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The guidelines will help you to have a successful, rewarding experience learning voice and piano. These are practical tips that we have discovered from years of teaching and our experiences with teaching hundreds of students each year.
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How Young is too Young – Starting at the Right Age
Adults can start any instrument or voice lessons at any time. Their success is based on how willing an adult is able to commit to practicing. For children, starting at the right age is a key element to the success of their lessons. Some people will tell you “the sooner the better” but this attitude can actually backfire and be negative. If a child is put into lessons too soon they may feel overwhelmed and frustrated and want to stop lessons. The last thing you want to do is turn a child off to music just because they had one unpleasant experience which could have been prevented. Sometimes if the child waits a year to start lessons their progress can be much faster. Children who are older than the suggested earliest starting age usually do very well. The following guidelines we have found to be successful in determining how young a child can start taking voice or piano lessons.
3 – 4 Years Old
If a preschooler has a keen desire and wants to start music, a group preschool class, such as our Creative Movement level classes will give them a good foundation in Music and Movement, which will later be helpful in private lessons. At this age, private lessons generally do not work as the child has not yet experienced the formal learning environment of kindergarten or school and learns more effectively through the song and dance environment offered in our Creative Movement classes.
Piano/Keyboard
At our school, 7 years old is the youngest that we start children in private piano lessons. At this age they have begun to develop longer attention spans and can retain material with ease.
Voice Lessons
7 years old is recommended as the youngest age for private vocal lessons. Due to the physical nature of voice lessons (proper breathing techniques, development of the vocal chords and lung capacity), the younger body is generally not yet ready for the vigors of vocal technique. For children younger than 7, we have a weekly Group Voice class (ages 5 and up) that teaches them how to use their voices properly, in a fun and relaxed environment.
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Insist on Private Lessons when Learning a Specific Instrument
Group classes work well for preschool music programs, and theory lessons. However, when actually learning how to play an instrument, private lessons are far superior since it is hard to miss anything, and each student can learn at their own pace. This means the teacher does not have to teach a class at a middle of the road level, but has the time and focus to work on the individual student’s strengths and weaknesses. For that lesson period, the student is the primary focus of the teacher. The teachers also enjoy this as they do not have to divide their attention between 5 -10 students at a time and can help the student be the best they can be.
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Take Lessons in a Professional Teaching Environment
Learning piano and voice is not just a matter of having a qualified teacher, but also having an environment that is focused on music education. In a professional school environment a student cannot be distracted by tv, pets, ringing phones, siblings or anything else. With only 1/2 hour to one hour of lesson time per week, a professional school environment can produce better results since the only focus at that time is learning music. Students in a school environment are also motivated and inspired by hearing peers who are at different levels. In a performing arts school, the lessons are not just a hobby or side-line for the teacher but a responsibility which is taken very seriously.
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Making Practicing Easier
As with anything, improving in voice or piano takes time. One of the main problems with lessons is the drudgery of practicing and the fight between parents and students to practice every day. Here are some ways to make practicing easier:
a) Time – Set the same time everyday to practice so it becomes part of the routine or habit. This works particularly for children. Generally the earlier in the day the practicing can occur, the less reminding is required by parents to get the child to practice.
b) Repetition – We use this method quite often when setting practice schedules for beginners. For a young child 20 -30 minutes seems like an eternity. Instead pd setting a time frame, we sue repetition. For example, practice this piece 4 times everyday, and this scale 5 times a day. The child does not pay attention to the amount of time they are practicing, but knows if they are on repetition number three they are almost finished.
c) Rewards – This works very well for both children and young adult students. Parents can encourage children to practice by granting them occasional rewards for successful practicing. In our school we reward young children for a successful week of practicing with stickers or stars of achievement. Praise tends to be the most coveted award – there is just no substitute for a pat on the back for a job well done. Sometimes we all have a week with little practicing, in that case there is always next week.
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Use Recognized Teaching Materials
There are some excellent materials that we use at Arts You, developed by professional music educators that are made for students in a variety of situations. For example in piano, there are books for very young beginners and books for adults that have never played before. There are books that can start you at a level you are comfortable with. These materials have been researched and are continually upgraded and improved to make learning easier. These materials ensure that no important part of learning the instrument can inadvertently be left out. If you ever have to move to a different part of the country, qualified teachers and institutions will recognize the materials and be able to smoothly continue from where your previous teacher left off.
| HAVE FUN!
Singing and Playing Piano should be something that you want you or your child to enjoy for a lifetime. So, try not to put unrealistic expectations on yourself or your child to learn too quickly. Everyone learns at a different pace and the key is to be able to enjoy the journey!
Let it begin with your group or private lessons here at Arts Youniversity!
Arts Youniversity 609-586-3008 www.ArtsYouniversity.com
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