Beginner Piano Lessons

Rhythm in piano lessons is best explored as a separate issue from anything else.

The reason for this is that children typically have difficulty with more than one problem at a time. Thus, it is not too much to ask them to find the notes themselves, or to use a certain fingering, as a single, isolated task.

But to ask them to perform the above two tasks AND do everything on an exact rhythmic “timetable” and you will risk instant failure.

A better strategy is to learn how to read the notes alone, first, and then later try fingering and rhythm. This delay allows the child to build up the skill of finding the notes on the page, and finding the corresponding note on the piano. Don’t insist on fingering, and don’t insist on rhythm. Pretend that rhythm doesn’t exist.

Just finding the note on the page and the corresponding piano key is a mammoth, painstaking task. Once a child has the idea of this, all the rest falls in place more or less easily.

There are good ways to explore rhythm on its own, aside from reading music.

For example, any child can clap along with a jaunty 2/4 song. They get the cyclic idea because it is so simple. But as soon as you combine it with the dexterity issues of the piano, that security flies out the window, replaced with confusion.

The answer is to take the clapping idea, which they can do successfully, and take it further.

Try a piano game I call “Ones.” The child plays each white key once, ascending from Middle C, in an even rhythm. You make up a simple accompaniment using common chords such as C, F and G.

A silly game like this demystifies the piano for a moment, from a child’s point of view.

Separate each skill (notes, fingering, rhythm, etc.) from the rest. Develop it. Find the relation between the skills before you attempt to combine them.

Assume nothing and you will see what the child sees.

There are lots of fun games for the whole family that you can play using piano by number books. Here are just a few:

Name That Tune: One person plays the songs on the piano while everyone tries to guess the title of the song. Kids love playing the songs, so kids can take turns. You can also use the Play Along Audio CD, but kids also love being the center of attention and playing the songs on the piano.
Musical Chairs: Put chairs in center of room and when the music stops everyone has to find a chair, except there’s always one chair too few. Use the CDs or have the kids (any age) play the piano.

Christmas Pageant: There’s more than enough material on the Play Along Audio CD to present your own show. Kids (any age) will love putting it together, and can take turns playing along with the music or acting in the show.

Make Up Your Own Show: The Family Favorites section has 28 familiar melodies that creative kids can turn into a show about anything.

Have Everyone Try It! You’d be surprised what fun a family gathering can become when everyone is asked to play a song from the book. You’ll discover that your family and friends have hidden musical talents! Most people really do want to try playing the piano, so make a game of it!

TEACHING GAMES

FOURS “Fours” is the most basic rhythm game that I play with kids. I always use it on the first lesson, and on all subsequent lessons until the child seems too old for it. It’s a fun but very childish game that teaches rhythm and piano geography without using printed notes or numbers of any kind.It’s important for kids to actually play the piano without the encumbrance of graphic notation (notes or numbers) of any kind. For example, you’ll notice that kids in general can go to the piano and play three songs: Chopsticks, Heart and Soul, Knuckles (that funny piece played on the black keys with the knuckles of the right hand!)

“Fours” is a piano game constructed in exactly the same mold. The child plays numbers and I play the chords. If the symbols below don’t line up in your browser, remember that there are always four notes (numbers) for every chord (letter.) The child begins on “Middle C,” also known as the number one: “1″ The teacher plays the letters, or chords.

1111 2222 3333 4444 5555 6666 7777 8888

C G C F C F G C

I play a kind of funny Chico Marx oom-pah accompaniment using the chord pattern (C G C F C F G C, etc.) Kids find this very easy and refreshing. We play up the piano keys, moving to the right, with the natural goal being for the child to reach the highest key on the piano. I’m pretty “strict,” that is, if the child breaks the rhythm or misses a key, we start over. Strangely enough, kids love to go back to the beginning and start over as much as they love going all the way to highest key.

Fun variant: Ask them to count up the white keys until they reach the highest white key (starting from Middle C, which to them is #1) and tell you what the “number” of that white key is (it’s 29.) This has no musical value except that it makes the child an explorer of the instrument.The object of these games is to make the child a keen and enthusiastic observer of their instrument, something impossible to do when the child is locked into reading only sheet music from a book. Kids need to improvise, however humbly, and essentially all of my games are designed to make fun music outside of sheet music, numbers or conventional.

“Fours” teaches a child that
Sheet music is not always necessary to have fun with music
They have to count while they play
Music is divided into numbered units
Piano is a fun thing they can do right away.

Teaching piano lessons is a great business because you have the potential to earn a lot of money and build a reputable home business. Private piano teachers can earn between $50 and $100 per lesson, which quickly adds up if you only do it for a few hours a day. If you want to become a piano teacher and already have some skills at the piano, then you can take lessons online to improve your skills without starting at the beginner level again.

If you have thought about teaching piano lessons but are just a beginner, then you should know that piano lessons available on the Internet can teach you to play very quickly, especially if you devote some time to it. To become a teacher you need to be skilled in the area and be able to pass along your knowledge. Taking a community course at college will get you skilled for many different professions and set you up for a job. This involves a lot of money and training. If you want to become a piano teacher you can do it for a very small amount of money by taking training on the Internet, but it will involve time.

If you are devoted to your lessons and take the time to learn them you can become very skilled at playing the piano within a few short months. You can think about giving very simple lessons to small children, and you can even offer your courses online. As you are learning to play better you can offer substantial discounts to customers, and word-of-mouth will quickly spread that you are offering quality piano lessons at very affordable prices for young children. You will get more customers than you can handle, and earn money running your own business in the comfort of your own home.

Affordable piano lessons are sought out by many parents that cannot afford the high price of hiring a private piano instructor. There is a growing market for these kind of lessons, and you will be swamped with clients. As you become better you can think of getting professional training so that you can charge upwards of $100 per hour for your piano lessons. This is very decent money, but you will need to get your basic training first and then become qualified.

Teaching piano lessons can be done on the Internet, or you can invite students into your own home. Either way it is a business that can be run at home on your own schedule. More and more people are looking at different ways they can earn money in their home, especially now with the economy being as bad as it is. Teaching piano lessons is an honest reputable business that you can run at home, and it is a business that you can enjoy while you earn. You can learn more about teaching piano and getting easy lessons that you can use to both help train yourself and your students on the Internet.