tell me what I need to know about piano lessons???? DS is 6.5 years

[daisy1234]

Ds just sparked an interest in piano and I want to encourage this. He is a kid I never thaought would ever play...H ejust finally started to really enjoy music and now he wants to learn to play...

I jsut remeber my sisters crying at he piano and hating practicing! Is 6.5 a good age to start? What things should I ask prospective teachers? What can I do to start early music raeding at home. We have a keyboard that was given to us but we mom and dad know very little as we have never played an instrument!!! Any help to help encourag ethis interest is appreciated!

[AngelaS]

I start mine in kindergarten, don't push practicing longer than about 5 to 10 minutes a day and both of mine are making great progress. :) My first grader plays a mean Old McDonald had a Farm. LOL

[brigeet]

6.5 is a great age to start! I always tell people who are looking for less expensive lessons to call the nearest college's music department office. They can provide you with teachers for your instrument. They charge less b/c they haven't graduated yet and most are usually excellent musicians. When talking to a teacher, you can ask how long they have been giving lessons. Ask if they have a degree in music. If they have experience with children your son's age. Ask if your son will have to give recitals. How big is the recital crowd? How many other students does this teacher teach? Ask the teacher how they handle rescheduling lessons. How much he is expected to practice. I can't remember if you said you had a piano or a keyboard. some teachers hate keyboards and pressure the family into buying a real piano. If you have a keyboard you might want to mention it to the teacher.
I majored in and have taught private clarinet lessons, and taught in public schools. Most people don't ask me anything other than "How much will it cost each lesson" and "Will you drive to our house for lessons?" oh, and "How long is each lesson?"
If you don't have any musical experience I am not completely sure what you can do at home. Off the top of my head you can be enthusiastic about your son's experimentation. You can quiz him on playing high and low notes or loud and soft notes. If you can learn a little melody (Twinkle Twinkle, etc), kids get really motivated just learning a simple melody without even reading music.

[Percycat]

I agree with the PP suggestions.

In addition to asking prospective teacher the suggested questions, ask when the next recital will be. You can learn a lot about a teacher by observing a recital. Do the kids look/sound like they enjoy music? Do the kids like the teacher? Are the students and parents respectful? Are the students prepared? Do you notice improvement in the quality of music as the students mature? Is your child interested?

[lmintzer]

Jack started between 6 and 6.5 and has now been playing for a year and 4 months. It was definitely right age for him. We started him on a keyboard and then purchased a piano about 6 months later. Both DH and I play(ed), so we knew the piano would not go to waste even if Jack didn't continue.

Jack's teacher is pretty serious--she teaches a combination of methods, but the Russian School method predominates. The kids' lesson is about 35 minutes per week, with Joshua taking the last 10 minutes. We formally started Joshua about 4 months ago, as he became really interested watching Jack's lessons.

The responsibility for practicing falls primarily on me. It's pretty parent-intensive at this point. The speed of his progress has a lot to do with the fact that I played for many years and can really help him. If I had never played/didn't read music, I imagine he'd do a lot less at home during the week. He typically practices 25 minutes/day approximately 5 days/week. This varies somewhat, depending on his mood. My little guy Joshua practices more like 10 minutes/day 3-4 days/week.

This teacher believes in recitals for even the littlest students, so Jack has now played in 3 and Joshua just played in his first one last week. It was really adorable, and he was not shy about getting up there. (If you want to see the video, please feel free to e-mail me--I don't want to post it here so publically).

Let me know if you have more questions. We've been so thrilled with the kids taking lessons so far!