anyone else have their 4 year old learning piano?

Ima2NYM_LTR

Mon, Feb 16 2009, 2:10 pm

My son is learning piano for a year now and he has trouble remembering the base clef notes, and remembering to go backwards. Any advice?

amother

Mon, Feb 16 2009, 2:24 pm

I teach piano to kids ages 4 and up (plus my own kids at younger ages). Four is super young to learn, but of course some kids are ready. If your son has the fine motor skills to learn to play without getting frustrated, that's great. Just encourage him in the areas he can develop for now.

Most four-year-olds aren't really ready for serious note-reading. A lot of the learning is by rote and imitation, with intro to note-reading woven in, and getting more in depth as they become ready.

I would totally take the pressure off your son to read notes (except what he has already learned - let that sink in and gel for a while). Let him enjoy playing and develop his ability to coordinate his fingers and hands, and hear and repeat rhythms, etc. (but don't expect perfect tempo at this point either). Basically, keep it light and fun and focus on his strengths, and he will stay interested long enough to grow into the rest!

Ima2NYM_LTR

Mon, Feb 16 2009, 2:33 pm

problem is there has been 2 different teachers and 2 different methods. we are switching back to teacher 2 (long story) and she likes the kids using a series of books, so when we restart with her I dont know if she will consider him as doing ok

amother

Mon, Feb 16 2009, 2:40 pm

I have never heard of a teacher expecting note-reading (especially bass clef) from a four-year-old, unless your son is a prodigy (and maybe he is! I'm just saying...). There are much more effective methods for such young children and I would seriously question a teacher who expected a kid who's four to do the same method as an older child. In my lessons, I always tailor the approach to the age of the child. A four-year-old should have lots of action - alternating between playing and clapping, even marching or using large muscles to feel rhythm, etc. Fun stuff on the keys - like finding all the B's all over the piano - highest and lowest - and playing loud and soft, fast and slow.

There's so much to learn. Note-reading does not at all have to come first. A love for music, a feel for music, and basic skills to build on incrementally... those come first. Progress happens quickly, and your child will amaze you, but in an age-appropriate way!

amother

Mon, Feb 16 2009, 2:41 pm

Just want to add that if you do really want to build more note-reading skills for your son, do it in a fun way. Use giant flashcards or make a bass clef out of tape on the floor that he can step on... there are ways. But it should be light and fun at his age.

Ima2NYM_LTR

Mon, Feb 16 2009, 2:43 pm

these are the books she has me using http://musicforlittlemozarts.com/

he is at the end of book 2

amother

Mon, Feb 16 2009, 3:06 pm

OK, that's very interesting! I looked at the link. The books look like they have a fun approach, based on the description (although I couldn't find sample pages to look at on the site). I see that book two makes the transition from rote to note-reading. It's very possible that your son is just not ready for that, or he may be ready but may need a lot more time to move into reading notes.

Age four is VERY different than age 6. A four-year-old might stay at a plateau for a long time, just using what he knows and playing for fun. You might consider suspending formal lessons and just encourage him to play for a while (a few months, even a year) before getting back into it, since lessons kind of lead to a pressure to keep making "progress." At age four, you might not see the same steady, move-through-the-book progress as you would expect with a six-year-old (or possibly five-year-old).

I will try to find the books on Amazon and maybe there are pages I could look at there, and reviews for more info. I'm interested to find out more.

Ima2NYM_LTR

Mon, Feb 16 2009, 4:02 pm

thanks for the advice

amother

Mon, Feb 16 2009, 6:26 pm

I looked at the series in more detail on Amazon. They don't have book two to look at, but I looked at a different one to get a feel for it. It's cute. For some kids, the fact that there's so much going on on the page could be overwhelming (story, picture, info, song, duet part), and I tend to like a more streamlined approach that I can spice up myself depending on exactly what the child seems to need.

