I should note that children who learn piano best are those whose parents or family members also play the piano or music of some sort. How can we ask our children to try music / piano if we did not include it in our own lives? You do not have to be Sting or Beethoven or Paderewski. You can love the country or classical or rock or gospel or rap or pop or anything, but listen, sing, let your children that you think the music is great. Before going further, let's say it again. The announcement of our standard: play the piano, not practical. Tell that to your children. Go do it yourself and then expect them to do likewise. Playing the piano, not practical. You'd be surprised how many people forget the wisdom of the nugget o 'above. I often say I'm like a sheepdog, looking at the piano and try to see their process. I never care for my "method". I am concerned about the perception of students of the method, which is their "process". The method, whatever it is, is useless unless appreciated by the students 'process'. The practical result of the above is that I pass incredibly slowly but inexorably to include the notions of partition after the child had successfully play at least two dozen songs by number. This can take months or years to weeks or days. It depends on the child. A nervous child made a bad student. Put them at ease by gradually lowering the bar until they are ready for more progress. You are the guardian of the mysteries of music. It is as if there was a secret door to the perception of each child to music, and everything you need to do is sit there and guide them until they find that the door of the magic themselves. You can not force the moment they realize they can play the piano. It will come, and you can prepare if you force reading scores sufficiently prepared before the child, you lose a child as a loan, the student happy. If you lose the interest of the child at the piano (85% of children who start using traditional methods later quit) it's your fault, not theirs. Prepare them well, gently. It is not easy to learn to read music classics. It takes time. In fact, an exceptional nature, the child may indeed brilliant skills of reading music in minutes or days. I know because I was one of them (I was seven years old when I learned to read music.) But what about the other 99.99% of the children? If these means, even gifted children, be denied the wonders of piano music, because the skills to read sheet music classic are not obvious to their particular circumstances present intellectual capacity? Setting limits that the child can realize immediately. Decompose the elements until the child grows easily every step carefully graded. A typical lesson: I teach lessons of 30 minutes to almost all children. Here is the diary of a lesson hypothetical, but typical of a child who has not yet begun to read classical music: Minute 1-5: The child is not comfortable or happy? If they are uncomfortable, do not "place" (I do not use the word, but many parents), I play games and joke and play number of television themes or Rugrats stupid or pop or folk song or a game until they calm down and see that I'm pretty easy to please. I'm not serious about the behavior in any way. I do not really care if they played, because it is impossible to apply: remember that the goal is to create excitement enough that they go to the piano by themselves. The goal is not to bring children to play a song they do not understand like a robot. The goal is to get children to play piano on their own, without forcing them. My secret goal that every child should be somewhere between a game and host of sergeant, but I'm starting all facilitator of play it takes even the most deprived children. Who do you prefer to play for Bob Barker (Price Is Right) or some negative snarling military presence? They are children, people. 5-10 minutes: Assuming this is later than the first lesson, I tried several skills to see what has been blocked since their last lesson. Try some songs by number, praising all the way if the child uses one or more fingers, slow or fast. Any initial effort was applauded when you see their attitude is clear and calm. Even the humblest effort is something worthy of praise, for example: a child who stumbles across a song like London Bridge, but never loses its place has done something remarkable. Tell them about this. Tell them how the preachers and actors have to read a book, too, and watch people, but do not lose their place in the book. A child who has been rightly praised is easier for the next task. Remember this: whatever the skill level of the child tells you where you're going to start this lesson. There is no need to reprimand or even scold a child for not having mastered a particular skill of the last lesson. I never let a child know they disappointed me. Better to work with a positive attitude on this same skill again in this lesson, perhaps to disguise skills in a new way as a game Do not expect anything and you'll be pleasantly surprised with some success lowercase. Take that something small and build. If you can not build on this success tiny back earlier skills. Never let them know they are demoted to attempt a new skill. If you can not get the next skill roll, it is difficult to remove the activity