You Are Your Child's Best First Piano Teacher Welcome to the new Piano for Preschoolers blog. This format will allow me to share additional tips and ideas as you and your child work through our course. Please chime in with any suggestions or feedback that would be helpful to others as they teach their children beginning piano.

Speaking of teaching your children, I had an interesting call the other day from a mom whose four-year-old had been told by his piano teacher never to come back after his weekly lesson. Apparently the boy cried the entire way home from the lesson. This child really wanted to learn to play the piano and the mom was searching for a method she could teach at home. As we talked I was reminded of the many reasons why a caring parent or grandparent is a child’s best first piano teacher.

As a parent or grandparent of a preschooler you know your child best. When you teach your child beginning piano at home you can work on a lesson with your child when they are most receptive. You don’t have to drive to a lesson at a scheduled time when your child may or may not be in the mood. You also know when to stop; whether its after five minutes or your child wants to continue for half an hour. After all, you’ve already taught your child so many things. Beginning piano is just another skill you can teach him/her if you have a method that breaks the musical concepts down into tiny steps and is fun enough to keep your child engaged and ready to learn more.

Besides, the special times together make wonderful memories rather than the sad story this mom shared with me. Many parents call me because they can’t find a piano teacher who will take their 3-5 year old children and they’ve already been through the group music classes that don’t really teach a child to play. Many of these children are eager to learn and I don’t think it is fair to them to ask them to wait until a teacher is ready for them at 6 or 7. By then they may be involved in sports and other activities and their interest in learning to play the piano may have vanished. A caring parent or grandparent with the proper method can successfully and easily teach their preschooler beginning piano. People all over the country are doing it and I am proud to hear from them frequently.

Until next time … keep playing (the piano and in life),
Angie 0 comments