Mikes Music Room – Music Articles

There isn`t a parent who doesn`t want their child to be good at something and one of the more common aspirations is playing piano. There`s something about being able to dance your fingers across the ivory keys that appeals to both parents and children. The big question on every parent`s lips is “When should my child start piano?”

The younger, the better. We`ve all heard about the likes of Mozart and other child prodigies who began playing at very tender ages, 3 or 4. Getting a child into piano that early means they will have the most time possible playing, even if they don`t end up being extremely gifted in the area of music.

Introducing Young Children to Piano

You can start peaking your little one`s interest in music right from the start. Listening to classical piano while in the womb and after birth will give your child an early appreciation for the piano. They will be far more interested in playing than if you simply ignore music all together and then abruptly introduce it as you want them to play.

If you`ve decided to start your very young child in piano, it is very important to find the right teacher. Toddlers can`t and shouldn`t be expected to, focus on one thing for a long period of time. That means lessons will certainly need to be cut into smaller, more manageable bites. Most 3-4 year olds do very well with 15 minute lessons.

You really can`t expect a 3 year old to learn the same way a teen or adult would, so having a piano teacher that understands the age group and knows how to communicate effectively with a small child is vital. Without this, you`ll find that children don`t learn well and will rapidly become frustrated with the instrument. The idea is to keep it fun and enjoyable, particularly at this young age.

With a good base to build on, small children will often go on to play piano for the rest of their lives and this gift of music is definitely something that they will treasure in years to come.

Older Children and the Piano

Of course, not everyone can start their toddler in piano lessons so early. In some cases, parents may not have even considered the possibility until their older child came out and asked for lessons. This is a common scenario, where the child is the one interested in playing.

First, you`ll want to ensure that this isn`t just a passing phase. Most parents do this by requiring their children to take a minimum of one year of piano lessons. This is more than enough time to get a good taste for the music and after a year, a decision can be made, to continue on or to leave it.

Children who instigate the learning process tend to stick with it better than those who are forced into it at an early age, but they may be slower to pick up the concepts behind the music and it can be a bit of a struggle for older children to learn to read music in some cases. However, if the effort is made, it can be an excellent way to learn more about music and no one has ever done poorly because they learned to play the piano.

To make the piano lessons a success, be sure to have a way for your child to practice daily. It`s important they have this opportunity, no matter what their age. While younger is still better, that certainly doesn`t rule out older kids who are interested in learning.

Have you ever wondered how the piano came to have both black and white keys?

And why? Why should there be two different groups of keys? Why not just have an unending row of white keys?

The answer lies in both the physics of acoustics and the construction of the human hand.

The first keyboards were derived from an ancient Greek water organ called the Hydraulis. This organ-like instrument had in essence a uniform group of levers (think “all white”) that you pushed to make the sounds on the organ.

Although it was not always true, the keys on a Hydraulis were generally organized in groups of seven keys, corresponding to the seven white keys of any modern scale or mode. (A scale or mode is the rationale that governs how much higher each key will be in pitch than the previous key.)

But soon, composers wanted to go beyond the limitations of the seven keys, and began to add another key, which usually was colored differently from the others and set apart slightly.

Starting with one black key, composers eventually discovered that there were five (black) keys that could be added to the original seven (white) keys.

The $64,000 question, though, is how the black keys came to be grouped in twos and threes.

The answer lies in the construction of the human hand, but to understand that we must first examine the keyboard itself.

Imagine, if you will, an imaginary piano keyboard that has alternating white and black keys across the entire 5-foot length.

You can visualize this if you take a piece of paper or cardboard and hold it perpendicular to the keys, masking your view of the black keys. What do you see? A mass of white keys with no way of distinguishing exactly which white key is which.

Now imagine again the keyboard as described above, an imaginary piano keyboard that has alternating white and black keys across the entire 5 foot length.

Even with black keys, one is still lost, as there is no pattern in the white-black arrangement that will allow you to consistently pick out any particular black or white key. All the eye can see is white-black-white-black endlessly, with no way of finding any pattern to the arrangement.

Sometime around 1400, some very clever person realized that if you put the black keys into groups of two and three, (2+3=5) a recognizable visual pattern emerged that allowed a player to easily distinguish each key, white or black.

History does not record who this genius was.

