Teaching piano to my own child. Advice? Words of caution?

[thehauntedcello]

This is long and I am sorry, but any advice, in favor or against, would be appreciated. Thanks all.

I am due to have my first child this November.  I have taught music lessons (violin & cello) in the past, and have also taken piano lessons (around one year).  I would like to give my child an  early start with music.  To this end I would like to teach them piano myself (at least from maybe ages two or three through four or five) at which point, if they would like to continue, I would take them to more skilled professional.  

I would like to pursue this route instead of taking them to a piano teacher straight away for three reasons.  First, I know how short a very young child's attention span can be, especially if they are not up for a lesson at that very moment.  Second, I believe shorter and more frequent lessons will be more beneficial at that age. Third, I appreciate that proper instruction can be costly (and for good reason) and I believe we can afford a better musical education this way, i.e., instruments, materials, trips to the symphony and other events.

 
I understand it will be very slow going at first but I am prepared for that.  I also understand that as they progress I will need to recruit a skilled prof. if they wish to continue.  I considered teacher certification for the first couple of Suzuki piano books but I would have to fly out for these and they won't be until very late in my pregnancy, so that's out.

-->I would like to know any opinions on this matter as well as any recommendations for good books for scales and technical exercises, reading, and repertoire development.<-- I have a couple years to prepare so I would like to start now in order to know the teaching material inside and out.

Thanks again, I am infinitely grateful to any and all opinions or suggestions.

[elza]

Have you heard about the Dogs and Birds Piano Method?

We wrote it with people in your situation in mind, and it might be suitable.

You can find out about it at www.dogsandbirds.co.uk.

[keypeg]

Small children "play".  They explore and follow their instincts which I'd say is also an inner wiring that gets us to do just the right thing at the right time.  We as a society over-direct, and we do it too soon.  Back in the early 1980's I taught grade 2, and I used to car pool with a kindergarten teacher who was close to retirement.  Over 30 years ago (!!!) she was seeing a disturbing trend.  The kids coming in had their heads full of the alphabet and other things learned on Sesame Street in early learning programs.  These were memorized things with no true understanding.  She was getting kids who could not trace the capital letter A with a paint brush on a giant piece of paper because after going up they couldn't coordinate going down again.  The reason?  They had not been able to use their bodies in free play.  Their sense of direction should have come from moving in an out of spaces, exploring, trying things.  So for the first time in 40 years of teaching she had to get her kindergartners to do what toddlers do: crawl through, over and around stuff.  Discover they had bodies.  Get in contact with the world.

My two children are now adults in their early and mid twenties.  Both of them are involved in the arts, and both of them had talent - one in visual arts and one musically.  They were homeschooled for the first 8 - 10 years and were encouraged to do their own exploration.  The musical one started music late because I didn't know better, but ended up in a top university in music (strings).  There was a lot of spontaneous exploration, starting with pots and pans after coming across African drummers, and really exploring different textures of sound - it was not random banging.  I have often wondered what would have happened if I had started him in an early program where right away he learned to play directed notes, and imitate existing tunes.

[mcdiddy1]

Dozen a day tends to be a popular technique book for young students. It introduces play legato, skips, steps repeated notes in a good sequence and age appropriate sequence.

Some words of caution is children tend to not have the physical capabilities to do serious technical work until they around five or so. The material they will be doing does not need five years of preparation by a teacher. I would caution you against starting a toddler too early into piano

although there are some kids who can manage to play some little pieces at the age of three, these are the exception not the norm and they are born with special wiring in the brain , they are not created.

 I think the best path is to introduce the child to the piano and let the child fall in love with it by hearing it played all the time. When the interest comes from the child then the progress the child will make by sheer curiosity and love of music is far more than the child who is dragged into lessons because the parents want their child to play the instrument.

I speak from the experience of having three  and four year old students who would often scream, yell,and pout because they were more interested in nap time and toys rather than pressing the keys of huge instrument like the piano. If the child is allowed is surrounded by music then the interest and curiosity can grow then the child can regain any "lost" time with quick progress in a year or so.

[ajspiano]

I'm certainly not an expert on development at this age - but I can't help but feel that they should be allowed to simply explore the musical language through both exposure to interesting music and the opportunity to create sound in different ways - In much the same way that they pick up spoken language..

And that if such exposure and "music play" was not considered an extra effort or unusually early start that we'd have a lot more 'talented' kids, only they wouldn't be considered talented..  just normal.

