Question and Answer Time!

Question and Answer time! Here are some recent ones:

           How old should my child be to start piano lessons?

The easy answer is kindergarten or 1st grade.  The reason that this answer is given so often is because by kindergarten/1st grade, children are expected to be able to sit for 20-30 minutes at a time and can follow simple instructions.
The more difficult answer is, it depends on the child, the parent, the desire, the ability, the amount of time to practice. To determine that, let's talk further...off the blog. :)

           I feel my children's piano teacher is rushing off to go to an appointment, so if the lessons are running behind and my kids' lessons are at the end of the day and they're still finishing on time, they aren't getting the 30 minute lesson that I'm paying for.  How would you approach this or bring it up without offending?

> A direct way would be to ask if the teacher could please begin the lesson closer to the starting time.
> A less direct approach would be to ask if the teacher thought the prescribed 30 minute block of time was enough for your child's lesson.  This might clue the teacher in to the fact that she's not actually spending 30 minutes with them teaching.  If he/she doesn't follow the clue, follow up by saying that when other lessons run over into your kids' time, then they aren't getting the full 30 minutes.  You can add that you feel like your child needs the full 30 minutes in order to grasp the new concepts each week.
> Another option would be to arrive promptly at your next scheduled lesson and stand somewhere visible to the teacher from the time that your child's lesson should begin.  When its finally time for your time slot, mention that the lessons seem to be right on top of each other and suggest that she builds a 5 minute window of time into her schedule between lessons for transition time.

                Is it ok to only own a keyboard and not a real piano?

Hmm... that's a tough one.  In fact, I wrote a whole post about it here.  Check it out!

                Are there any music game websites for kids? 

Why yes, yes there are!  Here are some of my favorites:
www.classicsforkids.com/games/
www.creatingmusic.com/
www.dsokids.com/2001/rooms/musicroom.asp
www.nyphilkids.org/main.phtml
www.flashmusicgames.com/
www.sfskids.org/templates/home.asp?pageid=1

         
If you have any music related questions, let me know! If I don't know the answer, I bet I can find someone who does!

Playing ahead in lesson books: When is it ok?

There have been so many times when my students (including my own children) have asked if they can play ahead in the lesson books. "I can play them, mom, I know I can" or, "they're so easy, can I play through the end of the book".  In fact, I heard that so much that I had to develop some "rules" about playing ahead. 

> If you look ahead in the book, you may only play through a song once or twice.  This is so they don't form a habit of playing it their way. 

> When we get to a song/lesson that you have played through once or twice, you have to be willing to listen to my explanation of the song/lesson AND understand that you might have played it incorrectly on your own.  I will help you play it correctly.

If a student keeps asking to look ahead, it might be a sign that the practice load is not enough to challenge them during the week.  This is a great time to bring in supplemental music.  Some of my favorite supplements are Dozen A Day--which is a great finger exercise book, and also the Piano Adventures Popular and Performance books that match the level the student is at.

Keeping students challenged but not overwhelmed is a delicate balance, but one that brings about great accomplishments!

Home Schooling....kind of

I'm often asked if I homeschool or not...the answer to that is two-fold. First, no because I send my kids to public school.  Second, yes because I homeschool them in piano.

When I started teaching my oldest piano, he was in first grade. Since he was the only one I was teaching at that moment, I taught him in the classic style...meaning a 30 minute lesson with us both sitting at the piano.  That went ok, but not spectacular.  But at that time, I was still a fairly new teacher, new mother and idealistic in my plans for teaching my child piano....not realistic.  Sadly there were many lessons that ended up w/ crying, screaming and gnashing of teeth!  So I actually took a hiatus from teaching him (its sad to think that  I actually thought it was my son that was the problem---nope--It was me!)  When I started teaching him again, I also began teaching my daughter so at this time, Nathan was in 3rd grade and Mandy was in 1st. Once again, I tried the classic method, and it went better.  (Probably because he was older, she was a gem to teach and I had some more piano teaching under my belt!)
By the time I was teaching 3 kids piano, I realized I didn't have an hour and a half slot of time available to sit and teach the kids---especially because I was teaching 25 other kids every week! So I came up with this method that has worked very well for us over the last year and I think it will continue to be successful now that I'm teaching all 4.

