Mikes Music Room – Music Articles

If you ever wanted to learn to play the piano, keyboard or organ, now is the time to give it a try.

There are many people that would like to play a keyboard instrument but never quite got round to it. Traditionally, if you wanted to learn to play the piano, you needed a piano and a piano teacher or piano lessons. Now we live in the 21st century, you can download your piano lessons and you can buy a roll up keyboard for less than thirty pounds.

For many people the expensive involved just to start piano lessons could be immense. For a start, you would need to buy a piano, which before modern keyboards could cost thousands of pounds. Then the cost of piano lessons on top of the cost of buying the piano is already proving to be very expensive and then, what if you don’t take to it, all that money wasted.

Now there is a new way

We live in a time when you can learn virtually anything. You can actually start to learn the piano for less than fifty pounds.

First, you buy yourself a beginner keyboard. This can be a roll up piano, which are incredibly cheap and don’t take up any room, because you can roll it up when you finished with it. Alternatively, you could buy yourself a used standard keyboard with a keyboard stand and there are literally hundreds of second-hand keyboards for sale every day on online auctions sites.

Next, download a piano learning course. Beginner courses start from five pounds to more advanced courses costing up to fifty pounds.

Do you need a piano teacher?

As a piano teacher myself I would have to say yes, but you don’t need a piano teacher right away. If after your initial expense of buying a keyboard and online piano lessons, you feel you could go further then yes absolutely try piano lessons with a teacher and then maybe buy a better piano/keyboard.

What if playing piano is not for you

If learning to play the piano is not for you, then its cost you about fifty pounds and not thousands. At least you can always say you gave it a try. Not everybody will take to playing the piano. On the other hand, what if you do take to it, what if you are a natural talent, you’ll never know until you try. So if you ever wanted to learn to play the piano, whatever your age, in today’s internet age it’s never been a better or easier time to start. You never know, you might have a hidden talent.

Your child can announce that he wants to play the piano when he comes home. The question of he is too young, always arises. Generally anything under 4 or 5 is too young however children under 4 can still be introduced to music in many forms including piano that is appropriate for age and attention span. Many lessons can be learned by young children when put in the form of music. If your child is under 4, check with the local musical schools or pre-schools to see if they have any kind of musical programs for your child.

There have been many studies done regarding children and exposure to music with many positive results. Children exposed or involved in music early, learn to read earlier and generally score better on tests (even standardized tests such as SAT etc.).

Only you can tell if purchasing an acoustic piano is right for you and your budget; or perhaps you want to let your child first start with a digital one (less expensive) and judge to see if the expense is warranted based on your child’s enthusiasm.

Upright pianos and the grand piano style are examples of an acoustic piano. A digital one is just the key board and the electronics give all the sounds of a piano without taking up the room like an acoustic takes. Perhaps if space is tight in your house then a digital piano might be the way to go.

Since we are talking about teaching young children, the prospective teacher should be approachable, with the ability to motivate your child through inventive lessons. A devoted teacher will treat each child as an individual and gear lessons towards both your child’s strengths and weaknesses.

Ask the teacher about their philosophy on piano technique. Some teach that the fingers and only the fingers should be involved in playing, while others believe the whole arm is involved. See what the teacher feels is appropriate for your child and ask how they go about teaching it.

One method of teaching that does work with very young music students is called the Suzuki method. The drawback of this method is that it concentrates on developing istening skills but doesn’t teach the reading of musical notes until the child gets older. Some teachers swear by this method while others disagree.

The Music Tree (or Clark Method) does a very good job teaching the basics. The lessons teach the reading of music as well as counting, phrases and form from day one.

A very popular series is written by Nancy and Randall Faber (Faber & Faber) and is used by many teachers. The position method is taught in these books and it reinforces proper hand position and appropriate suggestions for counting.

There are many other methods used by teachers and the goal will be to find the right teacher and method for your child. Many teachers believe that playing scales over and over is the right thing to do, where as others feel it’s making a child do something that is not necessary. Some children do well with one method and not with another.

When speaking with the prospective teacher, ask about what books they use. Is it possible they loan the books to you until you know if the method they are going to use will be good for your child. That way should your child decide he doesn’t want to play piano anymore; maybe it has to do with the method being taught. Find out how flexible is the teacher when it comes to method.

By doing some foot work following your child’s announcement of wanting to play piano, you will be giving your child the gift of music today and long into their future.

Playing the piano is a very special gift and one that you can share with your children. You may be wondering how to teach piano to your children as it may have been long ago that you started playing. You need to get them back to the basics though so they can build up that knowledge.

There are plenty of books and websites out there that will give you pointers on how to teach piano to your children. This way you can find a good starting point and develop lesson plays. You want to teach them at their own level so if you have several children you may need to make the lesson plans specific for each of them.

You also want to be very patient. If your children find you are nervous or uptight about it then they will be nervous too. You should be prepared for mistakes along the way and for them to need extra time to learn certain things. If your children want to play the piano it is going to be easier. They will be motivated to learn it and that is what you want. Some parents force it on their children though so they are resistant.

Let them get used to the piano keys and how the sounds are formed. Many of the early lessons will include playing scales on the piano. This way they can hear the different pitches for the keys. In no time they will even notice when they are hitting the wrong keys due to the sounds that are produced.

Learning to read music and associating that with the keys is going to take time. It is best to not introduce that immediately as it can result in your children becoming frustrated with the project. Let them get some early confidence and amusement from the piano. Then they will be excited to learn all the elements to play any song they wish.

Make sure you are familiar with the teaching materials before you use them. That way you can determine what to use and what to skip over. Each student is different too so you may be able to move along faster with one child than the others. Don’t try to keep them all at the same place as that will be holding them back. Instead work out individual plans that work for each of them.

No matter which method you use for how to teach piano to your children you want it to be fun for them. Offer plenty of encouragement and praise for their efforts. When you see they are making improvements make sure they know how proud of them you are. It will encourage them to continue working hard. Offer some rewards too when they reach certain milestones as well.

You can also have them perform a small recital at home for friends and family. This is a great way for them to show off what they have learned from you. Playing the piano will be something they can enjoy the rest of their life. Hopefully they will have fond memories of you teaching them how to play it. Maybe one day they will consider how to teach piano to their own children. This could become a tradition that continues on for many generations.

In the world of pianists, teachers and students, one hears the phrase, “My, you have great piano hands.”

What they mean, of course, is that your hands are shaped well for the piano.

But what is the proper shape of a hand for the piano? Are there many shapes?

The answer is, of course, there are as many hands as there are ways to play the piano.

In history, great pianists have had both large and small hands. In practical terms, a pianist should be able to stretch ten white keys to navigate the principal piano literature.

Rachmaninoff, a huge bear of a man, had giant hands that could stretch twelve white keys on the piano. Many pianists have trouble with his music for this very reason. But in contrast, there are pianists who specialize in Rachmaninoff, quite well, like Alicia de la Rocha, who has very small hands. It’s all in the mind.

Josef Hoffman had such small hands that Steinway built him a special grand piano which he used for concerts. Each key was a tiny increment narrower than a regulation