as a wizard and come back to something easier. There is never time wasted going back and cementing skills earlier. In fact I look for each jurisdiction to be almost automatic and casual (find the key, use both hands, flats and sharps) until I go to another more sophisticated skills. Minute 10-20: This is the shift of the main lesson. They are calm, they know it's fun and fast and they do not scream (but rather praised) and they know the lesson is almost complete. Why not have fun and learn things like that piano? Once they are comfortable, we work on a general level of competence, play songs they know or are entitled heard. What songs they love, I ask. Let them play! I often let them play a little song, whisking it away from them as I see them getting tired and confused. Once you put another song in front of them, they are updated and try again. It is best to play some 25 songs from a song long, very slowly throughout. Children learn the basic principles underlying a variety of simple parts from a very limited repertoire. The variety is refreshing. I play a game called "first line of the song" in which we zip through dozens of songs to play as the first line of music as a young couple eager to sample chocolates. If a child is really wandering, we play "first note" in which we fight through dozens of songs, and they only play the first note. The process is the same, but the kids have fun and do not feel overwhelmed. They learn the same thing, no matter how long the task: look at the page, then press the piano. Of course, the other from the demand to play all the songs of some, and then you sit, help if necessary, and be happy and congratulate them, no matter how evil they are. If they play badly, do not make them aware of it, but to identify core competencies that eludes them. I repeat: never be negative. No matter how they do it is an honest effort and you'll get a lot further if you take mental note of what they do not have the skills and then later try to find a way to present it. One of the great pleasures of teaching in this way makes the games that allow children to learn. Always breaking skills to the lowest level possible. Helping you please and children will never stop trying. It is hard to please and only 0.01% of all children succeed engineering. One last thing: I make new partitions (classical or numbers depending on the child) for each lesson. The children are going to wait and say, 'What have you brought me? "Think about it: here are children to anticipate the new partition of the week, not a television or element of junk food. This anticipation of new sheet music can not be bad for them, and is in fact a miracle that affects their attitude deeply. No child wants to play the same songs over and over until they find the first song that they can not stop playing. All children seem to find at least one special song they can play from memory. This song seems to be their way of saying, "Look, I can play this great big piano alone!" Some kids like Star Wars, other Twinkle, Twinkle, or song Wigwam (a staple of the first children of piano books.) I've had parents come to me and say: "You can not make him play another song it? play all day! "I remember when it's good and ready he will go, but for now it is better to sit and listen to the play" the song "again and praise him with force. If the child wanders all over the 10-20 minutes we play a quick game to let off steam, then plunge immediately into Minute 20-30: By now the lesson has produced any progress will be possible . All you can do now is to consolidate the feeling that the piano is fun and easy to do. Be aware that the last 5 minutes of the lesson are virtually useless. I always ask for 25 minutes, "How's your brain is tired?" If the honest answer is "Yes", we play a fun game number or an agreement or two, maybe play a few songs online, then I let them go and maybe a few minutes earlier. These kids come back every week ready to do anything to try to learn to play piano. If children do not return, you can not teach them.If the child is not tired, so I still pursue the same, the last 5 minutes rather relaxed and easy. A history of student: I had a pair of brothers to whom I taught two who had limited skills and interests on the piano. Frankly, they could take it or leave it. I put them in the category quitter for sure if they were taught by the conventional method. Their mother would play piano and do not care if it took a decade (a very good attitude for a mom.) The youngest brother was a handful, sometimes only 15 minutes before melting and we had to do something else. You can go another 15 minutes, but I chose not to, stop the lesson to be roughly where it has proven to be virtually complete. Week after week, this child came to the piano and bumbled his way through dozens of songs by number. Invariably, I would say at the end of a song or part of a song, "Cool, we'll try this one!" I never expressed his dismay to his efforts. I could see he was just doing the best he could. Slowly, we tried to transition between the number of partitions, again and again. Whenever seemed a failure, but I never let him know. I tried all sorts of crazy stunts for this child who was struggling to such attention. I once put a coal scuttle (a kind of