Here's the method. I teach for no more than 5 minutes at a time.   Each time the kids go to the piano, mostly on their own accord, I go to them and go over one page or one small concept at a time.  I never give more than 2 songs to work on at a time. I also treat each of their practices as a mini-lesson--meaning that I listen extra carefully while they practice and correct their form, hand position, incorrect notes, rhythm mistakes, etc while they are practicing.  (I will say that this is a time when it really helps that I know the songs as well as I do, I can be in the kitchen listening and still be able to tell them what they need to fix! :) 
I have noticed that since adopting this method, the kids are moving through the books very quickly and are very encouraged to go further! That is a wonderful thing to experience. :)

Now, will this method work for you and your gaggle of kids? Maybe, maybe not.  But I hope it encourages you to think outside the "box" of the 30 minute lesson.  If you have an idea, share it with me!  If you have a question, please ask!

How to Deal with Whining About Practicing

Let's be honest, all students whine sometimes.  The causes differ from not wanting to practice, to getting frustrated with a piece of music, to being frustrated with an instrument.  So what's a parent to do???

Here's some ideas.
First, try to get to the root of the whine.  Is it that they don't want to stop playing outside or with friends and have to come inside and practice? They are frustrated with the piece of music? Frustrated with the concept?  Frustrated with the instrument? Bored with the piece? Now address that root. 
Not wanting to stop playing: Change the time of practice.  If they want to play with their friends in the afternoon when they get home from school, change practice time to the morning after breakfast.  Or even give them the "treat" of being able to stay up a little bit later so that they can practice in the evening after dinner.

Frustration with piece of music: I have been teaching out of the same curriculum for quite a while and now know that some songs are just plain hard.  Students of varying degrees of natural talent will reach a certain song and no matter what, they will struggle.  That taught me that its ok to skip songs or to supplement with another piece that teaches the same concept.  That being said, as a parent talk to the teacher if the same song is being assigned for more than 2 weeks.  Ask what specifically the student needs to work on and what the teacher's plan is if the student continues to struggle in grasping the concept. One piece of music is not worth frustration.

Frustration with a concept: There are some students that really struggle with certain concepts.  I've had students who cannot seem to master the feeling of a 3/4 time signature or crescendo/decrescendo.  If your young musician is getting frustrated with a concept like one of these, during practice take the concept away from the piece and let the musician concentrate on the successful parts of the song, like correct notes, hand position, steady beat, etc.  Talk to the teacher at the next lesson and ask if there is another way to teach the same concept.  This is where the teacher's creativity can shine!  You as the parent see if you can apply the concept to the student in other non-musical ways. (Check out my other posts to see examples of these).

Boredom with the piece: 30 minutes goes by extremely fast.  If your young musician is getting bored with the pieces because they are mastering them quickly, ask the teacher for either a longer lesson (like 45 minutes) or even better, two 30 minute lessons per week. Some musicians are so very talented, that they really could master a concept and a piece of music in just a day or so.  Ask the teacher also for supplemental music outside of the lesson book.  The Faber curriculum that I use has many books that run parallel to the lesson book levels so that students can find matching music to their level of performance. 

Frustrated with the instrument: For some piano students, when they reach a level of performance but are still playing on a lower end keyboard, they can begin to get frustrated that their instrument is not making the sound that they think it should be making.  If that's the case, then its time to invest in a better quality keyboard. Also read my other post on practicing w/o a piano.  On the other end of the spectrum, I've had students whose parents own pianos that need to be repaired or tuned badly and that can cause frustration of the musician as well.  As parents, the ball's in your court for this one.

