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Piano : crazy idea
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My six year old wants to learn to play piano very badly. I would like my younger son to learn as well (down the road). I am having a hard time finding a piano teacher with openings who will take a six year old. Would it be crazy to take lessons myself and then teach my children? I can read music and have played other instruments, but not piano. I understand that this would be a short term solution (a year or two) to get them started and at some point they would need a more knowledgeable instructor. Is this a crazy bad idea?
I don’t think it’s crazy or bad. I did the same thing when my daughter wanted to learn violin at age 6, except I didn’t even take lessons myself. I had a background with flute, so I knew how to read music already.
We got two fairly inexpensive violins and I used youtube to learn to play enough to teach her the basics. Our city has a strings program for kids aged 8 and up that costs about 1/3 the price of private lessons, so I knew I just needed to learn enough to get through a couple of years.
Even if you don’t want to take lessons, I know for piano there are several online options that you could work through with your son. Hoffman Academy is the one I’ve heard most about, although we haven’t used it. My 8yo son is using a Piano book series called “Piano Adventures” to basically teach himself. It is very well laid out, with excellent explanations If you already read music, you could totally use it to get a 6yo started.
Go for it!
My 6YO and 7YO are both using Children’s Music Journey right now to learn basic piano, as did my two boys before them. It might be a great fit for your daughter until she is old enough to enter the Strings program.
I am so thankful you asked this question. My daughter wants to learn the piano, but we don’t have money for lessons nor a piano. Does anyone know if buying one of the less expensive electronic keyboard will work in place of a piano to get started? Thanks.
I bought my daughter a $100 Cassio keyboard as a beginning instrument for learning piano. She has been taking lessons for over a year now and doing very well. The keyboard has not been an issue for her practicing. She’s made tremendous progress.
I am planning on buying a better keyboard sometime in the future so that she can have all the piano keys to play harder pieces on. At this point my daughter’s teacher just modifies each piece to be playable on our keyboard.
I don’t have room for a piano so it isn’t an option for my small house but if you have room, people are constantly giving away pianos for free. I have been offered 4 pianos in the past few years. You’ll be surprised if you put the word out on facebook and at church and give it a bit of time. You might just end up with a free piano!
In fact, I have been offered 2 keyboard pianos and am going to look at them this week to see if they are better than the one we already have.
I am going to answer this as a classically trained pianist. Many teachers will not take young students for a variety of reasons. But usually the main reason is the piano is a huge instrument and their little fingers are not always big and strong enough to properly handle the keys, which can be extremely frustrating; and that it is quite important that the child can read on his/her own. I hope this explanation helps you understand where most are coming from! I personally would NOT recommend that you take beginner lessons then go home and teach your daughter what you are learning as you learn it. This is why. You will be taught at a completely different rate and style of learning because an adult mind and a child’s mind on not on the same level of learning. And you are not trained to look out for certain bad habits that must not be formed in a beginner nor will you know how to teach her what you are learning on her level at an appropriate pace. I strongly recommend you continue to feed her love of music by letting her listen to music of the great composers, take her to piano recitals, and tell her that very soon she will be ready for lessons of her own! And in the meantime, use that lesson money to save up for a real piano for her to take lessons on. Believe me it makes a HUGE difference for the student! I hope this isn’t too discouraging for you!
I have a BS and an MME in Music Ed, and my major was Piano……so I agree with Amber, as a piano teacher.
I have tried to teach a little 5yo girl, and it was really hard! A half hour lesson was too long, and I ended up doing some classroom-type music lessons with her, just to take up the time! It wasn’t a waste of time, but it wasn’t piano, either.
That all said, if you feel it’s best for her, and God’s will for her to have lessons at this point, don’t let a nay-sayer or two intimidate you! Just be willing to perhaps pay for more than you’re getting.
For example, maybe you can talk a piano teacher into giving her a 10 min. lesson twice a week. You’ll probably pay more per lesson-minute that way, but it will be more enjoyable for both student and teacher.
I don’t think I’d let her start lessons on a smaller-key keyboard, though. Her teacher’s piano will have full-size keys, and it’s so hard to acclimate to full-size keys from little keys when you’re a beginner. The exception would be IF her teacher comes to your house and she is okay with her playing on a small keyboard.
I teach three kids in their home, on a small keyboard. It’s certainly not ideal, but the parents aren’t willing to spring for a piano. So it is what it is.
I hope this helps you! In the end, you’re the mom! Do what you feel is the right thing to do.
P.s. I now realize I typed this LONG answer assuming your 6yo is a girl. My apologies for assuming!
My youngest DD started piano at 5yo. I haven’t had trouble finding teachers for her age. They are much more laid back teachers (we’ve had two since we moved a year ago), and I think many of their more serious students switch to more demanding teachers. One teacher was a semi-retired public school teacher, so she was great with young children. The other is a mom of a large family. They’ve both been great and kept her lessons short and simple. A teacher good with small children can make a great difference. Some teachers do better with older children, and some do very well with younger children.
I think they do progress really slow at that age, so I think that’s why many prefer to wait until they are a bit older. It is sort of silly to spend so much on lessons I could easily do myself, but we already have three older DC taking lessons as well.
One thing to keep in mind (no matter what you decide) is that you will probably have to help her quite a bit with lessons. It’s rare for me to help my older DC, but my youngest still needs help getting started or just giving her some encouragement. They all need frequent reminders to practice too. 😉 Either way, you will have a big part in her lessons. For her first several months of lessons, I pretty much had to sit right beside her the entire time.
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