piano lessons...from a book?

[Alison in KY]

Is it possible to learn piano from a book, and if so, which program is a good one? We are currently taking lessons and all the kids are tolerating it okay, but they do want to quit every now and then (some more vocal than others). We'll be finishing up our 2nd year this fall. I'd like them to do at least another year, just to get some basic music experience. I'm torn between hearing all those people I've ever heard say they wish they'd never quit and between my kids saying they want to do something else, and between there not being enough money for other lessons.

 

Thank you,

 

Alison

[kandty]

Madonna Woods has a program that comes with a book and cd and you follow along and teach yourself with her help. It is a Christian program with religious songs. The price is very reasonable.

[Shifra]

Well, what exactly do you want for your children to do with the piano?

And maybe more importantly, what do they want to do? Most children want to be able to play popular songs. There are several book series that are based on popular songs (as opposed to made up songs that are ridiculous). For instance, the series Faber Piano Adventures has supplemental books of songs at various piano levels in the popular, favorites, kids' songs, classics, jazz & blues, rock 'n roll, ragtime & marches, hymns, Christmas, and Jewish genres. The Teaching Little Fingers to Play series also has supplements for the first two levels of piano that include Disney Tunes, Childrens Songs, Christmas Songs, Jewish Favorites, Familiar Tunes, American Tunes, Jazz and Rock, Blues and Boogie, and Songs from Many Lands. Alfred Publishing has books for teens like Christmas Hits for the Teen Player, Movie Hits (and More Movie Hits) for the Teen Player, Country Hits for the Teen Player, Pop Hits (and More Pop Hits) for the Teen Player, and Broadway Hits for the Teen Player. So maybe you should just find some songs that your children want to play, and that will motivate them to play the piano.

 

One way to be able to play lots of popular tunes (as opposed to classical music) is to learn to play "Fake Books". Fake Books have only the melody (ie. treble clef) written down in staff form and above it have cord symbols for the left hand to play. Scott Houston had a whole television series of how to play from fake books, and has a children's book, Play Piano in a Flash for Kids, describing his system for kids. Your local library may have a copy of this book. Then your kids will be able to play (relatively) quickly many, many tunes.

 

Another thought is that maybe the piano is not the instrument for them. It takes a lot of coordination to play two hands separately two different things at the same time. Is there another instrument that they want to play. Most other instruments only play one note at a time; the piano is one of the few that plays both harmony and melody at the same time.

[matilda]

If you just want your children to have a general music education (learning note names, musical terms, etc.), then teaching themselves from a book is an option. But unless you have a good music background, they probably need a teacher to learn how to play well.

 

I think that all kids who take lessons want to quit sometimes. It is a hard thing to learn and practicing is not always fun. So just because they say they want to quit sometimes, doesn't mean that the piano is not the instrument for them.

[morosophe]

There are several book series that are based on popular songs (as opposed to made up songs that are ridiculous). For instance, the series Faber Piano Adventures has supplemental books of songs at various piano levels in the popular, favorites, kids' songs, classics, jazz & blues, rock 'n roll, ragtime & marches, hymns, Christmas, and Jewish genres.

 

That's the series my son's piano teacher uses, and my son loves it! In fact, he is playing "Puff, the Magic Dragon" at a recital tonight. It's head and shoulders above the Schaum books I used growing up, with their endless "exercises" and oddly dissonant songs (even when you were playing them right). You get a children's version of "Ode to Joy" by the end of the first book. Plus, its theory is far, far beyond everything I ever learned--by the second set of books! (In fact, my son is working "behind" on the theory in the separate Theory Book, since he's only seven and we don't want to frustrate him. He's really learning his scales, though.)

 

Which doesn't actually answer your question at all, but I couldn't resist a quick plug for this product.

 

Edited to say: And, by learning his scales, I did not mean practicing boring scale exercises, I meant learning his KEYS, like "G major," and the usual chords (I, IV, and V7), and so forth. He can easily transpose from C to G and vice versa, now. (Which, admittedly, is apparently not all that hard. I never learned to do it, though.

Edited June 2, 2011 by morosophe
Because I don't want "fresh" eggs, let alone "Theory" Books.