Next, after many years people had played the keyboard long enough to develop considerable skill.

The result of this was the raising of the black keys slightly above the level of the white keys, and then came the most revolutionary idea of all: make the black keys shorter than the white, only slightly further away from the player.

But why? The answer lies in the human hand.

We have five “fingers” but they are not equal in capability at the piano.

The thumb is dominant and yet it is the shortest finger on the hand.

Thus the piano keyboard fits the human hand by making the white keys closer to accommodate the shorter thumb, and the black keys further away to accommodate the longer “non-thumb” fingers.

You can see this by simply putting your hand on a keyboard. Your thumb will comfortably reach the white keys and the other fingers are easily within reach of both the black and white keys.

Name another machine from the Renaissance with thousands of moving parts that has survived like the unique design of the piano keyboard.

No other device except perhaps the glove fits the human hand so perfectly.

By John Aschenbrenner Copyright 2000 Walden Pond Press

Playing the piano requires long hours of practicing especially when a big musical reality is coming. With all the factors that are needed to play the piano, one very underlying yet important strong point will be discussed in this article.

One factor that some professionals venture not forget… practice. Even if you know all the fingerings and notes, even if you can read the music well, it won’t mean a thing. Utilize is the essence of it all. You have to be committed in your genre therefore practicing it every day; if not everyday then at least thrice a week.

If you’re having difficulty rehearsal yourself with your practice hours, here are some notes to ponder upon.

Note # 1

Make a daily schedule for practice and comply with it. Be determined to stick to your schedule. It is a imperative to condition yourself into practicing everyday so that your body will get used to the routine. At first, it could be tedious and boring but as you go on learning the essentials, it becomes more fun audition the way you run.

Note # 2

Your piano must be put in a place that you won’t feel cluttered. Your music room must be free from anything that might ruffle you like a radio or anything noisy. This enables you to concentrate when practicing. Also, make sure that there is proper lighting where your piano is placed. But remember that your piano must not be exposed to unsurpassed sunlight for this might destroy some sensory parts of your piano.

Mark # 3

Always mad up. Exercise your fingers with some simple minds then proceed to the hard ones. If you have no intuition on how to warm up those handles, ask notability who knows. An exercise charge let your fingers outstretch to range some secrets that are hard to reach. This will become helpful when showing tenacious paced minds and music. Don’t let your relegates touch a key while it still feels potent and rusty.

Note # 4

Review the past warnings learned before starting a warning. This would be the next thing afterward warming up. If you have not finished the music yesteryear, rescission what you played then continue it. Elder yet, start the whole thing to be skilled to follow.

Mark # 5

Attend your manual and instructor’s directions. Help her better you learn. To disburse ennui, play the piano at the same time, savor a duet. Tell your instructor your interests and ask her to play it for you so you might know it and therefore pave the way into practicing it even without her presence.

Note # 6

Get your utilize as meaning-oriented as contingent. A goal will make you more focused and concentrated because you have something to be achieved. To kill a object will make you feel satisfied and gratified.

Note # 7

Always provide for a consummate feeling when practicing. When you schedule to play the piano without anyone to guide you, just think about all the lessons that your tutor has taught you. Do not give up that easily when it has become hard. If you are being stressed, reside for a while. Measure out yourself time to breathe.

Try to figure out a technique with every practice for it to come out natural and sole in your own way.

If you have to nag your child to practice the piano, I have news for you. There’s something called the Battle of the Piano and you’ve already lost.

The Battle of the Piano is the time honored process whereby a child is either deemed a success at the piano or not.

Some children make it. They number 10% of all kids who try.

Some children don’t make it. They number 90% of all the kids who try.

The moment your child’s interest in piano lessons starts to wane, usually due to a lack of creativity on the teacher’s part, you have entered the Battle zone.

After what I call the “honeymoon,” where a child finds piano rather fun and interesting, there comes a moment of reality, when the child realizes subconsciously that the teacher has no tools OTHER THAN REPETITION.

The one tool of the non-creative piano teacher is repetition, mindless and numbing.

Such repetition is fine for an adult who is determined to play Beethoven, and is willing to pay the dues to do so. But for a six year old, it is a crushing regimen, a fact borne out by the 10%-90% statistics.

When a child’s interest in the piano wanes, they are surely headed for quitting if the teacher’s only tool is repetition.

