Well, for starters don’t ask questions that you don’t want the answers to. Don’t set them up to lie to you. That applies at every age. Especially now that I have a college-aged child. Ahem.
But, for myself, I think the ability to lie came with lots of practice. PRACTICE on the piano. And, my mom ASKING, “Did you practice”? ME: ”Um, yes?” (a stern look from mom, and back to the piano I go)
All kidding aside, though, music lessons are THE BEST thing you can do for your child. Get them involved in some music! Pick an instrument. Any instrument.
We started each of our kids on the piano the summer before they started kindergarten. Why? Because that was when I started as a child, and I lived through it. We looked at piano playing as a “life skill” much like reading or swimming lessons. It was just something you had to do.
At first the kids really enjoyed it. They had fun at the piano, and looked forward to learning new things. Then, things got a bit more difficult.
An hour of practice. Each day. That was the rule for me as I was growing up. And, I hated it – wasn’t gonna do that to my own kids. So, I dropped it to 30 minutes of practice. Daily. Seemed reasonable to me. And, I wanted it done in the morning before they went to school. Plan accordingly. They did, and life kept rolling along fairly smoothly. They would squawk and complain about having to “do piano”, and I would smile and ignore them, and continue to take them to their lessons.
My son started with teacher “A” who was classically trained. She LIVED piano, and was extremely organized. The boy did fine, and the recitals were at the local college on stage with the grand pianos. VERY impressive. When my second child got old enough to take lessons, teacher “A” didn’t have an opening, so I moved both of my kids to teacher “B” with back-to-back time slots. Teacher B was a grandmotherly-type lady who loved piano, and enjoyed teaching it to children. She had been teaching for years – even had a studio room set up in her home. Both kids looked forward to seeing her, even though they weren’t too keen on the whole piano practice thing.
When my third child started her lessons, teacher “B” didn’t have an opening for another child, but there was a sweet young lady starting a piano studio also here locally, so we gave her a try. Teacher “C” was a perfect fit for my third child. She made lessons fun, and also was able to motivate while keeping her focused.
And, merrily we played along. Until….
A local news story that I found online talked about a NEW method for learning how to play the piano. The focus was on learning patterns, and learning to listen to the music NOT just reading the music. Note reading came later. I wasn’t overly comfortable with that concept, but my curiosity was strong enough to go to an introductory lesson with my three kids. I wanted them to be able to sit at the piano and PLAY – not to have to rely totally on a piece of music being in front of them in order to enjoy the instrument.
The first lesson was a success. ”Simply Music” was a piano method that looked like it was going to fit into our lives very nicely. The teacher that gave us our first intro was moving, but she was able to help us find someone close to home who was teaching – and so we met her and we were off and running. Or should I say playing?
I have had people ask me if the Simply Music method was just like Suzuki Piano. Well, from what I have read about Suzuki (which isn’t a lot) there are many similarities, but also differences. We have not ever done any type of lesson with the Suzuki method, so I can’t speak for or against. But, in regards to “Simply Music” – it was great for my kids! They were playing the piano – and it was fun! Yes, there was still practicing involved, but the practicing was SONGS – not just scales and methods mixed in with a tedious song that had super simple notes. They were playing songs they knew, and also getting to create songs of their own. There was jazz – and rock – and classical – all of it! You can read more about Simply Music here: http://www.simplymusic.com
Eventually for various reasons we had to stop the piano lessons. The more activities that the kids were involved with at school, the less time there was to focus on the piano. I couldn’t get them to everything – nor could we afford to do it all. So, after several conversations with friends (and maybe a few tears on my part!) the decision was made to halt the piano lessons. It was hard for me because I had told the kids from the start that they would take piano lessons until they died or mom said they could quit – and I hadn’t expected my decision to come as soon as it had to. I knew that with the money that had been spent on piano lessons we could have paid for some fabulous family trips…. to far-away places! But, I felt that the investment into their musical training was beyond worth it. I didn’t want it to come to an end.
The end of piano lessons was not the end of music at our home. Our first-born continued his music appreciation with his trumpet. Trumpet lessons came into his life. He played all through high-school, and now plays in college. Our second-born has her flute that she plays beautifully. Her passion for playing an instrument isn’t as strong as her brother’s, but she has the ability and the talent. And we do a weekly flute lesson. And, our youngest expresses her love for music through the rhythms of the percussion. She is always tapping out a rhythm on something – in fact she started that before she was even born. The rule that our school band director employs is that any student that wishes to play percussion is required to have had a minimum of two years of piano prior to starting the drums in band. She met that requirement and then some. And now she has her percussion lessons.
I will have to add that because the Simply Music method delayed the note reading our youngest is the weakest at sight reading notes. She can play chords, and is able to play the piano – but to do sight reading she has to stop and work through it much more than the other two who had had more of the “traditional” piano learning method prior to our switch. All three of our kids can find music online with the lyrics and the “guitar chords” and then take the piece and play it with just a bit of effort. It is something that I can’t do – and it makes it very easy for them to practice singing some of the most popular songs on the radio. They have the ability – and the desire – since it is FUN! YEA!! That’s what I wanted them to get out of their music lessons. A love of it!
As a side note, I also enrolled each of my children into the “Kindermusik” program. That is a small group setting that focus on music and a bit of movement. Stories, and games, and learning activities all set to some fun music. Our Kindermusik teacher (who continues to teach!) is a loving and kind woman with the patience of a saint. I HIGHLY recommend that avenue to expose your kids to music at an early age.
You can go online and google ‘benefits of music’ and find a long list of reasons why you should get your child involved in some type of music instruction. I agree with many of those reasons…. music has so many benefits! (not just teaching them to lie about practice time – ha!) But, the true treasure for this mother’s heart is now hearing my three children surround the piano to sing and play together. That is the biggest payoff for me. And, it was worth EVERY bit of the struggle to get there.
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