that the dice show.

Finally, a worksheet page reviewing theory concepts tied to the song for the week can finish off the practice session.

And the only thing left to do is color in, check off, or put a sticker on one piano key for the day!

At the end of the summer I have a gift card for ice cream for the student who practiced the most minutes over the summer.

What do you do to keep your students playing piano over the summer?

One Song Every Piano Player Has To Know

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Between parents, students, and myself there sure were a LOT of birthdays in my studio this month! Great opportunity to use this “cake” that I found at a second hand store recently. And it was the perfect time to teach/review the Happy Birthday song. Out of all the songs that piano students can learn, this one will get the most use hands down because everybody has a birthday and everybody knows someone else who has a birthday, and EVERYBODY sings this song.

My “cake” comes in 4 pieces – perfect for each of the 4 lines of the song. As we learned to play each line, the student got a piece of cake. I didn’t even know that each piece makes a unique sound until we were using it in a lesson. What a bonus! The piece with the purple candle plays Happy Birthday To You!

This is a great song for ear training and listening for changes in pattern between lines 1 and 2. So, that’s how we learned it in the lesson. After the lesson however, I presented the birthday person with a Birthday Certificate that has the notes for the song so they can refer to it if they forget how to play it or if they want to teach it to someone else.

Download the Birthday Certificate with Note Names 

Download the Birthday Certificate with Staff Notation   

A Piano Activity Kids Can’t Resist

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Transitioning between piano lessons can be a bit hectic at times, BUT –

A simple activity can make all the difference! With a small refrigerator or magnetic board and a keyboard graphic you can squeeze in that extra precious 5 minutes that sometimes gets lost in the transition between lessons.

One of my favorite transitional activities is the Magnetic Piano Puzzle I made using a 1 octave keyboard printable from Wendy Stevens at ComposeCreate.com.

Print the keyboard, attach  colorful letter stickers for the key names, then laminate.

Next you will cut out each of the white keys. This will leave you with a set of 2 black keys and a set of 3 black keys in addition to the white keys. Put magnetic tape on the back of each and arrange on the refrigerator.

Your student will then put the puzzle together. My refrigerator faces the studio door so it is the first thing kids see when they come in. Usually the younger ones will rush straight to the puzzle to put it together without me even asking. If they don’t and I am transitioning from another lesson, I ask them to see how fast they can put the puzzle together.

For those just learning the keys, I sometimes just put up the 2 black key puzzle or the 3 black key puzzle for them to assemble.

  

Extend the learning by removing certain keys from the completed puzzle so students can practice quickly recognizing which key is missing.

There are tons of ways to use this puzzle. Can you think of any? Share them in a comment below!

Musical Mother’s Day Gifts

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Here are some of the gifts my students gave their moms for Mother’s Day:

 Using a composing activity by Susan Paradis, Caroline wrote a song for her mom. I took a picture of her while she was composing. Then I laminated her song and mailed the song and the picture to her mom.

   Jordan made a video of herself playing her mom’s favorite songs. In the video she also tells her mom just how long it took her to get the song right! I’m guessing she wanted to make sure her mom knew just how much of herself she put into this gift!

4 year old Mia wrote a song for her mom using the notes in the 2 black key group. Mia sang and played the song for her mom. I wrote down the notes she played, then printed them along with the words she made up on pretty stationery. We laminated it and gave it to her mom at the end of her piano lesson.  She also recorded the song as part of her CD recording project. 

 Madison wrote a song for her mom using my songwriting game and  composing tools from KinderBach. Again, we laminated it and Madison kept it as a surprise to present to her mom on Mother’s Day.

What’s the best musical Mother’s Day gift you ever received from your kid? Share it in a comment below!

Instant Motivation – Children

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As part of her interview for the CD Recording Project my students have been doing this Spring, I asked
my daughter who her favorite musical
 artist was and she said, “You, Mom!”   How sweet is that?!

From Piano Parent to Piano Student – What My Mother Now Knows Pt. 3

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Hello Readers! This is the final post of the series about my mother’s adventures as a piano student. In yesterday’s post she shared what it feels like to actually be on the bench during a lesson. Today you will get to find out about her biggest challenge so far in lessons. She writes:

I Can’t Play This!

After my first Hanon song, I procrastinated a month.  Then I started translating the next song.  I discovered that notes began to change within certain measures.  But that translation helped me get those notes correct.  Afterwards, I sat at the piano and pecked out the song.  As time progressed, I developed courage, moved beyond pecking, and played rhythmically.  On several occasions I told the teacher that I would be ready to play Hanon by the next week.  But I didn’t feel comfortable when that day came.  Within a two-month period I went and demonstrated to my teacher that I could play  my second Hanon song.  Her face lit up and she was very proud.  Indeed that let me know that I had WHIPPED Hanon just as I told her I would.  “Whew!  The work paid off.