As your nagging increases, the child becomes more and more alienated from the piano, until subconsciously the child blames the piano for your nagging. They can’t hate you for nagging, you’re Mom, so they hate the piano instead.

Mind you, all the while you’re unknowingly paying this teacher to make your child hate the piano, and you’re adding to the stress with your entreaties.

You ask the teacher for advice, after all, you’re paying them, and I guarantee you their only suggestion will be that the child practice more. That’s the one tool they have.

It’s as if your child hates broccoli, and the chef’s solution is to serve even larger portions. That chef knows nothing of child psychology and human nature.

Look at it from the child’s point of view. This crossfire of negativity from you and the piano teacher can have only one inevitable result, and that is the emotional destruction of the child’s desire to play.

Nagging won’t help. Nagging is a huge part of the problem, not the solution.

The child simply follows human nature.

What is the solution? A rule of thumb is to listen to your child.

Don’t think that going and observing a lesson will be any indicator of your child’s progress. The teacher, your employee, will be putting on a performance and your child will be terrified that you will be displeased.

Listen to your child. Go for a few weeks and see if it gets better. Keep listening to the child and ask them how they feel about it, and be sympathetic. Draw them out on exactly why they don’t like it. Assume they might be correct and get them to describe the lesson, perhaps request a comical reenactment to put them at ease and make them give you more details. You’re on their side.

Then, if the child’s attitude persists or gets worse, you have two choices.

First, try a different piano teacher. Spend your time talking to local people and find out if there is someone who specializes in children and has a reputation for making music fun for your age group. Find out which teachers are disciplinarians and avoid them, especially with younger kids.

The only other alternative is to give in to the child, and let them quit. It may actually be a better solution than allowing the bad feelings in the lessons to continue. Try a different instrument, switch to guitar, trumpet, drums, anything.

Or take a break from lessons and try again later when you’re sure a better teacher can be found. Find out what things the child finds fun about musical instruments. Go to a store and try out musical instruments.

Let them try a variety of instruments until they find one that suits them, and at which they seem comfortable and willing to expend at least a reasonable amount of effort.

Music lessons for children should be an enjoyable experience, and if it’s not, there’s something wrong.

The number one rule is to never force a child to learn music. Ever.

If you force them, I guarantee you they will end up hating it.

by John Aschenbrenner Copyright 2008 Walden Pond Press

If you’re merely playing a song from beginning to end, over and over, you may not be using your piano practice time as efficiently as you might.

There are several unwritten rules that professional classical pianists use to maximize practice time, and you might do well to find out about them, regardless of the style of music you play.

You can adjust these practicing techniques to suit your personal style. If you use these ideas you’ll soon find that your playing becomes polished more quickly.

These ideas apply to learning and practicing any style of music, not just classical piano. I use them with children of all ages and abilities, with great success.

The first rule is to practice only the hard parts you don’t know, at first. A general rule of thumb is that the hard parts should sound as good as the easy parts, and until they do, don’t waste your time enjoying the easy parts.

Invest your time in solving the difficult problems first. Pay these dues and many an “impossible” piece will be yours, and fun to play. Have a strategy for learning the piece.

The second rule is to play the difficult parts slowly and with hands separate for as long as it takes for each passage to be perfectly memorized and fluid, even if it is very slow. If you’re looking at a page of sheet music during a hard spot, you defeat the whole purpose of learning the passage.

The purpose of piano practice is to CALMLY observe your hands and pay attention to where your fingers go, and see where the patterns of keys are.

Memorize first. Enjoy later.

The third rule is to divide the piece into sections and attempt to achieve a basic continuity from one large passage to another. In other words, all transitions between musical ideas must be rehearsed and thought out, so that they appear effortless and logical, instead of bumpy and at the mercy of various difficulties.

Even small piano pieces benefit from this approach.

Larger pieces, such as Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy or Liszt’s massive B minor Sonata, are all but impossible to master without a similar approach, unless you’re Liszt himself.

And there are pianists who have achieved that Lisztian, astronomical level of sight-reading, believe me. But I’m not one, and you’re not likely to be one, either, with all due respect.

For us mortal pianists, the Rules of Piano Practice must be followed if you want to learn difficult material quickly.

by John Aschenbrenner Copyright 2008 Walden Pond Press