Kids & piano lessons

cuthbert_the_octopus

Dont go for the keyboard lessons, they are totally different to piano lessons.

As a child I wanted to learnn the piano but instead had keyboard lessons.

So now, as a 30 something yr old I still want to play piano, I can do the right hand justice, but not the left. In keyboard playing you only play the chords with your left hand and then the leyboard repeats them to the rhythm of your backing track.

conradmum

moggylover wrote: »

I'm afraid I think that is "b******"! I can't sing to save my life - but my eldest has a voice to die for and his choir teacher literally begged him to join! The younger has a sweet and true voice - but lacks the power of his older brother.

They sure didn't inherit it from me:o :rotfl: , if I tried to sing my babies to sleep they used to scream:eek: . Both my sons can pick up a guitar and tune it to within an inch of its' life, by ear! They can also both play bits of music by ear on both the piano and the guitar. They both have guitars and got lessons in this at primary school.


My own feeling is that only a very few can afford to have the very best of intruments - others make do with what they can afford: and I suspect that many very, very fine musicians have come from the second school of thought. I think what makes the biggest difference is whether the child wants to learn - or whether mum and dad want them to learn. It's a subtle difference - but a child forced to sit their endlessly practising without enjoyment seldom makes music sound "alive" no matter how proficient their skill.

My kids Dad has taught himself to play the guitar, by ear and with a computer programme with tabs and so forth - he does so for the pure joy of making music - I'm sure the purists would decry this - but he sounds "s*** hot" for all that!;)

I would tell those Suzuki folks that there has been a long history of poorly skilled people blaming their tools;)

Well, fair enough. I was just explaining why it isn't snobbery in the Suzuki method that stresses the importance of starting with the best quality instrument you can afford. Whether you personally agree with it or not is up to you of course. There are many, many world class musicians trained by the Suzuki method.

If anyone's interested in reading more the Wikipedia link is here.

moggylover

conradmum wrote: »

Well, fair enough. I was just explaining why it isn't snobbery in the Suzuki method that stresses the importance of starting with the best quality instrument you can afford. Whether you personally agree with it or not is up to you of course. There are many, many world class musicians trained by the Suzuki method.

If anyone's interested in reading more the Wikipedia link is here.

I took the time to read it - and also googled and read. Still unimpressed.
And as I pointed out: many, many, many equally World Class musicians who did just fine without these sort of intense cult ethos systems.

broke_mum_of_three

My daughter started lessons 2 years ago and I pay £8 for half and hour. She started for a couple of weeks with no piano at home but with no practise wasnt learning anything. It is a catch 22, do I buy a piano and then she doesnt like it or if I dont how is she going to know if she likes it or not!
I got a digital piano out of Argos for around £550 really because of the loaded keys issue, it was still a lot of money if she wasnt going to enjoy it but its a risk I think you have to take.
She is currently working on her Grade 2, I cant say she loves the practise as it does get hard but she hasnt given up yet, she is 10 years old.

conradmum

moggylover wrote: »

I took the time to read it - and also googled and read. Still unimpressed.
And as I pointed out: many, many, many equally World Class musicians who did just fine without these sort of intense cult ethos systems.

Moggylover, I'm not trying to convince you. It's by no means a cult. :rolleyes:

Jo_King

I used to teach piano when I was a student, and launched quite a few young students into the world of music. For what it's worth, this is what I'd advise:

1) I've never taken a student under 6. But I think it depends on the child - I've had 10 year olds who can't sit still, while one of my 6 year olds was flying through grades with no difficulty. It might do no harm to help your child sit at a keyboard for a few minutes a day to get the feel for it.

2) Keyboards aren't ideal. But for a child this young it will do no real harm (once you get into exams it's different - practicing on an unweighted keyboard will be a disadvantage). I usually advised parents that if the child was still interested after a year, to look for a piano or consider buying/renting a Clavinova.

3) Get a good teacher. I didn't realise how many bad habits I had learned from my own mediocre teacher until I got to diploma level, and realised that I was going to have to relearn techniques and develop whole new sets of muscles in my hands. Good teachers are expensive. If there's a university with a music department locally that might be a source of a good teacher who would be less expensive.

4) Make sure the teacher likes children! It makes such a difference if the teacher seems to enjoy the process - the relationship is crucial if it's not to become a trauma.

5) Maybe consider another instrument too. Piano is a lonely instrument - you learn and play alone. I love piano, and I sang in choirs all through school, but I used to yearn for the camaraderie of kids who played orchestral/band instruments. Being able to play a portable, sociable instrument is a wonderful thing, that will help build friendships throughout life.

Only my thoughts!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

If paying the maximum amount of money for equipment was the only determining factor of musical ability, I'd have been sunk. As it is, I am capable of playing woodwind, brass, percussion, strings, piano, keyboard, guitar, bass guitar, bells, chimes and pretty much anything else I lay my hands on - last week I had the kids in fits because I taught them to play a tune on a vacumn cleaner hose.

I learned by having a go with the tattiest, oldest dumped instruments, because I was the only poor kid in the school taking music lessons and had to make do with whatever had been slung in the back of the music cupboard over the years. This meant that, rather than throwing a paddy every time something sounded a bit dodgy, I learned to analyse the problem, work out what had happened and quite often, fix it.

Oh, and I don't sing, as I have a rather strong tenor voice (rather unsuitable for a girl) and we didn't have music in the house because my mum was widowed when I was 5 months old - as he was a pianist and singer, she couldn't stand the sound any more.

BIL is a professional musician - he didn't learn on anything fancy either. He complains about people who have been 'trained' coming to sessions, not being able to meet the standard and whimpering that it's not their fault, they just haven't had to play on such rubbish instruments before!

As an aside, if you listen to some of the rock n roll musicians, such as Jerry Lee Lewis or Chuck Berry, they were very often making mistakes or had instruments that were slightly out of tune - try listenening to their music played on a 'perfect' instrument. It's just not the same, is it?

funky-footprints

My daughter has been having lessons since she turned 4, with Forte music school. without going into the technicalities, she plays an electronic piano for her lessons and she has a keyboard at home, this has caused no problems. we checked with her teacher before we bought it as it was on offer at a local music centre, and for £300 we didnt want to waste our money (it was half price !!)

her teacher has just left Forte, and as they 'clicked' she has gone with him and she now has private lessons at his home. once she has finished her current forte book, they are changing to starting grade 1, she will be 6 in 2 months.

My son wants to learn so he is going to ahve keyboard lessons with his school, he can have elssons now he is in year 3.

My husband & I jsut want them to enjoy music, and they both do, though my son wants drum lessons !!!