The right environment for piano lessons.
Many parents want their children to learn to play the piano but believe that it’s like joining a club; you turn up for the lesson and forget about it until the following week. That’s not the name of the game and encouraging piano practice through making a suitable environment is totally the responsibility of the parents.
What’s the first thing that we need to learn piano fast? Probably a reasonable instrument would be a good place to start! It sounds daft but you only have to look down any sales’ column in a paper or on the internet to see a thoroughly cheap and nasty instrument described as ‘suitable for a beginner’. This is far from the truth; beginners need the best instruments possible in order to encourage them. If you have a piano with half the notes not working, then practice will be pretty soul destroying for the pupil and it’s simply asking too much for them to want to persevere with lessons under such adverse conditions.
There is a difference between pianos and keyboards and although some lessons combine the different techniques, most teachers will specify if they want you to buy a piano or a keyboard, so I won’t go into that debate here. One of the problems that many parents make with keyboards, is, rather like the television, they allow the children to have them in their bedroom. This means that you, as a parent, probably have no knowledge about their practice and you certainly won’t be sitting by them each day.
This is something that I always encourage parents to do, both during their lessons and every day when they practise. Although you may feel that this is a real pain at first, it can also be a wonderful bonding time and almost takes a mother back to breast feeding, when you had to make that time and it was peace and quiet and just the two of you. I did this with my older son and it became part of the daily routine which, I believe, we both valued. He had my undivided attention and I had to switch off from the mad world outside, so it was a win, win situation. At first I thought I wouldn’t be able to spare the time but it’s amazing how you can find time when you need to.
To learn piano fast try to make the practice at the same time each day. Some people like to split it, ten minutes before school and ten minutes after. I always prefer straight after tea when everyone’s refreshed and before the children sit down to relax. Once this routine is established it will feel strange if that specific time isn’t used for practice and once you feel these ‘withdrawal’ symptoms you know you’re both hooked!
When you’re both in position at the specified time, make sure that everything around you is peaceful. Don’t have other children in the room, if it can be avoided and certainly don’t allow the television to be on. Keep the area around the piano free from clutter so that you can both enjoy a ‘feng shui’ experience! I think we all understand from both our own workplace or home that we work more effectively when our working environment is clear and tidy. We feel calmer and can therefore approach things in a more rational manner. Children won’t be able to analyse this feeling but they will realise that they’re achieving a good rate of progress and enjoying themselves.
Eventually they will be ready to practise by themselves and will have achieved the independence that you’ve been hoping for and dreading in equal proportions and you’ll be able to look back on these moments of tranquillity as something very special.
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If you or your children want to learn piano fast then you need the right environment to practice.
