Why Put Your Preschooler in Piano Lessons?
I apologize for not putting this post out last week. Or maybe I should say for not writing this post or any post at all last week. It was just one of those weeks. Well, we were arriving at home from a weekend getaway last Monday (my normal blogging day), and then it just seemed like the rest of the week was spent catching up with other things. Oh, and preparing for our piano party! Come back next week for that post; I can't wait to share with you all the fun we had!
Anyways, on to the main subject. Traditionally, most parents have waited until their child could read to enroll them in piano lessons. Traditionally, most piano teachers only accepted children that could read. But that mentality is slowly changing. I am one of the teachers now accepting preschool students. And I'd like to talk with you about why I am doing that, and why preschool is the perfect age to start your child's musical adventure.
Reason #1: Because I have a new method book for preschoolers that I'm eager to try out!
OK, OK, so that's not a strong reason. :) But seriously, the Wunderkeys Preschool series is really cute. Five animal friends just waiting for a little child to share their musical adventures with -- what's not to love? I guess my favourite part is the nursery rhyme/story format. So, now on to the better reasons!
Reason #2: Because your child's brain is growing faster before their 7th birthday.
I was introduced to this when I attended a session at the AHEA convention by Andrew Pudewa (Institute for Excellence in Writing). He explained how he was a violin teacher using the Suzuki Method. According to him, the Suzuki method builds on the principles that language is learned by. One of those principles is starting at the right age. Think about that for a moment. Did you wait till your child was seven to begin teaching them their first language? Of course not. They picked it up on their own, from the time they were toddlers. So why not music?
We all know that younger children learn more easily than adults. In reality, it makes sense to start learning music at a young age. Now, you may be wondering if it's possible to teach a child who doesn't know how to read to play music. Yes, it is! It's just a matter of teaching at their level.
Reason #3: Because it gives a strong foundation for future creative endeavours.
It's called talent development, and again, it was Suzuki's principle -- that anyone, under the right conditions, can learn to play music. And here's another thing along the same lines: the more you feed your child's creativitiy, the more creativity they will have. Starting piano lessons at preschool age gives them a head start. (It also gives them more time to discover if they really like it or not. A 10-year-old who's been taking piano since he was 4 years old has had six years to figure out if he enjoys making music. More on this another day, but the short of it is just because your child doesn't like piano after three months is not an indication that they should quit lessons yet.)
There you have it. Three reasons to sign up your preschooler for lessons. But don't worry if your child is already past the preschool stage. You're never too old to learn something new. And I'm accepting new students up to age 10, so that give you and your child plenty of room. :)
Anyways, on to the main subject. Traditionally, most parents have waited until their child could read to enroll them in piano lessons. Traditionally, most piano teachers only accepted children that could read. But that mentality is slowly changing. I am one of the teachers now accepting preschool students. And I'd like to talk with you about why I am doing that, and why preschool is the perfect age to start your child's musical adventure.
Reason #1: Because I have a new method book for preschoolers that I'm eager to try out!
OK, OK, so that's not a strong reason. :) But seriously, the Wunderkeys Preschool series is really cute. Five animal friends just waiting for a little child to share their musical adventures with -- what's not to love? I guess my favourite part is the nursery rhyme/story format. So, now on to the better reasons!
Reason #2: Because your child's brain is growing faster before their 7th birthday.
I was introduced to this when I attended a session at the AHEA convention by Andrew Pudewa (Institute for Excellence in Writing). He explained how he was a violin teacher using the Suzuki Method. According to him, the Suzuki method builds on the principles that language is learned by. One of those principles is starting at the right age. Think about that for a moment. Did you wait till your child was seven to begin teaching them their first language? Of course not. They picked it up on their own, from the time they were toddlers. So why not music?
We all know that younger children learn more easily than adults. In reality, it makes sense to start learning music at a young age. Now, you may be wondering if it's possible to teach a child who doesn't know how to read to play music. Yes, it is! It's just a matter of teaching at their level.
Reason #3: Because it gives a strong foundation for future creative endeavours.
It's called talent development, and again, it was Suzuki's principle -- that anyone, under the right conditions, can learn to play music. And here's another thing along the same lines: the more you feed your child's creativitiy, the more creativity they will have. Starting piano lessons at preschool age gives them a head start. (It also gives them more time to discover if they really like it or not. A 10-year-old who's been taking piano since he was 4 years old has had six years to figure out if he enjoys making music. More on this another day, but the short of it is just because your child doesn't like piano after three months is not an indication that they should quit lessons yet.)
There you have it. Three reasons to sign up your preschooler for lessons. But don't worry if your child is already past the preschool stage. You're never too old to learn something new. And I'm accepting new students up to age 10, so that give you and your child plenty of room. :)
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