[RootAnn]

I'm teaching my oldest from the Bastien books, which aren't the greatest, but they get the job done. We use all four books with each level, a lesson or two behind the master book for reinforcement. I had heard horror stories about homeschool moms who can teach their kids anything else, but heavens-forbid, not PIANO! *gasp*

 

It hasn't been bad. (Better than math, IMO.)

 

Caveats:

- I have several years of piano/organ under my belt from childhood.

- I won't teach a kid piano that doesn't want to learn.

- I won't start them before they are 7. In my house, that's a recipe for disaster.

- At some point, they will get beyond me. We will decide about outside lessons at that point.

- I hated playing the piano. I hated practicing the piano. I have yet to regret quitting. I still hate to play, but I will do it in order to teach my kids if they want to learn.

 

YMMV.

[Alison in KY]

I'm teaching my oldest from the Bastien books, which aren't the greatest, but they get the job done. We use all four books with each level, a lesson or two behind the master book for reinforcement. I had heard horror stories about homeschool moms who can teach their kids anything else, but heavens-forbid, not PIANO! *gasp*

 

It hasn't been bad. (Better than math, IMO.)

 

Caveats:

- I have several years of piano/organ under my belt from childhood.

- I won't teach a kid piano that doesn't want to learn.

- I won't start them before they are 7. In my house, that's a recipe for disaster.

- At some point, they will get beyond me. We will decide about outside lessons at that point.

- I hated playing the piano. I hated practicing the piano. I have yet to regret quitting. I still hate to play, but I will do it in order to teach my kids if they want to learn.

 

YMMV.

 

See, now I'm feeling guilty for making them :tongue_smilie:.

 

I get a great price for piano lessons for all 3 kiddos. I saw it as a great way to get some music into them. They don't love it, but they don't hate it. I really have no idea what my goal is, but I do enjoy the fact that they are learning it. My husband doesn't care if they do it or not. I just want them to be well rounded and learn a bit more about music than I do (which is nothing). I was thinking if there was a book series out there that was self taught then we could drop the lessons and just use it.

 

We do use Faber and a couple other books in our lessons. I'll have to check and see some of the titles. So far I haven't bought any of the books, so I haven't been out looking at them (teacher is supplying them).

 

You are the first person that I've heard say you hated it and you still do...I dont' want that to be my kids, but how do you discern the difference between true dislike and laziness?

 

Alison

[morosophe]

You are the first person that I've heard say you hated it and you still do...I dont' want that to be my kids, but how do you discern the difference between true dislike and laziness?

Alison

 

I can't answer that question, but I can tell you when it was cemented in my head that we better keep on with my son's piano lessons. It was when he played the simple version of "Ode to Joy" for what felt like the millionth time. And then did it without the sheet music, showing off to my parents. All completely unprompted. Sometimes he drags his feet, or hates a particular piece, but my son usually enjoys a piece once he's learned it.

 

I did have to prompt him more to practice when he was starting out, but I only made it so that he had to play through two (fairly short) songs, or something like that, before he was allowed to go do something else--I never made it time based. I have horrific memories of sitting down at the piano and staring longingly at the clock, because my grandma insisted I had to practice for an hour a day--when my only piece of music was a Schaum number that consisted of one note played by the right hand for three-quarters of the song!

 

I also don't restrict him from playing old pieces whenever he wants to. He still plays Ode to Joy occasionally, and I have gotten so sick of Boombiyada, or however it's spelled. However, I don't have younger siblings competing with him for time on the piano, or getting distracted from their studies by his playing, since his next oldest sibling is three and a half. (He's also very left-handed, so if he plays an instrument, it's certainly not going to be the piano!)

Edited June 3, 2011 by morosophe
because his younger siblings complete with him for time constantly! Just not on the piano.

[nikkid]

I am a piano teacher as well and have loved the Faber My First Piano Adventures series for K-2 ages. Comes with a cd that is really fun to play along with for most of my students. This series of books (lesson & writing levels A, B, & C) is very doable parent-taught if the parent had one year+ of lessons if the child does well with respecting and obeying their parents. If the child needs to know why this or that technique is something they should care about then a piano teacher is better for that child. If he/she doesn't respond well to "mom making me do it" then it's very difficult to do anything without a teacher outside the home. My dd8 is so talented, but is just such a personality and is almost not teachable for me without more discipline. So hard.

