Does Music Really Make Kids Smarter? I received an email last week from a musician questioning the music and math connection recent studies have found. He said he has many friends who are terrific musicians but can hardly solve simple math problems. Most parents already know about the music and math connection and our website has links to the research indicating children who are exposed to early piano instruction do better in school. However, this musician’s email got me thinking about all the things we do as parents of young children to give our kids every advantage as they face the challenges ahead of them and all the other reasons parents choose to teach their children beginning piano at home with Piano for Preschoolers.

I’m very grateful to all the parents who take the time to write to me and tell me how well their children are doing with Piano for Preschoolers. Their stories are all different and they decided to teach their children beginning piano at home for a variety of reasons, but one thing is always the same.

Regardless of the age their child started learning or how far they’ve gotten in the course, these parents are beaming with pride and amazed at how quickly their children are picking up the beginning musical concepts. The children are excited to be playing songs they recognize and the parents are having as much fun as the kids!

I know when my kids were infants well-meaning people would tell me “they grow up so fast – enjoy these times”. But in my sleep-deprived state, I was just trying to make it through the day and didn’t really take their comments to heart. As they grew into curious preschoolers I tried to give them the most loving and nurturing environment possible to discover what the world had to offer. Now that they’re elementary and middle school aged, I know how fast the time really goes and the special times we spent learning and exploring together during those early years are special memories.

Yes, the research clearly shows a connection between early piano instruction and increased intelligence later in life. Yes, the coordination and confidence your child will develop by using all of his senses learning to play the piano will help him down the road in countless ways. Yes, you can teach your child beginning piano at home even if you’ve never played a note with Piano for Preschoolers.

However, what touches my heart more than anything else are the stories of the special times together and the wonderful memories created as children play songs they love while parents sing along. Does this mean your child will become a math whiz or play Carnegie Hall? I don’t know. What I do know is parents throughout the country are teaching their children beginning piano at home with Piano for Preschoolers and giving their children every advantage they can as they help their children develop critical skills that will carry them forward. 0 comments

Fun Ways to Teach Rhythm One of the more challenging things for most parents to teach is rhythm. Throughout Piano for Preschoolers there are tips and exercises to help your child play with a steady rhythm and learn timing. One of the best ways to help your child get the rhythm right is to clap the notes instead of playing them on your piano or keyboard. Once your child starts to understand how long he/she is supposed to hold down each note you can start learning a new song by clapping the rhythm together before your child plays the notes on the piano. To do this simply clap each note as you sing the lyrics of the song holding your hands together for the longer notes. For example, if your child is about to learn to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as you sing twinkle twinkle little star how I wonder what you are it would go something like clap clap clap clap clap clap clap hold clap clap clap clap clap clap clap hold. The important part is to keep your clapping steady. By the way, if your child continues studying music there is a tool called a metronome which ticks and tocks in the background as your child practices to help keep a steady rhythm. For now, singing along and clapping are much less intimidating and more fun. To change things up a bit, try slapping your thigh or stomping your foot instead of clapping as you sing the lyrics.

You can also play some fun rhythm games that will not only help your child keep a steady rhythm but also help with many forms of coordination and memory skills. For example, first establish the beat by tapping your foot or slapping your thigh or even nodding your head. Then, clap a short sequence (perhaps clap clap clap hold clap clap clap hold or clap clap hold clap clap clap hold clap) and ask your child to repeat it. Have fun with this and after you’ve demonstrated a few sequences ask your child to make up a new sequence and you repeat it.

Clapping the rhythm of poetry and nursery rhymes as you read them helps your child learn about rhythm. Little Jack Horner sat in the corner or Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet would be clap clap clap clap hold and clap clap clap clap hold and so on …

Remember as you’re exposing your child to these different exercises you are not only teaching very important early piano concepts but also helping establish the neural connections that will benefit your child in so many ways in the future. There are some incredible correlations to be found between musical structures, patterns found in the natural world and complex mathematical phenomena. It may all seem like just a lot of fun as you’re singing and clapping along but the long term benefits of this special time together go way beyond the fun. 0 comments

Adding Emotion to the Music and Learning to Hear the Dynamics in Different Pieces Once your child has mastered the first few songs in our course there are some fun games you can play to help your child discover different sounds and different emotions in the music.