All in all, there is usually alot going on inside the musician's head when they start whining about practicing.  If you take the time to find out what's really going on, not only will you be able to beat the whining blues, but also your musician will be happy that you took the time to find out what they were thinking/feeling inside. Its a win/win situation!!

Say your ABC's....Backwards!

This is a simple, but important tip that will help all young musicians:  learn your ABC's backwards! 

The musical alphabet is only 7 letters: A B C D E F G.  As piano students learn to play the keys on the piano, it is often easy for them to figure out the letter names of the notes as they ascend.  Its easy because the music alphabet goes in order, but the tricky part is figuring the letter names as the notes descend.  Thinking about the music alphabet in reverse order, quickly, is often very challenging.

In order to help your young musician achieve success in this area, help them practice saying the letters backwards.  Start at G and work backwards to A, then ask what comes before the A....its G!  Then start at a different letter and work down, and so on and so forth.  This will help with the quick decision-making that they have to do when playing.

Happy Playing!

Get Motivated!

As a music teacher, I'm always trying to tap in to my student's intrinsic motivations.  But sometimes, those intrinsic motivators are not well developed...yet.  In those instances, I have to use extrinsic motivators (i.e. prizes, competitions, awards, certificates, grab bags, etc). 

For the majority of my students, I require a certain number of "good" practices per week. ("Good" practices are those that are conducted with a respectful attitude and appropriate amount of effort and time.  The parents must sign off that it was indeed a "good" practice.)  If the set number of practices is reached, then the students may pick a prize bag, and take it home with them.  Its amazing how excited the young musicians are when they go get to pick out their bag and take it home with them.

If your musician's teacher does not provide that form of extrinsic motivation, then you as the parent can definitely provide that.  In my house, with my own kids, I have a candy dish on the piano.  After the kids put forth a good practice, they may pick one piece of candy. They tried to practice all day long at first, trying to get many pieces of candy!  I did have to limit it to one piece of candy per day, but it has definitely been helpful in getting them going.

You know your child well, are they being adequately motivated? 

Piano Practice....Sans Keyboard

Wow, this one is a doozy.  There is nothing more frustrating for a piano teacher than to have a student not have access to a keyboard.  Now some would say that the student shouldn't be taking lessons if there isn't a keyboard readily available, but sometimes things happen.  In the military world, one occasion that pops up sometimes is that a family's household goods are packed out months in advance of a move, yet the parents still want the student to take lessons. Or a piano might have so many sticky keys that it is unplayable. Or a keyboard not working properly. So many reasons...so what to do?
1. Check out your local chapels, churches, etc.  Ask if they have a piano on which your student may practice.  Some churches, especially if given the back story, would allow practice on one of their pianos or keyboards. 
2. Check with a friend.  Do you have any friends with pianos or keyboards?  Ask if you could barter babysitting services or hot dinner in exchange for some time at their piano for your student.
3. Check your local hotels.  Some of the nicer ones have pianos or keyboards.  Ask if your student could play on it.
4. Check with a local university/college music department.  Ask if they have practice studios and if your student could practice there.
5. Lastly, make do at home.  Print out a paper keyboard, set it on the counter or table and have your musician work their fingers on the keys.  Have them press harder with their fingers to build finger strength.  Use a ball of socks on the floor for a pedal. 

There are times that we must get creative for practice opportunities.  A brainstorming session with the teacher, student and parents would be very helpful.  Try to work together and figure out the best avenue possible for the young musician.  Anything is possible!

Purchasing a Keyboard - What to look for?

I've been asked by many people about having a beginning piano student learn on a keyboard vs a piano.  Of course true pianos or digital pianos are the best option, but sometimes they don't fit in the budget.