[landorrano]

Hello hauntedcello.  May I ask: why the piano?  I mean, instead of the cello.  Do you still play the cello?

[jayeckz]

I have taught music lessons (violin & cello) in the past, and have also taken piano lessons (around one year).To this end I would like to teach them piano myself (at least from maybe ages two or three through four or five) at which point, if they would like to continue, I would take them to more skilled professional.

How experienced are you with the piano?  One can learn a lot in a year.  If your basics are strong, there should be no reason not to teach your child piano, but you have to be honest with yourself.  Improper teaching can be counterproductive.

-->I would like to know any opinions on this matter as well as any recommendations for good books for scales and technical exercises, reading, and repertoire development.<-- I have a couple years to prepare so I would like to start now in order to know the teaching material inside and out.

If I were you, I would be more cautious and just find a qualified teacher from the start.  From what you're saying, it seems like you aren't developed as a pianist.  You may be able to teach your child to execute the exercises to your satisfaction, but there's a lot not written in the books that you have to watch out for that you may or may not be aware of.  Even "advanced" students who can get through Chopin etudes and Prok Sonatas lack some of these basics and wouldn't be qualified teachers in my opinion.

I would suggest that you focus on cultivating your child's appreciation for music.  Expose your child to all sorts of music and to good playing.

[survivor23]

My daughter is now five, going to be six soon. My only advice would be to very open, flexible, and making piano and music a pervasive part of your child's life, kind of like, breathing, water, etc. you get the picture.

Any and all teaching methods, I would be open to, because you never know what is going to stick. One thing is for sure, is that my daughter is alot more aware than I  picked up on, and really, I would find out things she would do when she was over her friends house, and a mother would just happen to tell me what she did, what she played, etc.

Games, on and off the piano, playing all types of music, and most important of all.... Absolutely no pressure.

My daughter is the opposite of me. When I was five, I pretty much just started playing on my own. (no one in the house played, and the piano was just a piece of furniture). then one day, my moms friend commented on how I play, and she was impressed that I had no lessons. (that changed eventually).

My da

[survivor23]

My daughter, however, no interest whats so ever, and I could not get her near the piano at all. So instead, I played, and did hands off things with her, away from the piano. Eventually, when she would hear me play, she would curl up next to me on the piano bench, or listen from the chair in the living room. She fell in love with Mozart, Beethoven and Bach.

So that is my short answer, flexibilty, and behind the shadows, always presenting something music or piano related.

Mozart is rumored to have learned the basics in the womb, since both his parents were always in playing symphonies in concert halls. He got a jump start on suzuki method I guess.

[survivor23]

About the whole teachers thing, yeah, I would look for a qualified one, but if one doesnt fit your needs, you are your childs best teacher.

Parents I've found, are more effective teachers, just for the simple fact that they know their child's modalities better, and can pick up on when a child is really ready to listen and learn. And teachers you have to be careful, since they can do so much harm to turning your kid off the instrument forever, whereas that would hardly be the case if the teaching came from you.

I say, have your child fall in love first, and that way, if they do encounter a teacher that they dont mesh well with, at least its not the end of the instrument.

[slane]

My #1 advice ... everything everyone else said about playing yourself, immersing your child in classical music and modelling yourself as an example as someone who practices piano.

Advice #2 ... you need to distance yourself emotionally from your child when you teach them. I have a friend who is a conductor and couldn't teach her own child piano because a) they are both filthy tempered and b) she couldn't distance herself from the fact that her child's performance would reflect on her as a musician , a parent and a teacher.
You need to teach your child as you would someone else's. With no care as to where she fits on the bell curve who how many notes she's mastered compared to Violetta next door or what grade she's got to and then everything ... well it wont be plain sailing but it will be an interesting adventure.

[p2u_]

Teaching piano to my own child. Advice? Words of caution?

1) While the child is still in the womb, play (or listen to) as much good music as you possibly can.
2) Do not destroy the child's love for music through your own ambitions.
3) Do not rush this. If you are not an expert in the field yourself, find people in your neighborhood who are. I am confident you will find somebody who can advise you without asking money for it.
P.S.: Don't forget that music can also have a therapeutic effect. When my son was a baby, he used to suffer from colic in his bowels, cried all the time, driving my wife crazy because she didn't know how to help him. In such cases, I used to play slow adagio music by Bach, Mozart, etc. on the piano, the pain went away and he fell asleep peacefully with a smile on his face.

Paul