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Setting Up A Child's Piano Practice Regime

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SETTING UP A CHILD'S PIANO PRACTICE REGIME

“You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”

That saying applies to kids and piano practice, as well as the proverbial horse.

You can set a length of time, say, twenty minutes, for piano practice, and enforce it rigorously. The result will be much like the horse: they’ll sit by the pond for twenty minutes, but they’ll only drink the water if they’re thirsty.

The average piano teacher’s solution to this problem is to instill guilt in the child, hoping that will make them work.

My view is that fear and guilt are not proper associates for a child’s exploration of music via the piano.

If a piano teacher buys a child’s attention with guilt, the truth is that they are unsuited to be a child’s piano teacher.

Let’s go back to the horse.

Find out what they are thirsty for. Kids are thirsty for fun, period.

Fun is one element that children will unfailingly respond to.

Thus, one’s success as a piano teacher is measured by the ability to disguise routine music learning tasks as games. Games are inherently fun, and almost any musical task can be hidden within one.

Next, consider the lessons themselves. If they are dry, slow, full of talk and endless illustrations of things that have no meaning to a child, the child will zone out, and take that empty feeling home with them. Don’t expect them to build on that empty feeling of failure in their home practice sessions. It won’t ever happen.

If the lessons are dry and lifeless, they will not willingly approach the piano by themselves. Such kids will only play when pressured to by an adult in a position of power.

Assuming that the lessons are enjoyable, you have a chance of getting the child to play on their own. My view is to not force practice as an issue at first. Allow them to interest themselves in the piano as they would with a new toy.

If you insist on practice, the piano is no longer their toy.

Next, the music the child is practicing must be recognizable songs that everyone knows. For all of my affection for the Bastien Series of books, a key failing is that almost none of the songs in the very beginning series are recognizable melodies.

A child needs the self-esteem boost of playing a song they love and want to learn, and that they can play for everyone, announcing, “Hey, look, I can play piano!”

If, as sometimes happens, they ask for RHAPSODY IN BLUE, be clever enough to arrange it in a language they can readily understand. Here is the Rhapsody in Piano by Number:

10 11 12 5 6 7 8

The point is to give the child some reason to practice. Here are several things conventional piano teachers assume, to the detriment of their students:

Conventional teachers assume that kids have some grasp of deferred gratification. They don’t.

Conventional teachers assume kids like repetition of things that are not fun. They don’t

Conventional teachers assume that kids will practice to please the teacher. They won’t.

Conventional teachers assume that kids will practice to please the parent. They won’t

Can you see it coming? Who is the one person that kids want most to please?

Themselves!

So until you convince them with actual deeds and experiences that piano is fun for THEM, they have no reason to practice at all.

And if you have given them no reason other than guilt and fear to practice, don’t expect them to practice those emotions willingly at the piano at home.

If your child doesn’t want to practice, look to the teacher. They may well be spinning their wheels, going from page to page, unable or unwilling to be creative enough to interest the child as an individual.

If a child does not play piano on their own, they are not interested.

Find a teacher who makes the piano interesting, and then worry about practice regimes.

By John Aschenbrenner Copyright 2008 Walden Pond Press All Rights Reserved

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See also PRESCHOOL PIANO PACKAGE

ARTICLES ABOUT CHILDREN AND PIANO
Click here for the FREE EBOOK, a good place to start.
Click here to read the NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES, including lots of valuable information from teachers and parents from various sources.
Click here to read ARTICLES FROM NEWSWEEK and other periodicals regarding children and piano study.
Click here to read an INTERVIEW with the author of PIANO IS EASY.
Click here to read the essay, HOW CAN I HELP MY CHILD READ MUSIC?
Click here to read the entire tutorial HOW TO TEACH YOUR CHILD TO READ MUSIC
Click here to read the report WHAT IS A GOOD AGE TO START PIANO LESSONS?
Click here to read the essay PIANO LESSONS: A CHILD'S POINT OF VIEW
Click here to read the essay WHEN IS LEARNING FINGERING NECESSARY?
Click here to read the article A CHILD'S BILL OF RIGHTS FOR PIANO LESSONS
Click here to read the article IS PRESCHOOL A GOOD AGE TO START PIANO?
Click here to read the article BRAINS, CHILDREN AND PIANO
Click here to read the article WHY THE PIANO IS THE BEST CHILD'S MUSICAL INSTRUMENT

ARTICLES ABOUT PRESCHOOL CHILDREN AND PIANO
Click here to read the article TEACHING PRESCHOOL CHILDREN PIANO
Click here to read the article PRESCHOOL PIANO ACTIVITIES

