Music is something which can teach us many important things in life. Including patience, love, calmness, and surely, focus. So if your kid shows an early interest in music in general or any musical instrument in particular, it is best to start playing at an early age.
Learning a musical instrument at an early age will help children to have a better life of the mind. At an early age, the mind absorbs new things like a sponge absorbs water. Learning a musical instrument, a new language, or any creative skill helps a child learn how to focus.
One must balance academic training with developing music skills, and the piano is a popular instrument to learn for music-loving kids. Let us look further into how to play piano for kids.
The Right Age to Start Learning Piano
One common question that comes to most parents’ minds is when to start piano lessons for kids or how to know their child is ready to start learning the piano? There is no fixed age to start learning piano. We need to see that the child is old enough to read and their hands are not too small to play the keys.
Apart from these two, there is one more important factor before starting — desire. The child should never be forcefully put into training, as learning an instrument is a creative endeavour and should come naturally.
The parents should give options to the child to explore and not choose for them. At an early age, it is not easy for a child to find his interest. So, what you can do is give him time to know about different instruments and observe which one he is interested in?
Your child can even learn piano online from the comfort of home. You can monitor their progress.
Learning Piano for Kids- How to Begin?
Before beginning with the piano, introduce the child to the basics, like the seven notes of music. Parents can start with singing the English alphabet as the notes of music, both forward and backward.
Playfully make the child sing with or after you. The tricky part will begin when parents start singing the alphabet in reverse order. Children quickly learn to read and sing it forward but singing backwards is equally essential. Keep on repeating the exercise until the child can fluently sing it.
Move to the reverse order of singing letters only after the child is comfortable in singing them in the regular order. That is, if the child fluently sings A, B, C, D, E, F, G, then only start the G, F, E, D, C, B, A.
Take Care of Variations
Once the child is well prepared with singing the notes, parents can move to teach them variations. Play with them using the note cards, especially with A and G. The child must know that musical notes run in a loop, and A comes after G. Parents can also try missing note series to see if the child can point out the missing note or not.
Let’s Begin Playing the Instrument
How to learn piano? For kids, it is a big challenge, but step by step, they can achieve success. Children are good at observing; within some time they will figure out the pattern in black keys once they begin to play the piano, which are in the group of three keys, then two and again three, and so on. Starting with the first key and the alphabet will not help much. Instead, parents should begin with ‘C’ first, placed just before two black keys.
After ‘C’ go with ‘B’ just after the group of three black keys and then to ‘D’. This way the child will learn to play ‘BCD’, and the next key combinations will be easier to learn.
Place the Fingers on Keys
Placing the correct fingers on the correct keys is important. Parents should teach the children the numbering of fingers and thumb on both hands. Thumbs being one, pointers being two, middle fingers are three, ring fingers being four, and little fingers being five.
Along with the numbering, tell the child that they have a bubble under their palm. This is because the hands should be in round shape and not straight. Next, place fingers on the keys. With the right-hand thumb, ‘C’ should be played. ‘D’ with the pointers and ‘E’ with the middle finger. For the left hand, ‘C’ by thumb, ‘B’ by pointer, and ‘A’ with the middle finger.
How to Encourage Children to Learn to Play Piano?
Every child has different learning abilities, some grasp the teachings quickly, some might take time. Parents need to understand their child’s pace and proceed accordingly. As a parent, you should keep some things in mind while you are taking piano lessons for kids.
#. Patience
Nothing can be mastered in a day. The piano is a musical instrument that even adults find difficult to learn; children will surely take some time. Parents should keep patience until the child becomes habitual in learning this new instrument. They should not force the child to put in long hours in practice. No matter how much time he is into playing the piano, they should do it freely and happily.
#. Do not Rush the Child
The piano is not so easy to learn and play. It takes time to even play in rhythm. Parents should give the child enough time to learn step by step. This will help build the basics stronger and make the child feel confident. Do not encourage unrealistic expectations because not meeting those expectations will make the child demotivated.
#. Appreciate the Child
Children get happy and motivated when they are appreciated. Keep applauding and encouraging even if the progress is very less. Don’t lie to the child about their growth in learning piano, but don’t demotivate them either. Parents are the first audience to the child, and their reaction will decide the child’s journey in learning the piano.
Found it Helpful?
Real education is the one where the child feels free, not forced. The Real School Of Montessori is one such platform where the child can choose his area of interest. Here you will find the best mentors in every field. Out of many courses offered, you can select the best one for your child, keeping their interests in mind. The Real School Of Montessori has solved the problem of real education. They do not offer tablets full of videos; instead, mentors work together with the learners to build a strong foundation of knowledge.
