How Teachers or Parents can Help a Five Year Old Learn to Play the Piano
Many teachers do not believe a child as young as five is ready to learn to play the piano. They will not even consider starting them until they are seven. Learning to read notes is a difficult task for some adults, not just children. We have the memory clues of “FACE,” “Every Good Boy Does Fine,” “All Cows Eat, Grass,” and “Good Birds Don’t Fly Away.” However, these are pretty vague for even a seven year old, let alone a five year old. It was frustration with this challenge that brought the Animal Note Method of teaching Note Reading into existence. By making the notes into caricatures of familiar animals whose names start with the seven alphabet letters used by many in music and having little stories that help relate the Animal Notes’ position on the Grand Staff and their place on the keyboard, learning not only become easier, but also fun. The Animal Note/standard note Flash Card set along with these word clues help the child not only learn the notes and their location on the keyboard, but become familiar with the corresponding standard note. It is a win - win situation.
The five year old adapts easily to this method of learning the piano. Start out with the Note Reading book and a set of Flash Cards. Each child has their own unique personality, but even the most sensitive child or one with a short attention span can learn and succeed when started with the Animal Note method. As parents, know your child and work with his/her personality. Keep the lessons simple and practice time short. Don’t expect them to practice on their own at first. Find a moment each day around the same time that works well for you and your child and ask them to play their new piece for you. It is amazing how well a child progresses if the assignment is played just once a day. At the next lesson have them play this piece for you and award their efforts with a sticker of their choice and move on to a new piece. If they have not played the assigned piece once a day, you may need to go over it two or three times before moving on. Sometimes it is important to have them repeat the piece another week. Move to the next piece, and go over it at least once; twice is better. Review with the Flash Cards the notes the child has learned, use the word clues and look at the standard note using the same word clues. Finish with a couple of old songs and lots of “warm fuzzies”.
The Timing Book comes next. Once your young student has started learning the half notes, add one of the “Fun Song” books as a child loves to play songs they are familiar with and others recognize. This really encourages them. At this point you should start using the Flash Card set asking them to identify and play the standard notes first using the word clues to help with the identification. You will probably need to give them a hint to help them remember. They can look at the Animal Note on the other side when they need help. Even five years olds can get this pretty fast by working with the flash cards every lesson.
After the timing book you are ready to move into a standard primer with this age child. At first you will need to ask the child, “What is this note doing?” This will help them think of the word clue that will identify the note they are stuck on. Before long they will be moving forward with ease. At this level, start introducing new notes beyond the original 9 notes, again using the Animal Note Flash Cards and word clues for them. Your child is off to a wonderful start in music in a fun way without frustration.
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