You may be drawn to or tired of hearing advertisements for piano lessons that claim that learning the piano will help your children's intellectual development.
You even signed up your child for piano lessons and wonder how that advertisement was true because my child dislikes practicing at all!
Home practice and reading music notation are the most common discussion or consultation topics I come across. I experienced both issues and worked tirelessly to assist my piano families.
It took me a long time to figure out why, but I eventually got answers.
Let me share them with you all.
There are solutions for educators, students, and parents.
I will walk you through each step of the process to ensure that your children's piano lessons are enjoyable, productive, and lasting.
There is a process by which humans learn things, so everything I try to teach can be applied to any type of general learning or education.
First and foremost, I can't help but emphasize that learning music is enjoyable, and it takes time to reach full maturity.
Second, playing the piano is not difficult if they can learn proper piano technique from the start, taking small steps at a time and enjoying the experience.
There is no quick fix, unfortunately.
The good news is that if we do not give up, we will achieve our goal!
Planted seeds require time to germinate, grow, and harvest. They must also live in an environment that allows them to grow comfortably. Full-sun plants in shaded areas will not reach their full potential, but if we can relocate them, they will sprout and thrive on their own!
So, how?
Our bodies, like our brains, go through their own developmental stages.
There is a slight difference between individuals, but just as a baby fist crowls but never runs first, these steps are natural and should not be disturbed.
Now, let's look at how babies learn.
Babies can only see relatively close distances at first, such as their mother's face. They can hear the sound despite their limited vision.
Our ears play an important role in the operation of our lives' ecosystem. The area around our ears contains a large number of nerve systems. The eyes see, the ears hear, the mouth speaks and eats (tastes), and the nose smells and breathes. These are very important aspects of our lives.
It's interesting that eyesight improves after eating, breathing, and listening. It is because vision consumes a large amount of energy in our brain, allowing our body to process other areas to develop first.
So a newborn baby listens before seeing things. There are several reasons why a baby responds so well to his or her mother’s voice. It's because that sound (the mother's voice) provides food, care, and safety, all of which are necessary for life to exist.
Let's imagine we're babies. We don’t see much but are living in a world of sounds. Most likely, we recognize our mother's voice. How about the remainder of the sounds?
We may begin to identify some patterns. Another voice, like our father or siblings. We hear the difference through various experiences.
Certain sounds started to have meaning.
Then vision and sound begin to merge gradually.
This is the first step in our lives.
Isn't it more of a growth rather than a learning process?
In other words, we cannot learn much unless we have firsthand experience. We learn through experience.
That means that learning is a continuous process that must occur naturally rather than forcibly.
Why?
Force is always associated with stress.
We recognize stress as a crisis and instinctively try to avoid the danger.
It's difficult to remove our instinct for survival.
It means that when we are stressed, we instinctively try to avoid it. It happens spontaneously, especially in young children.
When a child reaches the age of about ten, our brain's outer skirts begin to develop rapidly, and we gain the ability to compose and analyze more complex logic. Thus, as a child grows older, they can set their own goals without feeling stressed, but rather challenged.
So, what happens when a student is young or very young?
Because our brain's "logical thinking" governs a portion of the cerebrum that begins actively developing around the age of three and later, if your child began piano or music lessons at a younger age, it's best to let them lead based on what piques their interest rather than forcing mechanical memorization and giving heavily structured concepts. Processing abstract concepts causes confusion and stress in their brains. They need to move and feel what they're learning with their bodies. These experience-associated "fun" and "enjoyable" emotions stimulate their learning process while not stressing their brain, resulting in positive experiences.
It means they play with the piano at their lessons and also they play with the piano at home.
We can refer to it as "practice" if necessary, but I prefer not to use that term in my studio.
Parental involvement is an important factor in creating a positive and productive learning environment.
Children adore their parents and want to share what they enjoy. Parents do not need to be their children's teachers or supervisors at home; instead, they should be their companions while playing. They will learn what they did in class even if they play freely at home.
This is the secret to organic learning.
They do not need to memorize anything.
They do not need to practice anything.
If they enjoy what they do, they will remember it.
Do not worry if they forget or misunderstand something. This will be covered until they got them.
Let us conclude the first phase: home practice.
Playing at home is valuable practice. Children enjoy activities that are simple to complete. They repeat what they can do and enjoy doing. This is common procedure. As they grow older, they will begin to "play at home" in a different way. That is when I, as a teacher, can gradually introduce new activities into their home play. Parents' roles include being present for their children, conversing with them, and sharing the music they enjoy. That is all. Children are very sensitive to how their parents feel or think. Your disinterest in your children's activities will diminish their interest. If you truly want your child to learn the piano and become a good player, please be open-minded and enjoy the music together.
Let's eliminate an unnecessary assumption: "Home practice is a must!"
If they want, they will, and our role is to set the conditions.
This is one of the secrets of the "I hate practice" syndrome.
Playing the piano is exciting!
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