ARTICLES ABOUT CHILDREN AND READING MUSIC
Click here to read the article HOW TO HELP KIDS FIND MIDDLE C
Click here to read the article WHAT KIDS REALLY UNDERSTAND ABOUT SHEET MUSIC
Click here to read the article WHY DELAY READING MUSIC
Click here to read the article AN EFFECTIVE STRATEGY FOR KIDS LEARNING TO READ MUSIC

SPECIAL EDUCATION AND PIANO
Click here to read the article AMAZING MUSICAL ABILITIES OF AUTISTIC AND ADHD CHILDREN
Click here to read the article HYPERACTIVE KIDS AND PIANO
Click here to read the article PIANO BY NUMBER FOR A SEVERELY DISABLED GIRL
Click here to read the article DOWN'S SYNDROME AND PIANO BY NUMBER

ARTICLES ABOUT CHILDREN AND PRACTICING
Click here to read the article WHY NAGGING YOUR CHILD TO PRACTICE WON'T WORK
Click here to read the article RULES FOR PIANO PRACTICE
Click here to read the article DON'T CALL IT PRACTICE, CALL IT PLAY
Click here to read the article SETTING UP A CHILD'S PIANO PRACTICE REGIME
Click here to read the article WHY CHILDREN SUCCEED AT THE PIANO

ARTICLES ABOUT CHILDREN AND PIANO BY NUMBER
Click here to read the essay THE PIANO WHISPERER
Click here to read the article STARTING TO PLAY PIANO BY NUMBER
Click here to read the report USE PIANO BY NUMBER WITH SCHOOL CHILDREN
Click here to read the article BUILDING A CHILD'S CONFIDENCE WITH NUMBERS
Click here to read the article TURN YOUR PIANO INTO A TOY

ARTICLES ABOUT ADULTS AND PIANO
Click here to read the introduction to EASY CLASSICAL PIANO BY NUMBER
Click here to read the introduction to TEACH YOURSELF PIANO, an excellent guide to important self-teaching points.
Click here to read the article RULES FOR PIANO PRACTICE
Click here to read the article TIPS FOR ADULT PIANISTS
Click here to read the article PIANO FINGER STRENGTH IS CUMULATIVE
Click here to read the article THE PIANO ZONE
Click here to read the article MAKING EVERY MINUTE OF ADULT PIANO PRACTICE COUNT

ARTICLES ABOUT THE PIANO
Click here to read the article HOW GOOD ARE TOY PIANOS?
Click here to read the article ORIGINS OF THE BLACK PIANO KEYS
Click here to read the article HOW TO BUY AN INEXPENSIVE PIANO OR KEYBOARD
Click here to read the essay WHY GRAND PIANOS ARE BETTER THAN UPRIGHTS
Click here to read the essay PIANO WARS: EVOLUTION OF THE PIANO IN AMERICA
Click here to read the essay THE GREAT PIANO CRAZE OF 1910
Click here to read the essay THE BALLET OF THE PIANO HANDS
Click here to read the essay A PIANIST'S MEANS OF EXPRESSION
Click here to read the report HUMIDITY AND YOUR PIANO

For our complete article list, click here.

Piano Is Easy and the Piano by Number series are written by John Aschenbrenner, a noted children's music educator, Emmy Award winning composer, and Broadway veteran.

Click here to view his distinguished academic background.

John is actively involved every day in inspiring children to take a happy interest in the piano using Piano by Number and simple piano games. You can, too!

TOPICS OF INTEREST TO PARENTS:

"What is a good age to start piano lessons?"

"What are the benefits of playing piano for my child?"

"How can I help my child read sheet music at the piano?"

Piano Lessons: A Child's Point of View

Visit the WALDEN POND PRESS ARCHIVES and read articles about children and piano

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PIANO IS EASY BOOK PACKAGE INCLUDES:

PIANO IS EASY (ISBN # 0-9718936-1-6) Sturdily bound, durable, colorful 107 page illustrated song book with 44 songs such as Jingle Bells and London Bridge, Play Along Audio CD and removable numbered stickers.

Every book package order of PIANO IS EASY includes a copy of I CAN READ MUSIC. This fun, easy-to-understand music activity book is the best way to start children reading music. Click here for sample pages.

Every book package order of PIANO IS EASY includes a FREE copy of the 56 minute DVD video from TEACH YOURSELF PIANO. This video will have you playing chords (three piano keys played with the left hand) and fun, familiar songs with both hands right away. That's a $16.95 value free!

2 BOOKS, PLAY ALONG AUDIO CD and DVD

Click here for a list of songs. Click here for sample pages.

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