But that aside, it's cute and it goes very, very slowly and incrementally. The songs are more like exercises, and I think that's OK for very young kids (older kids get bored with that and want more music-like music).

What I'm thinking more and more (not knowing your son, of course), is that although the course is geared toward kids 4-6, and a four-year-old can start off fine, it's highly likely that he won't be able to keep up once he hits a place where developmentally he's just not ready. If a six-year-old started the course, he'd move right through.

Does this sound like it makes sense for your son?

By the way, I have a four-year-old myself, and I've been teaching her piano for about a year. She has a good ear, good sense of tempo, a good memory, and a lot of patience (and, I suppose, genes for music). And she moves at a snail's pace, mamash. She loves when I teach her, but it's like for 5 minutes or 10 at a time, max. (Could be every day sometimes, or after a week or more.) She might learn a measure or two of something, or just review the same part of a song she has been trying to learn for months.

I suppose I could teach her to read notes (she recognizes a bit), but at this point we're learning by naming the notes instead (so she knows to play C, D, E... but not necessary what they look like on the page). If she were taking lessons from someone else, and had to show up with some kind of progress each week, I think she would feel pressured and lose interest.

Also, I think if she were "required" to learn to read notes (well) at this stage, she wouldn't be able to do it, at least not without doing lots and lots of make-it-into-a-game stuff, and reinforcing the info for a long time.

STILL.... if you want your son to learn to read notes now, and if he seems interested (very important), then you could put little stickers with each note on a staff, right onto the piano keys. OR... get a system where the notes are color-coded, and you put color-coded stickers on the keys, too.

Just a bunch of thoughts & ideas for you!! Does anything resonate?

micki

Mon, Feb 16 2009, 7:14 pm

isn't it a bit like potty training? wait till they are ready and then they will fly?
start too early and you will only be frustrated?
(my kids start at 7)

Ima2NYM_LTR

Mon, Feb 16 2009, 7:21 pm

I guess it all makes sense and thank you.

maybe the next step is to have the other teacher start back an re-evaluate. he might do better with her than he has been doing, esp. since w/ this teacher it was so sporadic (8 lessons since November)

Then if she thinks slowing down is a good idea, I would definitely agree to that.

amother

Mon, Feb 16 2009, 7:50 pm

Hatzlacha, whatever you decide to do. I'm sure that your son already has a great early foundation for learning and appreciating music, and you'll be able to build on that very nicely, whether now or later.

And don't forget, even without taking lessons, you can do lots of music activities and games at home just for fun and to keep up his interest.

amother

Mon, Feb 16 2009, 8:42 pm

micki wrote:

isn't it a bit like potty training? wait till they are ready and then they will fly?
start too early and you will only be frustrated?
(my kids start at 7)

That must have cost you a fortune in diapers.

Atali

Mon, Feb 16 2009, 9:09 pm

amother wrote:

micki wrote:

isn't it a bit like potty training? wait till they are ready and then they will fly?
start too early and you will only be frustrated?
(my kids start at 7)

That must have cost you a fortune in diapers.

amother

Mon, Feb 16 2009, 9:42 pm

Atali wrote:

amother wrote:

micki wrote:

isn't it a bit like potty training? wait till they are ready and then they will fly?
start too early and you will only be frustrated?
(my kids start at 7)

That must have cost you a fortune in diapers.

I agree!

But I know what you meant, and I agree with your analogy. Kids are very good at showing you when they're ready for each new developmental step. And with playing piano, a lot of it is developmental and you can't rush it.

LuckyMum

Mon, Feb 16 2009, 11:08 pm

one very important factor - from my own childhood experience of starting lessons young - 6 yrs old. keep it fun and pressure free. I found that I lost interest in the early stages because it was too much learning all the technical stuff, note reading... my teacher wasnt into playing for fun, by ear... I took a year break and than started again at about 8, I guess I was more ready for the technicalities then and thats when I started making proggress.