how to help my child memorize the similar phrases?

[emden2k]

Hi, I'm a mom of 7 year old who is self taught piano at home with my help.
We are using suzuki piano books as lesson books which requires memorizing the whole song when play, i.e. play without looking the sheet. She always have trouble when there are two or more phrases are really similar and requires repeating. For example: You have to play phrase A and Phrase B, then repeat A and B again. A and B are very similar so when she repeats, she always lose the track of it. I ask her to count 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B in her mind but doesn't seem that helps much. It got really frustrated for both of us. Can someone give us some tips on this?

[theholygideons]

memorising is the art of paying attention. Make sure she knows what the differences between the sections are. She can play each section hands separately at first so she can analyse the differences. then scramble the sections and tell her to play 1A, 2B, 1B, 2A or some other combination. She's probably passively learning things and not paying enough attention, or maybe she's bored. leeelllll...

[awesom_o]

Are you listening to the CD fifty times per day?

I recently went to the Every Child Can Suzuki Introduction Course. They said you have to listen to the CD up to fifty times each day with your child in order for it to properly sink in.

Personally, I never had trouble memorizing the Suzuki pieces as a small child. I learned all of the pieces in book 1 and graduated after three months of Suzuki lessons into book 2 when I was 5. 

It was because my family ate, slept, and breathed Suzuki every single day. My brothers and I all had Suzuki lessons on two different instruments. I would recommend starting a string instrument. Suzuki method was developed for strings first and foremost.

Don't put all of this pressure on the poor kid! She shouldn't be worried about memorizing things correctly/incorrectly at this stage! Just listen to the CD fifty or so times every day.

Suzuki is all about monkey-see-monkey-do.

[emden2k]

Thank you!!!! That's exactly what I thought. I just wanted to hear the opinion from other experienced people to confirm that. She is so passive on almost everything that requires some hard work. I always told her that she plays without her mind. I just couldn't find a way yet to motivate her :-(

[awesom_o]

I always told her that she plays without her mind. I just couldn't find a way yet to motivate her :-(

Suzuki is all about learning to play with your body. Playing with your mind is a much more advanced, professional-level of music making. That comes much later.

Are you learning to play using the Suzuki method as well? That is what will motivate her.

Can you not afford lessons with a Suzuki teacher?

[emden2k]

She was with Suzuki teacher for one year and traditional teacher for another year. Then we dropped because I felt she wasn't motivated enough to play but I still don't want to give up piano on her. So I still help her practice at home for 30mins a day and just hoping one day she might be interested and can easily pick it up with teacher.

[emden2k]

Are you listening to the CD fifty times per day?

I recently went to the Every Child Can Suzuki Introduction Course. They said you have to listen to the CD up to fifty times each day with your child in order for it to properly sink in.

Personally, I never had trouble memorizing the Suzuki pieces as a small child. I learned all of the pieces in book 1 and graduated after three months of Suzuki lessons into book 2 when I was 5. 

It was because my family ate, slept, and breathed Suzuki every single day. My brothers and I all had Suzuki lessons on two different instruments. I would recommend starting a string instrument. Suzuki method was developed for strings first and foremost.

Don't put all of this pressure on the poor kid! She shouldn't be worried about memorizing things correctly/incorrectly at this stage! Just listen to the CD fifty or so times every day.

Suzuki is all about monkey-see-monkey-do.

Thanks for the tips! I knew we have to listen to the CD more often but I guess I didn't do enough on that. Only chance we can do that is when we drive. I tried to be patient on her. But after 3 weeks on practicing the last piece of book 2 and she still couldn't play without mistake, I somehow couldn't hold my anxiety. I think she just wasn't paying attention to what she was doing. She was not active learning as I hope she would.

[awesom_o]

Then we dropped because I felt she wasn't motivated enough to play but I still don't want to give up piano on her. So I still help her practice at home for 30mins a day and just hoping one day she might be interested and can easily pick it up with teacher.

Hmm. I see.

You still don't want to give up piano on her?  So you force her to practice for 30 mins every day hoping she's going to pick it up later on out of interest?

Music is about joy first and foremost. It is about bringing joy to yourself and to others.

She needs to make that connection on a fundamental level if she is to go far musically. Take her to concerts. Listen to classical music. In the car. At home. Enjoy music with her every day. Enjoy is the key word here.

If music is a chore, to be done for 30 minutes every day..... that means music will always occupy about 2% of her life.

If I were you, I'd quit worrying about the 2% and start providing her with the other 98% that she needs to grow up and become 100% musician.

[emden2k]

If your child don't like brushing the teeth, would you give up on that and let her go to bed without doing it? I know "forcing" is not a best way but sometimes you just have no choices. Just like doing school homework, if kids don't like doing it, you still have to force them to do, right? If they do not naturally like doing something, maybe they can learn to love it when they are good at it.

