What to do with a three-year old who is obsessed with the piano?

[nandrews]

My son is almost 3 1/2, and he spends around 40-60 minutes per day playing around on the piano.  His "song" is the same across 3-4 days, with different additions each day (that he tinkers with until he's happy--major thirds are a favorite).  After that, he starts from scratch with a new melody. 

I don't want to push him, and don't really think he's ready for formal lessons anyway, but does anyone have any ideas for how to encourage him?  I started formal lessons at six and played through college, but have no idea what to do with such a little guy!  He does hear me play (not as much as he does!), and I sometimes label what I'm doing (high/low notes, loud/soft, etc).  We are trying Kindermusik, but he's not particularly interested--it's the piano he adores.

Thanks!

[outin]

Even though he adores the piano, it might be good to expand his interests a bit more now that he is still young. Where I come from we have so called "music play schools" for young children. There they are exposed to music in many forms, singing, dancing, trying out instruments and making music together as a group. So they are learning both musical and social skills at the same time. Maybe you could find something similar? All those skills will be good to have if he ends up studying piano seriously later.

[klavieronin]

Why not try writing down some of his music together? I wouldn't try to teach him to read but you could just explain what you are doing as you go along.

Also, these videos might be of interest to you;

[visitor]

Its development based. I would consult a suzuki twacher and see them evaluate him and see if that works for  him

[themeandvariation]

Yes, the Suzuki May be helpful at first, but later it may prove some difficulties When reading inevitably becomes more a primary way of learning a piece.
I think it better to get with a teacher who has a known reputation for being 'good' with lil ones..

I think Outin offers some good advice here.

[keypeg]

He's only 3 1/2.  Why not let him keep doing just what he is doing, and put other things on his path so he can explore wherever his instincts lead him?  Why does it always have to lead to formal things and formal group activities for kids?

[jstudio]

I know you posted this a little while ago, however, I would encourage his music study. That is a sign that he is very much ready for some kind of music instruction. I would put him in a Music Together class or Kindermusik or a Music for Little Mozarts class. You never know what kind of talent he has unless you allow him to start learning about music in a formal, age appropriate setting. I would not stifle his interest. Just my opinion and I've been teaching music to 1-5 year old children for a long time. It's rare to see one this young that interested in music; I would not throw it aside.

[jstudio]

One more thing, if he's that interested in piano, then Music for Little Mozarts is the way to go. They work on learning only the piano, they sing, dance, some have games, etc. Best of luck to you and your little guy. 

[briansaddleback]

He's only 3 1/2.  Why not let him keep doing just what he is doing, and put other things on his path so he can explore wherever his instincts lead him?  Why does it always have to lead to formal things and formal group activities for kids?

yup. Nailed it. Close thread.

[chopinlover01]

Encourage him to play, and praise him when he does things particularly noteworthy, but let him be a kid. As Keypeg quite succinctly said, he's still a child, let him have his childhood.

[bernadette60614]

My advice:  Let it be his.  I had a passion for the piano as a child, and to "earn" a piano had to make straight As for two consecutive years.  I'm a lazy student, but I did it, because that desire to play was so strong.  Within 18 months, my mother became involved...and my passion for the piano turned into her passion to direct my piano lessons and progress.  I practiced, I took lessons and as soon I could, stopped taking lessons and didn't play again for over 30 years.

Our son has been taking lessons for 2 years.  It is only now that he is actually playing from a score.  He played by ear, he and his teacher improvised two piano duets, he would write celebratory songs for family events.  His teacher introduced learning to read notes by making a game of reading notes.  Our son then began asking me to find the scores for certain songs, which I did.  It is just now that he's sightreading and playing using a score, because he uses a written score to write his own little improvisations.  No one can predict the future, but I'm going to speculate that he will always play piano, it is a pleasure, a challenge, and it is "his".