 

Some kids benefit from a summer break of lessons but still given new songs they choose to dapple in themselves. Rewards for practice are sometimes needed.

 

My tweens and teenagers have all taken lessons long enough to follow a lesson/theory book for half the lesson and then spend the rest of the time on pop or movie songs they've chosen (albeit simplified versions). These I get through musicnotes.com, and while it can get spendy to buy a new one every month or two, the parents say they'll pay it just because they're thrilled their kids are excited to play again.

 

Just using pop songs alone for too long though can get tricky since as a teacher I have to teach theory as it shows up in the song for students who are adverse to theory books (sort of like the whole-to-parts method--not my first choice, but some kids do better that way). If the child does songs like this on their own for too long then fingering and technique get sloppy and they trip over their notes and get frustrated that they don't get it. Then they quit playing because they think they can't do it and they don't feel that satisfaction from working hard.

 

Wish I had time to write more. Helping kids enjoy music is sort of a passion of mine. :)

 

Nikki

[crazyforlatin]

I was passionate about teaching DD piano, so we started when she was 3.5. She did really well but I couldn't really move forward as much as I wanted since the Alfred's theory book required a more mature child. I lost interest soon and sporadically taught her a few scales in the last two years. However, very recently, she's developed an interest and I've re-kindled my passion, so we're back to Alfred's Theory Book 1A and Book 2A and Lesson Book 2. It's easier when the child knows math, specifically fractions.

 

I like Alfred's but I'm also interested in other books as well. I'm going to look into Faber as this is the first time I've heard of these books. Does anyone happen to know whether it would be fine for us to move to Faber 2A? Also, why choose Faber over Alfred?

 

ETA: I think it's fine to teach your kids from a book if you are learning as well. But just in the very beginning. It's really hard to reverse bad habits. I happen to have years of training so I'm comfortable teaching DD. However, even though I think I could teach her the violin with no background at all, I'm not planning to do this for too long. In fact, the parent should learn along in the beginning to help the child since the teacher only spends about 30 minutes (for little kids) per week with the child and by the time it's practice time the next day, the child would have forgotten what she has learned (this is what would happen to DD).

Edited June 3, 2011 by crazyforlatin
Forgot to answer your questions

[nikkid]

I was passionate about teaching DD piano, so we started when she was 3.5. She did really well but I couldn't really move forward as much as I wanted since the Alfred's theory book required a more mature child. I lost interest soon and sporadically taught her a few scales in the last two years. However, very recently, she's developed an interest and I've re-kindled my passion, so we're back to Alfred's Theory Book 1A and Book 2A and Lesson Book 2. It's easier when the child knows math, specifically fractions.

 

In teaching piano I have found that most kids need to be able to count to 20 backwards and forwards and recognize the alphabet inside and out before starting formal piano lessons. Before that, work on listening to songs together and talking about steady beats, how it makes you feel, fast/slow, loud/soft, etc. There are lots of great ideas for exploring music with preschoolers in preschool idea books, and even in What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know could apply to preschool age as well. I will start teaching Kindergartner students who aren't secure in reading IF they have a parent who stays and listens to the lesson and is willing to guide them during their practice time. Otherwise, usually wait until first grade IF the child is really showing interest. This is just my opinion with what I'm willing to teach. Others might disagree.

 

It's pretty amazing but I've noticed my students who struggle with reading more have developed better ear training because they can't read the words for the songs to find out where they are. They are often more attentive in lessons because they have to remember what I say instead of reading the information in the book or assignment sheet during the week. However, relying too much on the ear means they aren't learning to read staff line music, and if their ear remembers it wrong, it's hard to change. This can become a problem later on when songs get harder and when they do start to read more. It's a definite balance. It's helpful to vary the approach to new songs to keep both ear training and sight reading up. Sometimes listen to a song on the CD (if there is one) first then learn it, sometimes learn it before listening to it by saying the letter names of the notes out loud and/or clapping the rhythm first. As a teacher, I try to constantly assess the student's ear and sight skills to make sure one isn't favored too much.

