ABQmom Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 My dd loves to play the piano, but she plays by ear, and refuses to learn to read music. She wants to play bigger and better music, and has taught herself much of the music that she plays. I had been going through the Bastien series of books with her, but she has never liked them. She is now going into the eighth grade, and the methods books seem to young for her. I've looked at Alfred's adult all-in-one course and the piano for life videos, but I honestly just don't know if these programs are what we need. We CANNOT afford piano lessons. I play some and can read music, so the lessons have to be done with me or through a video course. Can anyone comment on the adult and self teaching programs I mentioned above, or offer any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlmullen Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Maybe, just keep your dd passionate about playing the piano and when she is older, she may pursue it more on her own. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ABQmom Posted July 8, 2009 Author Share Posted July 8, 2009 Maybe, just keep your dd passionate about playing the piano and when she is older, she may pursue it more on her own. I've definitely thought about that! I just don't think she really wants to give up learning the piano--I think she just doesn't like the way I do it. :) I'll think on that some more though--maybe there is more to her attitude here than I am seeing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJB Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 I don't know if this will work for you but You Tube has lots of piano teachers with short lessons teaching specific pieces for players who don't want to learn to read the music themselves. Check out this guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JJ227tnBMU (He's not the only teacher with videos. You can find more if you look around.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southmetromom Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 ... he is 10. We have invested $$ in piano training, and he plays well, but still prefers to play by ear. I haven't decided what to do next, but I do not want him to HATE it -- so I agree that it is good to keep the passion alive. If you Google "piano by ear" you will see tons of FREE (and possibly not free) online lessons. You might look into it. I intend to look into it, but have not yet done so. I just vaguely heard from someone that there are methods for learning/playing by ear, which can be fun but not require the hard work that REAL playing requires. Real work is good, don't get me wrong. It is hard to know when to push and when to give, as a parent. I suppose that's another discussion altogether. I'll be interested in the replies you elicit here. HTH, Sandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shifra Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 You may want to try Play Piano in a Flash for Kids!: A Fun and Easy Way for Kids to Start Playing the Piano by Scott Houston. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2abcd Posted July 14, 2009 Share Posted July 14, 2009 Our son is the same way. He much prefers playing by ear to learning written music. I'm interested in a couple of graphic-rich computer piano programs that are too expensive for us at this point: http://www.musicwizard.com/index.php http://www.doremifasoft.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.