Advice please from music teachers and/or those trained in music . . .

[HootOwl]

My 9yo daughter has recently begun to pick out and play a lot of tunes on piano, and she's really good at it. Just the other day, she was playing The Star Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful. She has even started to play some of her own tunes, and they have a surprisingly good melody! She sings all the time and sounds quite good.

 

I have worked with her a little with the beginning series of Piano Adventure books, trying to teacher her the basics of proper hand positioning, fingering, reading notes on the scale, etc. (I had 7 years of piano lessons in middle/high school.) My desire was to teach her what I could before looking to hire a professional piano teacher (trying to be frugal here!). But I realize that she would rather pick out her own melodies than attend to structured lessons from me.

 

I was a competent pianist when I played regularly years ago, but I am definitely not a piano teacher. I also developed my skill gradually and don't believe I ever had any "natural" talent. I do think, however, that my daughter does, and I'm not sure what the best thing to do to encourage her to develop that talent.

 

Should I look for a teacher now? If so, what kind of a teacher should I be looking for? I learned the very traditional way of reading music, playing scales, and eventually learning chords enough to embelish pieces when I wanted to, but I would have loved to learn to play by ear more---if that is something that can be taught.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[EricaB]

Hi there,

I am a professional musician/teacher and my husband teaches college level music. My first question is in regard to what your daughter wants. Has she expressed an interest in learning more? I would have pedagogical concerns if she has an immense interest in playing full works right now or in the future since you would want picking up bad habits. However, I always tell parents to preserve the appreciation for music first. If the child doesn't think it is fun anymore through taking lessons that they don't want to practice for, then that appreciation is diminished.

 

On a personal end, my almost 5 year old son has been begging to play the piano and I told him that we could begin in the fall. He has been a bit of a pest lately since we have started school and not piano yet, but that is another story. I am still holding him off until his sister's Kindermuisk class starts next month and will teach him simultaneously in another room. Anyway, I knew that he wasn't ready to do this six months ago, no matter how passionate he was. I carefully picked a program that would hold his interest, but I will be keeping an eye on the fun factor. Both kids could care less about going to Mommy and Daddy's concerts, but the otherwise LOVE music. I don't want to ever loose this even if it means that they never play an instrument. It really is OK if they don't.

 

So, there you have my teacher/mom perspective for what it is worth. Good luck!

 

Erica

[suzf242]

Hi. I am a music teacher/pianist. With her level of interest and talent, I definitely think it would benefit your daughter to take some formal lessons. I would be very careful to find a flexible teacher who can teach the "traditional way" and at the same time encourage her creativity and playing-by-ear skills.

 

I would talk to several teachers in your area, tell them the same thing you posted on the forum, and just see what kind of replies you get. I think you will probably know it when you are talking to the right person for your daughter. You may want to ask them if they have any students similar to your daughter. It might also help if you can listen to the teacher play somewhere.

 

Good luck! Great to hear about your daughter's interest!

 

Suzanne.

[Bula Mama]

I'm not as experienced as the ladies above but I did take classical piano for years and years and always wished that I could play more by ear. But I'm also so glad that I can play Beethoven!

 

I then had a friend who played tons 'by ear' professionally. I actually took a few lessons from her but didn't have time to pursue it further at the time with lots of little ones at home.

 

But I did learn that it WAS something that could be taught with an understanding of chord progressions, etc. There are those very few who natually play amazingly well by ear with no instruction but spending time with this lady taught me that most people do better with music theory to draw from. Since then I've talked to numerous people who appear to play 'by ear' but actually know what they're doing because they understand the music. I have no doubt that given time and practice that I could develop this area as well.

 

So I'm saying this to say that if your dd is interested I think lessons would be a good for her. She's at a great age to get started on reading music, too, and I bet would pick it up quite quickly. Neat to hear of the obvious joy that she's getting out of music!

[HootOwl]

Thanks for the input, ladies. I think we need to look at finding a music teacher soon.

 

What about other teaching methods like Suzuki? I've never looked into these myself, but we do have friends whose daughters take Suzuki lessons, and she (the mother) loves it. There may be other methods of instruction out there besides traditional, and I'm not aware of them.

