If you do not have a piano

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Written by Silvi Dion

Category: Music Education

Published: 18 March 2016

Hits: 598

If you do not have a piano and planning on buying one, I would highly recommend that you purchase a digital piano that has a touch sensitive keyboard, also called a dynamic keyboard. The new digital pianos are hardly distinguished in sound from the grand piano, but they offer so much more to the piano student and they never need tuning. They provide all the fun with rhythms, arrangements and other sounds. By learning to play on the keyboard you learn 2 instruments at once, but learning to play the piano teaches you only the piano. Rhythm is the base of music, the piano has no ways of teaching rhythms unless you use the annoying clicking metronome. But the digital keyboard has all that you need to grasp and master any rhythm.   

 

A Daily Practise Routine with Flex

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Written by Silvi Dion

Category: Music Education

Published: 18 March 2016

Hits: 566

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A DAILY PRACTISE ROUTINE WITH FLEX

 

The reason why practise is often an issue with children is because it is not a part of the child’s daily routine. Parents often think it’s just a matter of having time, and may chose a random and different time for practise every day.

This fails, because a young child needs to be in the mood to practise. It’s not just getting something done, but also, enjoying it.

Children enjoy practise, more when it’s a routine. Because they become accustomed to practising and also, because, they know there’s time set aside for it and therefore, they don’t feel pressure.

A good practise schedule would be:

·         5 days a week

·         2 days of practise holiday but not 2 consecutive days (Break this rule and allow your child a 2 day week-end off, when your child has been practising a lot and needs a break)

 

Incorporate a little bit of flexibility in the daily routine

·         Schedule 2 practise slots on a week day – one early evening, before play or study time and one before dinner. For example: If your young child needs 15 minutes a day, schedule 2 – 15 minute slots. So children have a choice – to divide practise into 2 slots or use just one slot. Giving a child a choice makes a big difference!

 

·         Buffer time – leave a little ‘empty’ time – 5 or 10 minutes before and after practise. Relaxed children play better, learn quickly, and have less technical problems related to muscular tension. They also go to the piano just to ‘fool around’ outside of their practise ‘homework’ and start exploring the piano on their own.

Getting Your Child to the Piano at Practise Time

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Written by Silvi Dion

Category: Music Education

Published: 18 March 2016

Hits: 611

GETTING YOUR CHILD TO THE PIANO AT PRACTISE TIME

 

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Young piano students generally don’t practise unless there’s supervision. They need help with scheduling practise and they also need daily reminders to practise. Here are a few effective and not so effective ways that parents handle the daily reminders.

·         Tell my children to practise and they will do it on their own

Most parents who do this and expect instant obedience will fail. Some of them might also make the mistake of thinking that their child is not interested in piano playing, because they don’t obey.

What many parents don’t realise is that piano playing is a very solitary hobby for the young piano student and what they most want, in order to practise, is company, just someone to be around, listen and enjoy their playing.

This method often degenerates into the next method.

·         Shout and lecture on a daily basis

This is the most ineffective way of getting practise done and the cause of a large number of children losing interest in piano playing. Some children, who are still very keen on learning despite this, get very defensive and their minds just shut down, so at piano class, convincing them to learn something new becomes a very difficult task for the teacher.

·         Set a practise time, and see that the child is free at that time, remind your child twice

This is the most effective, and a large number of musical children who do well, have parents who do this. Children usually respond to the second reminder and parents who are prepared to remind their child twice do not get irritated when their child doesn’t go to the piano at first reminder.

·         Listen to your child either during practise or at the end of the day, 3 times a week – preferably on alternate days

This works very well for parents who are both working and come home too late to be there at practise time. For most children, just a reminder that they have to play for their parents is enough to motivate them to practise.

·         Convince your child that you need them to play the piano, so that you can relax after a busy day

One parent came out with this really creative solution. Her child would often tell me that she had to practise every day, because that was the only time her parents could relax and unwind. The parent would lie down on a yoga mat and use practise time to do some relaxation techniques!

Young children, who get the support they need in the early years, will grow into teens who want to practise daily. The role of the parent will change, from scheduling practise and daily supervision, to helping their child to this on their own.

ELIZA SAYS

PIANO TEACHING & OTHER STUFF

 

 

Practise Techniques for the Young Child

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Written by Silvi Dion

Category: Music Education

Published: 18 March 2016

Hits: 575

PRACTISE TECHNIQUES FOR THE YOUNG CHILD

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As the level of difficulty increases, young children often find they cannot cope. This is because they just want to play their pieces through and do not realise the value of practise techniques. This is usually where parents step in – and see that their child reads and follows instructions in the homework book.

Here’s a list of practise techniques that help the young child practise, as the level of difficulty escalates.

 

·         the Bit-by-Bit Approach

 

1.      Start with a small section and play a few times until it’s reasonably well done

2.      Add on a few more notes or bars – only so much that it’s still easy and repeat step 1

3.      Keep doing this until 1 or 2 phrases of music are done

 

·         Clap-on-lap

Sit at the piano with your book open, hands on your lap and clap out the rhythm of your piece – both hands together, on your lap.

·         Count loud while clapping or playing

 

·         Play separate hands and sing while playing – this is useful for difficult or especially challenging sections and also helps in memorising.

 

These techniques help children get results with a shorter practise time.

 

ELIZA SAYS

PIANO TEACHING & OTHER STUFF