Piano Lessons for Children
"The musician is constantly adjusting decisions on tempo, tone, style, rhythm, phrasing and feeling - training the brain to become incredibly good at organising and conducting numerous activities at once. Dedicated practice of this orchestration can have a great payoff for lifelong attentional skills, intelligence and an ability for self-knowledge and expression." John J. Ratey MDMusic Makes Your Child More Intelligent…
… and making music is even much more beneficial than listening to music. The combination of a boost of IQ levels, enhancement of early brain development, discipline, development of a cultured personality and taste, self-expression, joy of delving into musical sounds and playing together with others is an attractive prospect for most parents. Learning to make music helps to improve language and social skills, memory capacity, boost creativity and, generally speaking, shape mental, emotional, physical and social aspects of childhood development. Music paves the way not only to a better understanding of maths and science but significantly enhances children's learning speed and absorption ability. Studying the piano requires concentration, comprehension and immediate physical translation of complex concepts, it stimulates fine motor control, breathing and essential relaxation controls. But not only is learning the piano beneficial for the sake of its inherent practice challenges - performances from an early age also contribute to the development of a healthy self-esteem and facilitate later school and university exams, public appearances with verbal presentations etc.
If you are interested in conducting some research into the benefits of instrumental tuition in childhood I would recommend to look at some of the following books to start with:
There is also a rather large quantity of online articles on the topic, here is just a small selection:
Music Lessons in Early Childhood May Improve Brain's Performance
This is How Music Can Change Your Brain
The Benefits of Music Education
Music Training Improves Adolescent Brain Development
How Tuition for Children Works:
- Awakening a child's interest in making music and playing the piano specifically in the most creative and interactive way possible is the key at the very beginning of tuition
- The earliest age for starting is about three years old provided that the child is familiar with the first four numbers and is at least in the process of learning the first seven letters of the alphabet; a parent's or guardian's presence in lessons and participation in home practice is crucial for a successful start at pre-school age
- Generally speaking, children and teenagers of any age are welcome to start as complete beginners
- Transfer pupils of all ages and all levels are also welcome
- In the UK, children have access to an incredible range of various kinds of performance opportunities starting with small school assemblies and going through taking exams, participating in festivals and competitions and playing in concerts
- Pupils are usually advised to take ABRSM exams but preparation for other boards is also possible when preferable
- Please check the News page for information on events, competition prize winners etc
The more specific aspects of tuition are described on the pages for Beginners and Advanced Pupils.
It would also be a great idea to complement children's learning with extra reading at home whenever there is time to keep the interest awake. I would recommend the following books for independent reading/listening:
A great series of audiobooks about various composers directed at younger children would also be highly recommendable even if your child is not yet playing any pieces by these composers:
And here some more various kinds of picture books and further literature:
These are complimentary suggestions, full lists of tuition books and music are provided in lessons.
"Music encodes ethical qualities in the human and feeds them back to the soul." Plato