So if a keybord is what's in your budget, what do you need to look for?
These are big things that are must-haves!
1. Full size keys.  Notice I didn't say "keyboard".  The individual keys themselves need to be full size.  It doesn't matter as much if there are 88 keys on that keyboard, especially for the beginner.  But those keys need to be full sized so that the musician's fingers can begin to learn spacing and intervals.
2.Weighted keys - also called touch sensitive.  This means that the volume of the keys can be adjusted through the amount of force played on the keys, not just a volume slide or control.  To determine if the keyboard has it or not, try playing as lightly as possible and then as hard as possible. If you noticed a difference in the volume, then they keys are weighted; if not, then  its not.  :)
3. Port for optional sustain pedal.  Check the back of the keyboard to see if there is a port to plug a sustain pedal into.  While the sustain pedal is not a must-have for the first couple months, it is used within the first year of lessons.  Sometimes the pedal comes w/ the keyboard as a package deal, sometimes its something you have to purchase later.
4. Stand/Bench.  In the very front of the primer level piano lesson book (I use Faber's Piano Adventures), there is a page that describes how to determine the musician's seating at the piano--both how high and how close to the keyboard.  This need must be met by either the stand and bench to be bought w/ the keyboard, or a counter and adjustable stool/bench at home. 
5. Music stand/rest.  This is a place to stand up your music.  There have been many people who have forgotten all about that until they got the keyboard home, so just make sure.

These 5 things are must-haves and thankfully keyboard manufacturers are making keyboards that meet these needs in more budget-friendly ways.  The Yamaha keyboard in the picture is just one example of a keyboard that provides these things.  The pedal and bench are additional purchases.

Back to lesson time! Ideas from Blog-world

Its almost time for music lessons to start back! As you and your musician prepare for another year of lessons, or year of band/chorus, here are some ideas for getting organized.
The first idea comes from Char over at http://www.crapivemade.com/. She has put together an awesome tutorial for making bags to tote lesson books, flashcards, assignment books and more to and from lessons, always staying fashionable and organized!

Crap I've Made: Piano Bag Tutorial

The Metronome ~ Your new best friend!

The metronome. Buy it. Love it. Use it. Its amazing.

The next series of posts will be on some intriguing ways of using a metronome. Most will be for musical purposes, yet a couple will shockingly be out of the realm of music.

The first question is, do you know what a metronome is?  It is a gadget (most of the time electronic) that keeps a steady beat at a myriad of speed possiblities. Some are fancier thn others, with choices of time signature, emphasized downbeat and mute and earbud options.  Amazingly, I have one of these fancy shmancy ones and it was under $25.

Now onto a very basic musical way of using the metronome.
When learning a new piece of music, it is important to encourage confidence in your young musician.  This is achieved by delaying the use of the metronome until a level of comfort is reached with the piece.  Have your musician play through the piece without huge emphasis on beat...yet. After a decent level of comfort is reached (meaning they know the basics of the song and the general idea of fingering and note order). THEN introduce the metronome. 
Set it at a slower speed (maybe as low as 60bpm--beats per minute).  Encourage your child to pat the rhythm to the song on his lap. See post "The Five Senses--Touch" for further explanation of patting. After successfully patting out the song without huge mistakes, you can do one of two things. 1. step up the bpm and have him pat the song on his lap again. Repeat until the tempo--speed, is up to performance tempo.  2. have him now play the piece on the keyboard at the slower speed. Raise the tempo and follow the steps-pat, play; repeat until playing at performance tempo.
If you and your musician are struggling to find the appropriate tempo/bpm for both practice and performance, ask your musician's teacher or look for a recording of it online and time it.
 *Remember, 60 bpm is equal to 60 seconds, so when you're figuring it out, just watch the second hand of your watch.

The Five Senses - Seeing

Studies have shown that the more of the five senses (see, hear, touch, taste, smell) used during learning, the more likely the knowledge will be retained. As a music teacher, it is my goal to use as many of these senses as possible in a weekly lesson.

So for this post and the next 4 posts, I'll go through the senses and give some ideas on how to incorporate them into your musician's practice time or lesson time. (Make sure you check back each day and especially on the taste and smell posts---they're very interesting!)



