The First Piano Lesson And Beyond

The First Piano Lesson And Beyond for parents guide to help their kids to learn the piano successfully

Naoko Aita

8/10/20235 min read

The first piano lesson and beyond: Piano study journey guide

It’s a learning for Life…

Learning the piano is so much more than just learning to play a piece of music. The piano teacher’s goal is to instill the students a life-long love of music and a way of expressing thoughts and emotions through the instrument.

Your children will do so much better on a home instrument that is enjoyable to play…

The pleasure from playing the piano comes from one’s ability to emote feeling, nuance, and expression through music. Even young beginners will experience great satisfaction from making beautiful sounds out of their instrument. So it is worth considering to provide the instrument that gives them the best opportunity to make beautiful sounds.

Creating the Right Conditions

If you want your child to flourish musically, the right conditions need to be created in the home environment.

· Is the piano tuned regularly?

· Is there a bench to sit on that’s at the right height and a stool on

which to rest the feet?

· Is the room with good lighting?

· Is the piano placed in a location that is both quiet but not isolated from the main action of the house?

Your children need you to establish a routine

Piano practice that happens every single day is by far the most effective practice structure. 30 minutes three times a week is just 90 minutes. 20 minutes seven days a week is 140 minutes. The total difference is 43 hours of missed practice per year!

Find a suitable time of the day for a regular practice slot and integrating it into your child’s timetable. Piggybacking practice onto another fixed, daily activity is an easy way to make sure practice happens. Practice as a practical arrangement rather than an ongoing, emotional negotiation – which can be draining for everyone – will really help it to be a positive experience. Setting a regular time of day when piano practice happens “no matter what” will ensure that a daily practice routine is easy for your children to maintain.

Learning the piano is a complex activity requiring many different skills need in a mix. Practicing regularly is one of the hardest things your child will conquer, self discipline. However the sense of accomplishment your child will feel is huge! Piano is one of the first times in his or her life that your child will have the experience of really seeing their progress and of getting out of something exactly what they put into it - important life lessons!

Short, focused and regular visits to the piano help your children retain and understand what they are learning. If practice is enjoyable, rather than arduous, your children will naturally (and unknowingly!) increase the time they spend on the bench. The students need to own their progress. The important aspect is to get to the piano each day.

Help your children avoid “cramming” the day before lessons. Music making is joyful. In order to make music, we need to practice.

You will be the best Supporter …

Your children will need help – up until about age 11, children need hands-on help with home practice. And even though you, yourself, may not read music or play the piano, your assistance is still very much needed! Parental help can take the form of reading lesson notes, organizing practice time wisely, providing encouragement through difficult sections or situations, and seeking out answers for “I’m stuck on this” problems. Your help at home will make a substantial difference in your children’s progress. The common denominator of almost every great musician is great parents who supported their child during their musical development.

You can be the interviewer…

Instead of thinking of practice as a boring activity, let’s think of it as an exploration, an adventure that is full of surprises and delights. The practice of experts is full of curiosity and a sense of playfulness and, although young children will need help and guidance, this same approach can be encouraged from the start. For example, you can help them to ask questions about what they are learning. The title of the piece. The meaning of the text.

Also, think about how you can encourage a wider love of music beyond the piano lesson. Do you play different styles and genres of music at home or could you take your child to local concerts or festivals to hear others play? There is nothing like hearing a live musician to inspire and motivate all of us.

Students Learn at Their Own Pace

Each student needs to receive a firm and secure foundation in his or her pianistic skills. There are musical concepts to be learnt, technical skills to be mastered, reading skills to be developed, musical sensitivity to be nurtured. We should not rush the early stages as all the different components have to be established. Early piano lessons are essentially developing musicianship skills. You will find that the different skills come on at different rates. For example, the ability to play the piano can develop quite quickly whereas establishing secure note reading often takes a bit more time. Each student will gain the different skills to develop in his or her own time. No rush.

Making Progress

There is a great sense of accomplishment gained by students as they quickly master their pieces. Of course, this takes time during home practice. Lesson time with the teacher is only 30 to 45 minutes per week, and then, the student is the one who LEARNS the piano at home. The lesson books and supplementary material that I choose for your child encompass all aspects of musicianship: from note reading, theory concepts, chords, scales, composition and improvisation. Practice time can be spent not only at the piano, but away from the piano.

Your children need lots of encouragement

Learning to read music and play the piano can be difficult; it can be discouraging, feel overwhelming. Your children (no matter what their age) need loads of encouragement. And not just verbal encouragement. You can show your children that you value their efforts by attending their recitals with enthusiasm, inviting friends and family to listen to them play, and taking the time to sit and listen to them practice with your undivided attention.

Communicating

Your children need you to communicate with their teacher – Working as a parent/child/teacher triangle is the optimal way to ensure progress and success in piano lessons. Be sure to communicate often with your children’s piano teacher. Check in on how lessons are progressing, ask for help if something is difficult for your children at home, let your teacher know when practice weeks have gone extremely well (and not so well). We are team!

Finally, the Pleasure of Being a Piano Parent...

Learning to play music is a life-changing experience. And, as a parent, the process is a thrill to watch. Being a major part of this accomplishment is incredibly rewarding! The profound pleasure of being a “piano parent” far outweighs the required extra efforts; and this is, by far, the most important aspect that piano teachers want parents to know.