Five months of piano lessons is an honor and a privilege.  I’m venturing more and am determined to let each song tell its own story.  I have a sway, a rock, and a love all my own!

Coming Full Circle – Twice!

You already know that I have moved from being a piano parent to a piano student and that my teacher also taught my younger daughter. But there is more! I taught my teacher, Gisele Gentry, when she was a college student. You never know where life will take you! Enjoy the journey!

From Piano Parent To Piano Student – What My Mother Now Knows Pt. 2

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Yesterday I wrote about my mother becoming a piano student after years of raising 2 daughters who both play piano. Today I will share what she has written about her experiences as a piano student so far. She writes:

When I Grow Up I Want To Be…  A Piano Parent?

I always wanted to play the piano but never took lessons.  In grade school I played the plastic flute and did that well.  In Junior High I took music appreciation and could clap to the beat very good.  But I never took piano lessons.

When my daughter Dana was 5, I enrolled her in piano class.  She would cry the first few times I would take her to her teacher’s house.  Each of those times I used my self-fulfilling prophecy and told Dana to try the lessons for 3 months.  Then if she still didn’t like them, I would discontinue them.  One day I dropped Dana off and returned to pick her up.  To my surprise Dana was laughing with the teacher and venturing as she played the piano.  From that day forward I never saw Dana cry about not wanting to take the lessons.

I started Jessica, Dana’s sister, to take piano lessons when she was 7.  At home Jessica had Dana as a mentor.  She would often watch her play.  So that was much encouragement for her.

Yikes! I’m A Piano Student!

Last October I started taking piano lessons from the same teacher who taught my younger daughter many years ago. Once I started lessons I soon realized that I had to discipline myself, to learn theory, and to practice daily.  If I make one mistake, the average time I have to start over again.  Though this is part of the challenge that comes with a person striving to achieve, much time is invested.  Had I realized this when Dana and Jessica were taking piano lessons, I would have signed up for piano lessons myself.  We would have been able to encourage each  other.  I would have enjoyed listening to them and making comments along the way.  Equally, I believe that they would have loved listening to me.

I remember when I first started taking lessons and how there was such a difference from my preparation at home to my lessons in front of my teacher.  My fingers would shake a lot as I struggled to remember the notes, the melody, and the keys.  Long hours of rehearsal enabled me to improve from this madness over time.  I found that as the songs increased, the demands to practice increased.  I even discovered that if I stopped practicing the songs I learned to play, I would forget how to play them and would have to start over again.  I also learned that there are favorite songs and others that I simply put up with.

If I’m dissatisfied with the outcome of my playing during my lessons with my teacher, as soon as I can get back home to the piano, I get back on it.  I keep playing the song to my satisfaction and feel much better.  I’ve learned since I started lessons last October (I’ve progressed to page 112 in my book which goes to page 159) to translate each song.  When I write the alphabet per note, that helps me a lot.  As I continue to play the tune, I improve significantly.  The more I play with concentration, the better for me.  I begin to relax when the melody sounds right and I can hit the key at the right time.

Come Back Tomorrow

In tomorrow’s post you will get to read about my biggest piano obstacle so far – HANON – and how I showed him whose the Mama around here! LOL

From Piano Parent to Piano Student – What My Mother Now Knows Part 1

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 I was very surprised to learn a few months ago that my mother had decided to start taking piano lessons. After years of transporting my sister and I to and from piano lessons with various teachers (sometimes against our own immature wills), the music bug had finally bit her! Since she and I live in different states I am not fortunate enough to be her piano teacher, but this is probably for the better, right? I mean, can you imagine?!

When she told me the news, I had so many questions. Why? What is it like taking piano after having raised two piano players? Do you enjoy practicing? Is it easy to learn to play the piano? How does it feel to sit on the bench under the pressure of playing for someone? Underneath all these questions was the deep desire that maybe, just maybe this piano learning journey would help her to understand a part of me that maybe was inaccessible to her before because she had not sat on that bench as I had, didn’t know how wonderful being able to play music makes you feel after you finally get your hands to do it, and she hadn’t had to turn down social opportunities because she had to practice piano while others played outside. How would she be different as a result of this experience? How would I be different?

At any rate I have relished hearing about her experiences with piano learning and thought that you might enjoy reading about them as well. So, this week there will be a short 3 part series of posts about her piano adventures! If you are a piano parent, perhaps you will gain some ideas about how to support your child’s musical learning. And if you are a long time piano player like me, maybe you will get some satisfaction of knowing that there is a parent out there who can truly appreciate all the things you had to go through to become the player you are today. If you are a teacher, you will gain some insights on how to teach parents to best participate in the child’s music learning. Or if you are a student just learning to play, you will be encouraged to know that someone else is facing similar challenges as you concerning piano learning and yet they think it is worth it.