[awesom_o]

Are you good at it?

[theholygideons]

If you're gonna force her, then force her practise along with the guidance of a proper advanced teacher, who knows what's best for kids.

[gregh]

On the radio they've had interviews with young musicians. And some of them go something like "I started practicing violin when I was two years old. I didn't always like it, it was like doing homework. But my mom made me stay with it, and now I love it."

It doesn't always turn out that way, of course. Like my friend whose mom made him take piano lessons. And if she was paying for piano lessons, you can bet your tuschi that he was going to practice. He said he never got very good at it, and he quit when he could.

I don't know what makes one different from another.

[maitea]

As said previously, she needs to enjoy and breath music!

If you want her to be more "active" mentally doing music, I don't think suzuki is the method to be honest. Combine it with more imagination driven playing at the piano. For instance, put the pedal down (of let her do it if she reaches) and let her play and explore the black keys. It all will sound lovely in the pentatonic. Let her do big noise, and very quiet one, in the whole register of the piano!

Also, story telling at the keyboard. you can have bells, and play tinkling sounds at the top. Or a thunder storm, and just rumble at the bass. Don't censor her, let her love the instrument and connect to her imagination with it.

Sing lots with her too. There is very good books that have very very easy arrangements of nursery rhymes. Always more motivating when they like the music and they know it before hand, so she can asses her improvement. Sing and play together. Don't forget the "play" part of playing the piano...

[emden2k]

As said previously, she needs to enjoy and breath music!

If you want her to be more "active" mentally doing music, I don't think suzuki is the method to be honest. Combine it with more imagination driven playing at the piano. For instance, put the pedal down (of let her do it if she reaches) and let her play and explore the black keys. It all will sound lovely in the pentatonic. Let her do big noise, and very quiet one, in the whole register of the piano!

Also, story telling at the keyboard. you can have bells, and play tinkling sounds at the top. Or a thunder storm, and just rumble at the bass. Don't censor her, let her love the instrument and connect to her imagination with it.

Sing lots with her too. There is very good books that have very very easy arrangements of nursery rhymes. Always more motivating when they like the music and they know it before hand, so she can asses her improvement. Sing and play together. Don't forget the "play" part of playing the piano...

Thanks for the tips!! I will try to figure out more ways to make it fun!

[awesom_o]

Honestly, kids need the support of a studio around them. They need the interaction with other children. They need the knowledge that piano lessons are special, and that mom is going to great lengths to make them happen.  'Suzuki-homeschool' is not advisable. Not unless you are a professional Suzuki teacher.

Suzuki method is not even very good for piano. Dr Suzuki himself was a violinist. He knew nothing about how to play the piano. The Suzuki method was borne out of Dr Suzuki's profound realization that all Japanese children spoke Japanese fluently. He thought that music could be taught and learned by children the same way as the mother tongue language. Now Suzuki = big business.

If you really want your child to develop mentally through music, enroll her in a youth choir that rehearses once or twice a week. Get her lessons on a second instrument, preferably a string instrument such as cello. She needs to be stimulated through music. She needs the involvement of peers for this stimulation to occur. Let her continue on the piano whenever she wants. Seven years old is pretty young for piano-the hands are still so small.

Great age to start playing a fiddle of some kind!

[emden2k]

If you really want your child to develop mentally through music, enroll her in a youth choir that rehearses once or twice a week. Get her lessons on a second instrument, preferably a string instrument such as cello. She needs to be stimulated through music. She needs the involvement of peers for this stimulation to occur. Let her continue on the piano whenever she wants. Seven years old is pretty young for piano-the hands are still so small.

Great age to start playing a fiddle of some kind!

Thanks! Will consider the choir and 2nd instrument. Here is the video my girl playing the last song of Suzuki book 2. Please comment!

https://youtu.be/JgBS2D9iSKw

[awesom_o]

You absolutely need to get rid of the digital piano. It sounds of very poor quality and looks to have  plastic keys. She plays pretty well. She deserves a real piano. She won't be able to make much more progress without a better instrument. The touch on a real piano is very different than on a keyboard. The sound is more beautiful, as well. That is what she needs to play better. Playing better=playing more beautifully. You can't expect someone to play beautifully on an instrument that cannot produce a beautiful tone.

[j_menz]

If your child don't like brushing the teeth, would you give up on that and let her go to bed without doing it? I know "forcing" is not a best way but sometimes you just have no choices. Just like doing school homework, if kids don't like doing it, you still have to force them to do, right? If they do not naturally like doing something, maybe they can learn to love it when they are good at it.

If you were my mother, I'd sue!

Do you play the piano yourself?  Or any instrument? Or are you making up for your own (perceived) shortcomings vicariously?