Children and the Piano

 

So often, a parent will say, "Don't touch the piano", or "Quit making such awful noise on the piano", then the parent wonders why the children don't want to play the piano when formal lessons start. Children learn best by doing. Let them goof with the keys while you play. (It's less intrusive if you put them on the right side of you!) Or let them make horrible sounds by themselves, and if they accidentally play something that sounds good, be sure to acknowledge it, so it will be more likely to occur in the future. My son by the age of 8 was playing well both by reading music, and by ear, without ever having had a lesson. He just tinkered around. Not saying that there aren't some pretty unmusical things coming out of the piano, (even now), but overall the joy of listening to him play compensates for any bit of patience that was required.