 

Again, advice is greatly appreciated!

[Michelle in MO]

I took piano lessons from the age of six, and played classical piano well into my teen years. I quit too soon! (that's another issue! :) )

 

I was very much like your daughter. When I was six, my parents bought me a little toy piano for Christmas, and I learned every piece in the little piano book that accompanied it. Then they decided to give me lessons.

 

The first two teachers were OK, but just average. Then, a wonderful family moved into our neighborhood. The mother was a graduate of Julliard, and she was fabulous, not only in her phenomenal skills on the piano, but in the way she motivated her students. She taught what I would call a modified Suzuki method. To be honest with you, I'm not really sure what a "pure" or "straight" Suzuki method would be! I do know that she was simply a fantastic teacher and a wonderful human being, as well. In fact, I wish I could find her again just to tell her that!

 

At any rate, these would be my recommendations in looking for a good teacher. Bear in mind, I was never a piano teacher; just a piano student.

 

1.) I enjoyed classical music, and I think that students that are trained in classical music can easily transition to other types of music, i.e., pop, soul, jazz, blues, etc. However, I would say that if your daughter is highly motivated to learn another type of music, I would go with that.

 

2.) It doesn't hurt to ask the teacher about their background in music, their qualifications, where they went to school, etc. There are plenty of excellent teachers out there, and they don't all have to be graduates of Julliard. There are many good music schools and good music programs at regular colleges that turn out phenomenal teachers and pianists.

 

3.) Find a teacher who can work well with children. Ask friends, neighbors, other musicians, etc., in your area who they would recommend. That's how we found the teacher that my girls take lessons from. She's also very good.

 

4.) Go to a recital, if possible. Find out what level the teacher can lead the students to, if you know what I mean. It's kind of like what Jesus said in the N.T.: "A disciple is not above his teacher . . . every disciple, when he is fully trained, will be like his master." If the teacher can play very well, chances are they'll be able to lead the students at least to their level.

 

5.) If possible, try to find a teacher who will incorporate music theory into their program. This was one area I was lacking in; music theory can be very difficult and very technical, but also helpful. My great teacher did teach a fair amount of theory, but it was on the side, incorporated into the lesson itself. I never learned chords, chord progressions, etc. My girls know more theory than I do!

 

The little that I know about Suzuki (remember, I took what I would call a modified Suzuki method) is that it is an excellent method for piano instruction. There are books you can get on the Suzuki method, and probably quite a bit of information from the internet. A straight Suzuki method can have some negatives, from what I remember. What I've heard is that the student can be lax on music theory (as I was) and also Suzuki may not emphasize sight-reading enough. However, I would say that the implementation of the Suzuki method would depend upon the teacher. Sight-reading is an important skill, and also very difficult. Fabulous pianists become good sight readers by volumes of practice. I was never very good at sight reading myself, and it always made me feel intimidated. I could learn a piece quickly enough on my own, but to sight read in front of other people----ugh!

 

I think the strengths of Suzuki are excellent ear training and cultivating in children a love of music. The latter is very important. Without a love of music, students can easily give up by the rigors of practice. My big caveat on my advice about Suzuki is to remember that I'm relying on memories from when I was a child, not from a deep understanding of current Suzuki practice. I'm almost certain the piano teachers on board here would have better information on Suzuki than I have.

 

There's a book I saw recently, called Raising Musical Children. It might have some tips and suggestions for you.

 

Our current piano teacher uses the Suzuki books for piano literature, and started all three girls out on the Bastien piano series. I don't regret her choice at all. Bastien teaches a good, solid piano, accompanied by a very good music theory program. I think the Suzuki fosters more of a love for music over the Bastien, IMO.

 

Learning to play by ear is a tremendous skill, and we had a boy in our high school who was a very good pianist. He could play very well by ear, but he could also read music. So, I would also recommend (and maybe this is obvious) find a teacher who will teach your daughter to read music well. Playing by ear is great, but the ability to read music is another type of literacy altogether.

 

Good luck in your search for a piano teacher!