The first step to adding dynamics or emotion to the songs your child is playing is being able to hear them in other music. Play several different pieces of classical music and ask your child to tell you the story the piece is telling. You might ask if the main character is happy or sad? What the weather is like? Where the story takes place? Etc. You can even take this a step further and ask your child to draw or paint a picture to illustrate the story the music is telling. This exercise develops very important listening skills.

You may need to demonstrate this next exercise for your child. Ask your child to make up a song that sounds like different emotions or settings. For example, ask your child to play a song that sounds like a storm and then a song that sounds like a sunny day. Ask your child to play a song that sounds like a huge giant stomping through the forest or a tiny fairy flying from flower to flower. Next, ask your child to play a song that sounds like a baseball player running from first to second base or a ballerina dancing on stage. It doesn’t matter what notes your child plays, you’re just trying to get them to play the “story” behind the music.

There are notations in written music called dynamics that tell the pianist how the composer intended the piece to sound. It’s not important that your child know the Italian names of the dynamics at this point. If your child can hear the difference and feel the different emotions each dynamic evokes then he/she will be way ahead of the game.

You can start with four dynamics:

Forte (f) Loud
Piano (p) Soft
Dolce Sweet
Staccato Brief and Detached

Take Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star or one of your child’s favorite songs and ask him/her to play the entire song forte, piano, dolce or staccato. Then take each line and ask your child to play the first line forte and the second line piano, etc.

By continuing to nurture your child's natural love of music through the piano lessons you are teaching and fun exercises such as these you are developing skills that will serve your child well long after the lessons end. The special memories you're creating will be treasured by both of you.

Next time I’ll give you some fun games to help with rhythm and some exercises to help keep the rhythm steady. Playing with steady rhythm and counting aloud are some of the most challenging skills for young children to master. These fun exercises keep the kids motivated and help develop these important skills. 0 comments

Turn Your Next Play-Date into a Recital In Lesson Six of the Piano for Preschoolers Parent/Teacher Guide I talk about how important it is to give your child performing opportunities once he or she has mastered the first few songs in our course. This opportunity can be as simple as a your child playing for the family after dinner and then serving a special dessert, or playing for visiting grandparents or other relatives. It’s great fun for everyone to sing along as your child plays Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Yankee Doodle. Pile on the praise at the end of each song, and your child will beam with pride. With this special event, you are not only rewarding the hard work put in to learn the songs, but you are also motivating your child to continue learning. It is that pride and sense of accomplishment that will keep both of you working to master the beginning piano concepts in Piano for Preschoolers.

Why not take this performance a step farther and turn your next play-date into an opportunity for your child’s young friends to showcase their accomplishments as well? If you have a group of moms that meet regularly for play-dates or park days you can easily turn that day into a performing opportunity for the children. Some children may want to recite a favorite poem or show off a dance they’re learning in ballet class. Other kids may have a Lego creation or an art project to display. Add in sugar cookies or a special treat and it will be a memorable day for everyone.

An easy take home memento is a simple booklet made from a folded and stapled piece of construction paper with blank pages inside. Include each child’s name on the front and something about whatever they shared with the group. Inside this booklet the other moms can write positive comments about the child’s performance or project. This makes a great take home gift and becomes a treasured keepsake that will be a cherished reminder of the special day.

The special times together and the memories you’re creating as you teach your child beginning piano with Piano for Preschoolers are precious. Sharing your accomplishments with family and friends can make them even more special. Enjoy! 0 comments

Family Review Center Awards Piano for Preschoolers 5/5 Stars! At the end of last year, Family Review Center requested a copy of our basic course to review. According to their website “The Family Review Center focuses on introducing companies and products to our viewing audience with no hype or pressure, but simply the facts and our unbiased opinions; allowing the consumer to decide what is right for them and their family.”

Recently I was proud to learn the Family Review Center gave Piano for Preschoolers 5 out of 5 stars! They posted the following review on their site. From their comments, it’s obvious to me they really spent some time with our product. I think their comments will be helpful to parents and grandparents looking for a fun and easy way to teach their preschoolers beginning piano.

Next time I want to talk more about performing opportunities for your children. If your child has performed for family or friends after working with Piano for Preschoolers, I’d love to hear about their special events. As always, you can reach me at angie@pianoforpreschoolers.com.

Angie

Excerpt from the Family Review Center Review of Piano for Preschoolers:

Equal to 6-12 months of class instruction, the Piano For Preschooler program will give your preschooler confidence to begin playing piano, and parents the confidence to teach piano, shortly after the product exits the box.

