So Many Ways to Learn the Piano

Is there any other educational area where studentsBecause parents are in charge of their children's
are taught only in a one-on-one situation, not really?schedule and curriculum, home school students can set
In essence, this is what classical piano students do. It istheir own pace and spend more time on music than in
very important and monotonous for students who arethe public or private schools. Music is even more fun
learning to play the piano to practice everyday, thiswhen you can share it with others. Young children
takes discipline which you do not see in children orhave the ability to learn music theory and are able to
parents. Both of these attitudes create artificiallearn concepts on the keyboard as the children grow
limitations for students that hinder their ability to growand develop their musical ear.
and develop musically. Here's the message pianoIf your children know their alphabet and how to identify
students need to hear -- "Your effort matters and itnumbers and count, they're old enough to start learning
makes a difference.music theory. With the rise of the internet more adults
However, about a third of parents do too much andhave learned that taking piano lesson does not have
try to take over responsibility for their child's progress,be taught in classrooms or studios it can be taught
which hinders their child's ability to develop positiveover the internet, this helps with today's busy
learning skills on their own. To help their children learnschedules and adults do not have to be locked into a
and accomplish their goals, parents need to focus onschedule.
the process and content of the learning rather than theWell, you might find this hard to believe, but
final product.What the young student doesn'tencouraging your child taking piano lessons to practice
understand is the piano learning process.doesn't have to be a struggle. They do want to be
Private lessons have good and bad connotationsure, however, that their young child is old enough to
associated with them, sometimes children create abenefit from formal musical training.
dependence on the teacher and it is hard for childrenOne of the choices that parents have when their child
to overcome this and children are not encouraged tois beginning piano lessons is whether to enroll their son
develop their own independence when it comes toor daughter in a private or group lesson.
learning the necessary skills, on the other hand havingOver time this will make sitting down at the piano to
the one on one teaching is very beneficial to the childpractice feel more natural to your young child or your
because more can get accomplished in a shorterolder beginner and make learning easier. Establish a
period of time. Plus, there is no point in having your childroutine practice time.
spend 30 minutes practicing incorrectly without learningSet meaningful goals that will last, focus on the "What"
their pieces when the material can be mastered in 10and the "Why.
minutes with good practice habits.