A Sad Car Story

Luke's dad sold his favorite car.  As it was pulling out of the driveway, Luke ran to the piano and played this for his dad....The Minor Mynah.  His lyrics are:

As the car drove out of the driveway,
I was so so sad.
I cried myself to sleep.

Poor Dad!

How Can I Help My Child Learn Piano? Encouragement

Everybody needs encouragement once in a while to help them move to the next level.  Your child needs to know that you approve of his piano playing abilities.

• Ask them to play for you and then praise them for the good (ignore the bad!)
• Talk about their piano playing with your friends while your child is in the room
• Encourage them to play for their friends that visit
• Encourage them to call or email me if they have questions or problems
• Ask them to play a piece that you enjoy from their lessons and then sit and listen to them with all your attention on them
• Encourage the rest of the family to sit and listen and praise them also

There is so much criticism in our lives that is seems to outweigh the praise.  Let's change that in our piano world and give more praise.  I think we'll see your child soar to new heights in music making. 

How Can I Help My Child Learn Piano? Snacks

Your child has a lot of demands for his attention.  We don’t want one of them to be his/her stomach.  Plan on giving your child a nutritious snack (NO SUGAR!) before the lesson or before practice sessions so that they can concentrate fully on learning.  Junk food will not help their piano playing unless they are learning a spastic piece!  If your child requires carbs due to low blood sugar, make sure that they have it  before the lesson or practice as well.  You know your child’s body better than I do.  Do what their bodies need before the lesson so that we don’t have to push so hard to maintain the focus needed to learn this new skill.  Your child and I will thank you for it!

How Can I Help My Child Learn Piano? Comfort

Your child is concentrating on so many details when playing the piano. Having clothing that is too tight or uncomfortable in any way is a distraction from learning. They need to be comfortable in their eyesight as well. If they wear glasses or contacts for up close reading, make sure they have them on for lessons and practice.
A wonderful birthday or Christmas gift would be a cushion for the hard wooden bench they have to sit on everyday. For those crafty moms who have lots of time, why not make one? For the rest of us, Friendship House has some nice options here: http://www.friendshiphouse.com/product/product_view.aspx?UID=927046C6-1A07-406B-BFB5-6D1E04E1BAA8 for about $62 in lots of colors.

How Can I Help My Child Learn Piano? Posture

Tip for the week to help your child at piano...

Encourage your child to sit properly at the piano.

• They should sit on the front half of the bench.
• The knees should be just under the keyboard.
• Feet should be flat on the floor or on a stool if legs aren't long enough.
• Arms should be parallel to the floor. If not raise the bench using pillows or books.
• Back should be flat not arched in - will get back aches if arched.
• Shoulders and arms should be relaxed.
• Wrists should be straight across not humped or sagging.
• Hands should be naturally curved so they can play on finger tips (which means finger nails need to be short.)

I’m So Excited!

Dominique told me last week before we began our lessons:

“I was sitting in chorus class and I was thinking…’I can’t WAIT to come to piano!’ I was so excited I went home and practiced!”

Now that’s the kind of enthusiasm every piano teacher wants for each of their students!  Yes, we did have a good lesson.

I’m proud of each of my students and pray each week that they will go home and practice well and enjoy making music.

Yea Dominique!

Ensemble Pics

Our ensemble recital was a hit! The students played well together and had fun. I believe the favorite song of the day was Balloon Pop Polka. Not surprising since it was fun to perform as well. Great job students!