Piano and basic music theory

[alwayslearning]

Hi all! I would like to begin my children in music - they are 6 and 9, and have essentially never learned anything. So we would be starting at square one. I just purchased a keyboard and am eager to get started (I am self-taught).

 

Does anyone have any recommendations for a somewhat informal introduction to music? I am hoping to use the same for both children.

 

Thanks!

[rokaie]

I'm teaching piano to my DS 7 piano with a piano method: Piano Adventures by Faber, I think it's great, and there're lesson book, technique book and theory book. I think that for 2 siblings it's better to have different books, I think Piano Adventures for your DS 9 and Hal Leonard piano method for DS 6 is a good choise, because the two methods are similar but the Hal Leonard has a slower pace.

[alwayslearning]

Thank you for the recommendations! I was looking through about five different books and figured I had better research online a little more... I appreciate your input! I will look at them. :)

[Dmmetler]

I would not suggest trying to teach from Faber OR Hal Leonard if you don't yourself play piano pretty well and are confident in teaching posture, hand position, and so on. Both are designed for use by trained teachers, and therefore do not break down some of the necessary skills to the degree needed to self-teach. There are some self-teaching books, but they tend to be written for adults, not children. I will say that I'd suggest "My First Piano Adventures" for a younger student over Hal Leonard simply because it's designed to jump into Piano adventures, which would save you money down the road since some of the materials could be reused, but it retains the slower pace that's helpful for younger beginners.

 

For piano instruction at home with a less-confident parent, Simply Music via DVD is pretty good, and when kids grow beyond it, there are teachers who will do lessons via Skype. However, it's an aural-motor method initially, not a reading one, and therefore theory is delayed until the student is fairly fluent in their playing.

 

My favorite basic theory/music reading text for self-teaching with kids is "The Complete Music Reading Activities Kit". It's written in packets that are designed for a student to self-teach at their own pace (in a classroom setting) using a keyboard or mallet percussion instrument. It only teaches treble clef, but it's a good start. Alfred Theory Basics is another good one. It's a "Programmed" text-that is, there is instruction on one page, and then, the next page gives activities using the instruction, with the presentation being spiral. However, it's quite dry. Music Ace is a nice computer program for theory instruction, but it may be hard to find (I think the version I have is for Windows 95).

[serendipitous journey]

You might want to look at CMHelp's Learn to Play Piano on a Shoestring (even if you're not on a shoestring).

 

She recommends the Progressive Method for Young Beginners Book 1 to start piano. I am using their recorder book with Button (following the CMHelp strategy of teaching recorder first) and it has been very successful here. I am able to learn with and to teach him, though I have no other musical background to speak of, and he enjoys it well enough; sometimes he balks at practice, but I think he's enjoying learning to play tunes.

 

We also have the Music Theory for Beginners app, which I found via the boards; at 7 he's a bit young for it, but he chooses it during his educational iPad time a few times a week and is making progress and learning things. I know because he tells me about them during recorder practice :) .

[TeachingMyTwo]

.

[serendipitous journey]

TeachingMyTwo, thank you for listing those resources!!!

[Storm Bay]

Listen to a lot of classical piano music (you can borrow it from your library.) Do a lot of singing. Listen to classical and jazz music in general. Save up for lessons, too, if you can :).

[Spy Car]

:lurk:

 

Bill

[alwayslearning]

Thanks for the tips, all! We have our keyboard all set up and are waiting for our books to arrive. I wound up going with a recommendation from a friend of mine - she taught piano for years (and is incredibly talented) and said she has used the Bastien Series and loves them. I couldn't argue with the price - they are incredibly simply and affordable. We are just informal here with the music - I want my boys to be familiar with basic music theory and to understand the correlation on a piano. From there, my oldest wants to learn the guitar. My little one is already tapping things out by ear so I am glad there is an interest.

 

I appreciate all the help, folks!!! :)

[Targhee]

Thanks for the tips, all! We have our keyboard all set up and are waiting for our books to arrive. I wound up going with a recommendation from a friend of mine - she taught piano for years (and is incredibly talented) and said she has used the Bastien Series and loves them. I couldn't argue with the price - they are incredibly simply and affordable. We are just informal here with the music - I want my boys to be familiar with basic music theory and to understand the correlation on a piano. From there, my oldest wants to learn the guitar. My little one is already tapping things out by ear so I am glad there is an interest.

 

I appreciate all the help, folks!!! :)

 

 

We have used the Bastien Piano Library series (not the one with the three blocks on the front). I'm not sure if that is the same you chose, or if there are many differences between the two. I can say that Bastien Piano Library is better than some method series at getting your student out of "middle C position" and into other keys and positions. Faber and Faber is also very good at this. One book series I do recommend as a fun way to build keyboard skills is "A Dozen a Day". This is not a method, but a practice book (technic) with exercises to be done every day before playing your lesson/practicing. They are simply illustrated with stick figure drawings and named with analogous whole body activities (running, hopping on left food, swinging, etc.). My kids really like doing warm-ups with these books. The Primer is a great place to start (especially for smaller hands). I hope your boys enjoy playing piano!

[TeachingMyTwo]

.