 

I like Alfred's but I'm also interested in other books as well. I'm going to look into Faber as this is the first time I've heard of these books. Does anyone happen to know whether it would be fine for us to move to Faber 2A? Also, why choose Faber over Alfred?

 

For info on what is covered in each level, go to http://pianoadventures.com/index.html. Sometimes levels don't match up between brands. 2A I would usually say is for a student who has taken 1 year of lessons or more. Try looking through the website and see if that helps.

 

The more I teach from the Faber method the more I like it. Especially the newly released 2nd edtions are nice in Level 1. Faber has a very well-planned-out methodical process for a good foundation in reading music and learning to play piano with good technique. Other methods tend to use songs that aren't easy on the parents ears, don't feel like real songs, or ALL use the same finger placement in the beginning level, which becomes a problem because then students think their finger number 1 is always middle C and they learn to play by finger number instead of reading the letter names of the notes on the staff. My First and the My Piano Adventures series are fairly easy to use, fun for most kids, and teach technique in a fun way--IMO they don't even realize they are learning theory and technique half the time! (Theory was always drudgery for me as a kid.)

 

I used to think, just like lots of parents, "Oh, I don't care if they learn fingerings or technique since they probably won't be serious pianists. I just want them to learn to read and enjoy music." But I have since learned that learning piano without good technique increases the chances of frustration down the road. Without good posture and finger placements, you get tense and don't relax while practicing, you can't reach sharp or flat notes, among lots of other reasons.

 

That said, it doesn't work for everyone. If you're child is easily distracted by colors and information on a page, you might not want to use the Primer level of Piano Adventures (although I haven't seen the 2nd edition yet). The My First... series is better for easily distracted kids, sometimes even copying the pages in black and white helps. Also, if your child sees words attached to songs and feels like they have to do everything all at once (like some perfectionist personalities), then learning some songs with no words attached is helpful, although that makes it harder to remember where they left off in a song if they lost their place.

 

For elementary age students there are a couple online music reading games on makingmusicfun.net and tons of free music.

 

Hope that answers your questions more :)

I love talking about music!

Nikki

[mum23]

I have had a dilemma about my kids and piano--I teach piano and I find it most difficult to teach my own children. I just happened upon a program (during an internet search on how to motivate kids to practice) that I decided to try with my kids. It's called "Piano is Easy" by Walden Pond Press (I think the site is pianoiseasy.com) Anyways, I ordered 4 of their basic books and what you do is stick numbered stickers on your piano and the kids read the numbers from the book and press the number-stickered piano keys. They can play a whole lot of familiar and popular songs that way without struggling with note-reading (the note-reading comes in a later book, when the child determines they are bored with just numbers and wants more). My kids went from dragging their feet and whining about practicing piano to playing piano incessantly and fighting over whose turn it was to play. (My son actually called his little sister a "piano hog" and got angry that she was practicing too long.) lol--music to a music teacher's ears. It was a bit pricey, but I found it worth looking into for my family as they are having a whole lot of fun with this and my son (after 3 weeks using the program) asked today to start work in the note reading book (he is 8 years old). Hope this helps!

[crazyforlatin]

In teaching piano I have found that most kids need to be able to count to 20 backwards and forwards and recognize the alphabet inside and out before starting formal piano lessons. Before that, work on listening to songs together and talking about steady beats, how it makes you feel, fast/slow, loud/soft, etc. There are lots of great ideas for exploring music with preschoolers in preschool idea books, and even in What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know could apply to preschool age as well. I will start teaching Kindergartner students who aren't secure in reading IF they have a parent who stays and listens to the lesson and is willing to guide them during their practice time. Otherwise, usually wait until first grade IF the child is really showing interest. This is just my opinion with what I'm willing to teach. Others might disagree.

 

It's pretty amazing but I've noticed my students who struggle with reading more have developed better ear training because they can't read the words for the songs to find out where they are. They are often more attentive in lessons because they have to remember what I say instead of reading the information in the book or assignment sheet during the week. However, relying too much on the ear means they aren't learning to read staff line music, and if their ear remembers it wrong, it's hard to change. This can become a problem later on when songs get harder and when they do start to read more. It's a definite balance. It's helpful to vary the approach to new songs to keep both ear training and sight reading up. Sometimes listen to a song on the CD (if there is one) first then learn it, sometimes learn it before listening to it by saying the letter names of the notes out loud and/or clapping the rhythm first. As a teacher, I try to constantly assess the student's ear and sight skills to make sure one isn't favored too much.