bucket used black ash vacuum from a stack) on my head and used the small fireplace shovel as a microphone. I called the names of the agreements that I "Gortok" cosmonaut need to hear, and my little disorder responded with joy. I count on a dozen games that I use every day that the origin of that child, and I thank him. He forced me to be extremely creative. And finally, it worked for him. Here's how: After months and months he began to realize that I'm not going to stop trying to partition. Then he went inch by inch, slowly and was able to read the notes from the first ten "right hand" of the single sheet music. I acted as if I did not like if he found the sheet music, always moving to another area when he seemed to tire of trying to find new partitions, always simple. Finally we arrived at the left hand, and after months of battles fun, it could find the essential dozen notes left hand Children need to learn to find on a piano. After almost a year, that child could play almost no memory, except for the first ten notes of the theme from Star Wars (a performance that I have always applauded.) One day her mother would listen to him read a piece of sheet music, so I opened a book of simple songs at random, as I always do, and said: "Play it pal." Suddenly this kid plays with both hands at once, perfectly. It was a simple song, but what a surprise. I said, "I did not know you could play with both hands at the same time!" He looked up at the mother beamed and said: "I listen all the time, Mr. ! with charming lisp ("mithter") of a child missing his two front teeth! The moral of this story is, here is a child who now loves to play the piano, who stopped smoking for sure a teacher with less patient, who can now read simple scores without any difficulty. The truth is, any child can learn to read music. The hardest part is finding an adult who is patient enough to sit with them until they understand. This issue of Fun Game: OVENS "Fours" is the rhythm game the more fundamental than I play with the children. I always use the first lesson, and all subsequent lessons until the child seems too old for her. It's a fun game, but very childlike, who teaches geography and rhythm piano without using printed tickets or numbers of any kind. It is important that children actually play the piano without the hassle of graphic notation (notes or numbers) of any kind. For example, you will notice that children in general can go to the piano and play three songs: Chopsticks Heart and Soul Knuckles: One piece funny KIDS playing on black keys with your fingers "Fours" is a set of piano built exactly in the same mold. The child plays the numbers and I play chords. If the symbols below do not line up in your browser, remember that there are always four notes (numbers) for each agreement (letter.) FURNACES The child begins the "Middle C", also known like the white piano keys with a numbered sticker: CHILD: 1111 2222 3333 4444 5555 6666 7777 8888 TEACHERS: CGCFCFCC I play a funny guy Chico Marx oom-pah accompaniment using the model agreement (CGCFCFGC, etc.) Children find it very easy and refreshing. We play the piano keys, moving to the right, in order to be natural for the child to achieve the highest key on the piano. I'm fairly "strict", that is, if the child breaks the rhythm or missing a key, go back. Curiously, the children love coming back to the beginning and again as they love all the way to the highest key. Variant Fun: Ask them to count the white keys until they reach the highest white button (from Middle C, which is their No. 1) and tell you what the "number" of this key white (it's 29.) It has no musical value, except that the child is an explorer of the instrument. The purpose of these games is to make the child a keen observer and enthusiastic their instruments, something impossible to do when the child is locked in reading sheet music only from a book. Children need to improvise, but humbly, and almost all of my games are designed to make music fun out scores, numbers or conventional. "Fours" a child learns: partition is not always necessary to have fun with music They count as they play The music is divided into units numbered Piano is a fun thing they can do right now And finally .... I speak and hear so many people (almost all adults referred to their childhood experience with piano) who had their fingers or knuckles rapped by a piano teacher. Whatever idiot designed this "negative" approach deserves ridicule. How can you expect children to learn the equivalent of the algebraic formula where the main mode of expression of the teacher is essentially negative? Children develop feeding on teachers, creative and patient. Teachers who do stupid things like hitting knuckles expect results more or less immediately, and are always disappointed by the average of children under brilliant performance. Teachers need to remember to teach children, not the teacher's method. Playing the piano is a great opportunity for all children, and no child should be denied the pleasure of making music on piano because their skills do not meet the expectations of a professor of impatience. A year dedicated to preparing a child with numbers and game is a year well spent if the child finds himself fascinated by the piano and music.
