Have you noticed any signs that your son or daughter has a special interest in music? In this article, I explain how to recognize excessive interest in music. And why piano lessons for beginners is an excellent way to further develop that love of music. I also share a simple exercise your child can use at home to discover if piano lessons for beginners is an appropriate next step for your son or daughter.
How do you recognize an interest in music in your child?
Sometimes it is very obvious that a child loves music. For example, when it hums all day. Often asks for music to be put on in the car or prefers toys that make sound. There are also less obvious signs that may indicate an above-average interest in music, including:
- Sensitivity to sounds: Does your son or daughter stop what it is doing as soon as it hears music? Or does he/she recognize songs even after just a few listens?
- Sense of rhythm: Does your child regularly drum on the table or their own legs? Does it rhythmically tap its feet along with the music being heard? These can be signs of a good sense of rhythm and possible interest in making music.
- Interest in musical instruments: Does your child stand fascinated watching people play an instrument? Does it always want to touch the keys of a piano when it sees them? Or does he/she regularly ask questions about musical instruments? These are often signs of genuine interest.
- Singing: Does your child sing ad nauseam 😉 along with familiar songs. Does he/she invent his/her own songs? If so, piano lessons for beginners may well be a good start to further explore his/her possible musical interest and talent.
Why start piano lessons for beginners?
When your child seems interested in, making, music and you want to explore whether learning to play a musical instrument is for him or her, where do you start? Piano lessons for beginners is a very appropriate start to the search.
Unlike other instruments such as the violin, guitar or wind instruments, minimal strength and no specific posture are required to play the piano. Nor do you need to first learn special techniques to play a pure tone. This makes it an attractive and approachable instrument to begin with. And because the keys are arranged rectilinearly with two-color keys, it is relatively easier to learn to understand notes and scales.
Piano lessons for beginners quickly give you a sense of accomplishment and encourage you to keep going. This makes the piano a very good instrument to begin your child's musical exploration.
Other skills you develop through piano lessons for beginners
Playing the piano is much more than just pressing keys. It is a multi-faceted activity that helps children and adolescents develop in a broad sense. Such as:
- While playing the piano, you use both hands, all your fingers and your feet at the same time. This requires multitasking and good hand-eye coordination;
- Learning to play the piano, helps children learn to concentrate on a task for an extended period of time. A skill that will come in handy for the rest of his or her life;
- Playing the piano enhances working memory because continuous mental and physical activity takes place simultaneously.
Piano lessons for beginners, home practice
Before you enroll your child in piano lessons for beginners, you can begin to discover at home whether piano playing appeals to your child.
- Take a simple keyboard or download an app download on a tablet and take a few minutes to learn the notes on the piano and their corresponding notations on paper. Start with the white keys and learn the names: A, B, C, D, E, F, G.
- Memorize the names of the notes and play a simple song using one of the many tutorials you can find on YouTube. Such as this.
- Or watch the following video I made myself and imitate me.
- Use an application like Simply Piano to get a feel for the basics of piano playing. For example, by practicing the C major scale.
- Start by finding the C key (the white key immediately to the left of the group of two black keys).
- Play the notes up: C - D - E - F - G - A - B - C.
- Then play the same notes down again: C - B - A - G - F - E - D - C.
- Repeat this a few times, trying to do it faster and faster without errors.
Start piano lessons for beginners
Learning to play the piano is a great start to a journey of musical discovery. By taking lessons and experimenting with the instrument, it quickly becomes clear that your child has an aptitude and interest in making music. It is important that your child remains motivated to learn and practice new things. The piano has proven to be extremely suitable for this purpose.
Wondering if piano lessons for beginners is something for your child? Then get started with the exercises above or book a trial lesson.
Will you let me know how the exercises went?
Musical greetings,
Mkhitar Ghazaryan