Sense #1-Seeing



Next time you have a minute, pull out a piano lesson book (or other instrument), open it up and look at the songs. Start at the top of the page and point out and read every word written on the page--from the title of the song or unit at the top, to the last little word at the bottom of the page. Each one of these words are printed there to help your musician. Words at the top, usually describe what is going to be played in the song, the mood of the song, speed or tempo, as well as review the main point of the lesson which is sure to be used often in the song. The words written in the music itself describe what is going on at that time and give instruction on what to do or what to change immediately. The words at the end of the song or at the bottom of the page refer back to the lesson "meat" itself, and many times issue a challenge based on the lesson, the song and the upcoming application of that lesson.


Highlighters are great tools to use to make important instructions stand out!

The Five Senses - Hearing

Sense #2--Hearing


A musician with a loss of hearing---no wonder Beethoven went mad! Hearing/listening and music go hand in hand.
Listening to music though, really listening is very important to the budding musician. Encourage your child to listen to not only what he is playing, but how it sounds! If you have some kind of recording device, record his practice and then have him listen to it and describe what he hears. Does he think his beat is steady? Can he tell what song he is playing? If he sings while he plays, ask him if he thinks his pitch matches what he is playing. If you are really bold, record yourself singing along with his playing and ask him if your pitch matches his playing.


A listening challenge to the parents would be for you to truly listen to your child's playing. Close your eyes, and enjoy listening to their progress!

The Five Senses -Touch

Sense #3--Touch



Pianists touch the keyboard, touch the music to turn the page, touch the pedals, etc. So the sense of touch isn't surprising. But I have a couple ideas on making it more helpful.

When your young musician gets frustrated on a new song, concentrate on the sense of touch. Move away from the piano to the kitchen table or counter. Have the student pat the song, using left hand to pat the left hand rhythm and the right hand to pat the right hand rhythm; separately and then together. Focus the attention on what the hands will do (not individual fingers yet) and how they work together. Once the student feels confident in working the hands correctly then move back to the piano and begin playing at a slower tempo to integrate the individual fingers.

Sometimes this approach gives the confidence to move forward!

The Five Senses --Smell, (seriously?)

Let's do a quick review of the last 4 posts:

You see the music on the page & see the notes on the piano-

You hear the notes being played and how they blend together -

You touch the keys and hands memorize shape for reaching different intervals-

You taste- you sing or speak the rhythms, words, counts, etc. -

You smell? This is a good one.

The other day at the commissary I smelled a mixture of cigarette smoke, Aqua net hair spray and Avon perfume. Now, to the average passerby that may not have been the most pleasant smelling experience, but to me it was heaven. My eyes started tearing up and memories of my grandmother "Granny" came flooding back to me even though she passed away 23 years prior.

Technically the musician does not "smell" music. But ask anyone who has taken lessons from someone w/ smelly breath or a smelly studio and I can guarantee you they remember that!

If there is a consistently pleasant smell around the piano or practice area, that smell will become part of the pleasant music/piano experience for the learner.

Voila--all 5 senses. So the biggest challenge is, next practice or lesson time, add a wonderful scent, take a breath mint, and make the musical experience as well-rounded as possible.

Lions & Tigers & Bears, Oh My!!

When was the last time you and your children watched The Wizard of Oz? In the movie, there is a famous line when Dorothy, the Tinman, and the Scarecrow take a fearful walk through the forest whispering, "Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh my!" Then they repeat it, a little louder, then repeat it yet again even louder!


Being silly with your child and imitating this part of the movie, is a wonderful way of introducing piano (soft), crescendo (growing louder), and forte (loud). Most kids have some level of understanding of loud and soft, but it is the crescendo--the growing louder-- that can be a challenge. It requires control and the grasping of this concept makes crescendo and decrescendo in music lessons much easier to understanding and perform.

Enjoy the movie and entertainment!

*Let me know if you try this tip and how it worked for you!