The Piano For Preschoolers program teaches counting aloud, rhythm, finger position, finger numbers, reading music and the names of the notes. The program is set to familiar songs of childhood (ie: Old McDonald, Ten Little Indians, etc.) to make learning the content that much easier. There are a total of 17 songs used in the program.

This program starts a child out in Piano by guiding their fingers using color strips that will fit on any piano or keyboard (two sets included). Once they have worked to the end of this book, the last two songs work to transition them to notes written in black, so they may convert their thinking to normal sheet music. From here they will be ready to expand their music concepts and piano playing by working on music you will find at the library or music store, or begin with formal lessons by a teacher.

This is an easy first step approach to music and piano. Because it is simple for parent and child, it will help children to develop a new love for music, as parents are the best encouragement and coach in the early years.

The kit contains all of the following:

Beginning piano book with color-coded notes on a traditional musical staff

CD with voice-over "count aloud" for each song in the music book
Color strip for keyboards and pianos, colors matching musical notes in book

Parent/Teacher Guide that includes step-by-step instructions

This program is well priced and well in tune with the needs of both parent and child in a music learning setting. This is so easy to use, I know you and your child will see success from the very first lesson. It is then up to you to encourage your child and develop a strong sense of a love for music as you come to appreciate and explore the world of music together in a fun and loving setting.

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More Reasons You are Your Child's Best First Piano Teacher

One of the questions I’m asked all the time is how a parent without any musical training can teach their young children to play the piano. As many of you know, I firmly believe a caring parent or grandparent is a child’s best first piano teacher.

Many of the reasons I believe this are underscored in Philip Sheppard’s book Music Makes Your Child Smarter. Recently the publisher sent me a copy of Mr. Sheppard’s book. I’m always eager to learn more about the link between early music instruction and increased intelligence so I read this book with particular interest.

In Music Makes Your Child Smarter Mr. Sheppard agrees that you have the capacity to be your child’s most inspiring music teacher – even if you haven’t had any musical training yourself. He cites a study conducted by Moore, Burland and Davidson at the University of East London. This study monitored the ongoing musical activities of 257 children. The researchers found that children who maintained interest in playing an instrument had:

Started at an early age;

Had a great deal of parental support;

Begun their studies with teachers who were friendly, but not very technically able.

Mr. Sheppard goes on to reiterate that you don’t need musical training to be your child’s best, most inspiring music teacher - and your home is the perfect place for learning.

I developed Piano for Preschoolers to give parents the confidence to teach their young children beginning piano and through these special times together create some wonderful memories. It’s gratifying to know experts in early music education agree that you are your child’s best first piano teacher. Piano for Preschoolers provides all the tools necessary to teach your child beginning piano and make the experience a successful and rewarding adventure for both of you.


Angie

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Santa Brought a Keyboard or Toy Piano - Now What? I’ve received several calls the last few days from parents whose children received keyboards or toy pianos for Christmas. They are in search of a fun and rewarding first experience at the piano. Most of the keyboards and toy pianos available come with some sort of songbook to peak the interest of the child. Unfortunately, they’re often too difficult for young children to follow, or don’t teach the beginning piano concepts children need to learn in order to receive all the benefits of early piano study. Other programs require more time at the computer than the piano, or resemble video games more than piano lessons.

Piano for Preschoolers combines the fun experience of playing songs the kids already love with lessons that teach the concepts children must master to be prepared for further study. The kids have so much fun playing songs they recognize on their new instrument with parents and grandparents singing along, they don’t even realize they are mastering these beginning piano concepts. This combination of an exciting and fun first experience and step-by-step mastery of rhythm, fingering, reading music, etc. is what has helped so many families successfully teach their young children to play the piano using our program.

I know there are many choices out there when it comes to beginning piano lessons. As you consider the different options available, I’m happy to help you make the right choice for your child. I firmly believe that a caring parent or grandparent is the best first piano teacher. Using our award-winning method you can teach your child beginning piano even if you’ve never played a note in your life. It’s critical that your child’s first experience at the piano be fun and rewarding but actually teach them to play. The confidence your child gains playing songs everybody knows will carry you both through the lessons and build a solid foundation for further study. Congratulations on recognizing the importance of early piano instruction and giving your child the best first experience available. Enjoy these special times together.


Angie 0 comments