Does Music Really Make Kids Smarter? I received an email last week from a musician questioning the music and math connection recent studies have found. He said he has many friends who are terrific musicians but can hardly solve simple math problems. Most parents already know about the music and math connection and our website has links to the research indicating children who are exposed to early piano instruction do better in school. However, this musician’s email got me thinking about all the things we do as parents of young children to give our kids every advantage as they face the challenges ahead of them and all the other reasons parents choose to teach their children beginning piano at home with Piano for Preschoolers.

I’m very grateful to all the parents who take the time to write to me and tell me how well their children are doing with Piano for Preschoolers. Their stories are all different and they decided to teach their children beginning piano at home for a variety of reasons, but one thing is always the same.

Regardless of the age their child started learning or how far they’ve gotten in the course, these parents are beaming with pride and amazed at how quickly their children are picking up the beginning musical concepts. The children are excited to be playing songs they recognize and the parents are having as much fun as the kids!

I know when my kids were infants well-meaning people would tell me “they grow up so fast – enjoy these times”. But in my sleep-deprived state, I was just trying to make it through the day and didn’t really take their comments to heart. As they grew into curious preschoolers I tried to give them the most loving and nurturing environment possible to discover what the world had to offer. Now that they’re elementary and middle school aged, I know how fast the time really goes and the special times we spent learning and exploring together during those early years are special memories.

Yes, the research clearly shows a connection between early piano instruction and increased intelligence later in life. Yes, the coordination and confidence your child will develop by using all of his senses learning to play the piano will help him down the road in countless ways. Yes, you can teach your child beginning piano at home even if you’ve never played a note with Piano for Preschoolers.

However, what touches my heart more than anything else are the stories of the special times together and the wonderful memories created as children play songs they love while parents sing along. Does this mean your child will become a math whiz or play Carnegie Hall? I don’t know. What I do know is parents throughout the country are teaching their children beginning piano at home with Piano for Preschoolers and giving their children every advantage they can as they help their children develop critical skills that will carry them forward. 0 comments

Fun Ways to Teach Rhythm One of the more challenging things for most parents to teach is rhythm. Throughout Piano for Preschoolers there are tips and exercises to help your child play with a steady rhythm and learn timing. One of the best ways to help your child get the rhythm right is to clap the notes instead of playing them on your piano or keyboard. Once your child starts to understand how long he/she is supposed to hold down each note you can start learning a new song by clapping the rhythm together before your child plays the notes on the piano. To do this simply clap each note as you sing the lyrics of the song holding your hands together for the longer notes. For example, if your child is about to learn to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as you sing twinkle twinkle little star how I wonder what you are it would go something like clap clap clap clap clap clap clap hold clap clap clap clap clap clap clap hold. The important part is to keep your clapping steady. By the way, if your child continues studying music there is a tool called a metronome which ticks and tocks in the background as your child practices to help keep a steady rhythm. For now, singing along and clapping are much less intimidating and more fun. To change things up a bit, try slapping your thigh or stomping your foot instead of clapping as you sing the lyrics.

You can also play some fun rhythm games that will not only help your child keep a steady rhythm but also help with many forms of coordination and memory skills. For example, first establish the beat by tapping your foot or slapping your thigh or even nodding your head. Then, clap a short sequence (perhaps clap clap clap hold clap clap clap hold or clap clap hold clap clap clap hold clap) and ask your child to repeat it. Have fun with this and after you’ve demonstrated a few sequences ask your child to make up a new sequence and you repeat it.

Clapping the rhythm of poetry and nursery rhymes as you read them helps your child learn about rhythm. Little Jack Horner sat in the corner or Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet would be clap clap clap clap hold and clap clap clap clap hold and so on …

Remember as you’re exposing your child to these different exercises you are not only teaching very important early piano concepts but also helping establish the neural connections that will benefit your child in so many ways in the future. There are some incredible correlations to be found between musical structures, patterns found in the natural world and complex mathematical phenomena. It may all seem like just a lot of fun as you’re singing and clapping along but the long term benefits of this special time together go way beyond the fun. 0 comments