 

 

 

For info on what is covered in each level, go to http://pianoadventures.com/index.html. Sometimes levels don't match up between brands. 2A I would usually say is for a student who has taken 1 year of lessons or more. Try looking through the website and see if that helps.

 

The more I teach from the Faber method the more I like it. Especially the newly released 2nd edtions are nice in Level 1. Faber has a very well-planned-out methodical process for a good foundation in reading music and learning to play piano with good technique. Other methods tend to use songs that aren't easy on the parents ears, don't feel like real songs, or ALL use the same finger placement in the beginning level, which becomes a problem because then students think their finger number 1 is always middle C and they learn to play by finger number instead of reading the letter names of the notes on the staff. My First and the My Piano Adventures series are fairly easy to use, fun for most kids, and teach technique in a fun way--IMO they don't even realize they are learning theory and technique half the time! (Theory was always drudgery for me as a kid.)

 

I used to think, just like lots of parents, "Oh, I don't care if they learn fingerings or technique since they probably won't be serious pianists. I just want them to learn to read and enjoy music." But I have since learned that learning piano without good technique increases the chances of frustration down the road. Without good posture and finger placements, you get tense and don't relax while practicing, you can't reach sharp or flat notes, among lots of other reasons.

 

That said, it doesn't work for everyone. If you're child is easily distracted by colors and information on a page, you might not want to use the Primer level of Piano Adventures (although I haven't seen the 2nd edition yet). The My First... series is better for easily distracted kids, sometimes even copying the pages in black and white helps. Also, if your child sees words attached to songs and feels like they have to do everything all at once (like some perfectionist personalities), then learning some songs with no words attached is helpful, although that makes it harder to remember where they left off in a song if they lost their place.

 

For elementary age students there are a couple online music reading games on makingmusicfun.net and tons of free music.

 

Hope that answers your questions more :)

I love talking about music!

Nikki

 

What Piano Adventure books would you recommend that we purchase? Is there a need to purchase the entire set (e.g. Lesson, Theory, Performance, and Technique and Artistry)? I was thinking of only buying Lesson, Theory, and maybe Technique/Artistry books. I plan to continue with Alfred 2A as well so that I can compare the books and may eventually stick to only one.

 

Thank you for taking time to share your experience and love for music with us.

[nikkid]

What Piano Adventure books would you recommend that we purchase? Is there a need to purchase the entire set (e.g. Lesson, Theory, Performance, and Technique and Artistry)? I was thinking of only buying Lesson, Theory, and maybe Technique/Artistry books. I plan to continue with Alfred 2A as well so that I can compare the books and may eventually stick to only one.

 

Thank you for taking time to share your experience and love for music with us.

 

Most students need at least the Lesson book and Theory book. I recommend the Technique/Artistry book too, but if the student is already adverse to practice or money is an issue, then I leave this one out and use a Daily Dozen book for finger exercises (Eda May Burnham series). The Technique book has finger exercises in it that correlate with the lesson book units in a fun way, but if you're used to traditional finger exercises you may want something like Daily Dozen. The Artistry songs, though, are neat for some kids who like to learn about expressing themselves in music. My experience with Faber is that most kids need more material to reinforce new concepts than is provided in the Lesson book alone (I think this is on purpose so you can tailor the supplementary materials to the student's interest), so the songs in the Artistry book or Performance book can help with that since the songs match up by lesson unit. However, I almost always skip the Performance book and get either a Popular or Classical book that goes along with the level so they can learn recognizable songs. Or supplement with free materials online like http://www.makingmusicfun.net.

 

Good luck! I'd love to hear what you discover as you compare the programs! I have heard other teachers say they really like Alfred's Older Beginner book (for ages 10-12 or so). Most my students are beginners so I have only compared the beginner books in most brands.

 

Thanks!

Nikki