What Age Should Your Child Start Piano Lessons?

There isn`t a parent who doesn`t want their child to be good at something and one of the more common aspirations is playing piano. There`s something about being able to dance your fingers across the ivory keys that appeals to both parents and children. The big question on every parent`s lips is "When should my child start piano?"

The younger, the better. We`ve all heard about the likes of Mozart and other child prodigies who began playing at very tender ages, 3 or 4. Getting a child into piano that early means they will have the most time possible playing, even if they don`t end up being extremely gifted in the area of music.

Introducing Young Children to Piano

You can start peaking your little one`s interest in music right from the start. Listening to classical piano while in the womb and after birth will give your child an early appreciation for the piano. They will be far more interested in playing than if you simply ignore music all together and then abruptly introduce it as you want them to play.

If you`ve decided to start your very young child in piano, it is very important to find the right teacher. Toddlers can`t and shouldn`t be expected to, focus on one thing for a long period of time. That means lessons will certainly need to be cut into smaller, more manageable bites. Most 3-4 year olds do very well with 15 minute lessons.

You really can`t expect a 3 year old to learn the same way a teen or adult would, so having a piano teacher that understands the age group and knows how to communicate effectively with a small child is vital. Without this, you`ll find that children don`t learn well and will rapidly become frustrated with the instrument. The idea is to keep it fun and enjoyable, particularly at this young age.

With a good base to build on, small children will often go on to play piano for the rest of their lives and this gift of music is definitely something that they will treasure in years to come.

Older Children and the Piano

Of course, not everyone can start their toddler in piano lessons so early. In some cases, parents may not have even considered the possibility until their older child came out and asked for lessons. This is a common scenario, where the child is the one interested in playing.

First, you`ll want to ensure that this isn`t just a passing phase. Most parents do this by requiring their children to take a minimum of one year of piano lesson. This is more than enough time to get a good taste for the music and after a year, a decision can be made, to continue on or to leave it.

Children who instigate the learning process tend to stick with it better than those who are forced into it at an early age, but they may be slower to pick up the concepts behind the music and it can be a bit of a struggle for older children to learn to read music in some cases. However, if the effort is made, it can be an excellent way to learn more about music and no one has ever done poorly because they learned to play the piano.

To make the piano lessons a success, be sure to have a way for your child to practice daily. It`s important they have this opportunity, no matter what their age. While younger is still better, that certainly doesn`t rule out older kids who are interested in learning.

The History of Violin is Traced Back Thousands of Years

Do you know that the violin dates back over several thousand years ago? The history of the violin starts from its ancient stringed precursors known as the ravanstron, the rebec, and the rabab, as well as the rote and the vielle that emerged in the 11th century, to its current form that was created in the 16th century.

Back in 16th century Italy, a family name Medici commissioned the famous lute maker, Andrea Amati to create a stringed musical instrument that sounded similar to a lyre, but was small enough to be carried. These first violins were extremely successful that King Charles IX of France ordered Amati to create an entire orchestra of the instruments.

In fact, violins from this very orchestra, dating back to 1564, are still in existence. In the 18th century, a man named Antonio Stradivari finally built a violin that became the basis from which all violin models today are formed.

Violins are designed to withstand the test of time. They are small and hollow wooden instruments with a long neck and four lines of string tuned a fifth pitch from each other, from low to high. While there are electric violins that have been built, they have not deviated from this basic design.

Normally made from spruce or maple, the violin's fingerboard is manufactured from ebony or ivory. Strings in the past were made of gut, but today they are made from different materials, such as metal, nylon perlon, or synthetic core.

This beautiful and graceful stringed instrument with its ancient beginnings is still being played today, from concert violinists stroking their bows across priceless Stradivaris to beginners plucking the strings of rented instruments while taking online violin lessons.

Five Ways Piano Lessons Benefit Children

1. Piano Lessons Help Children in School

The most talked about benefit children receive from piano lessons is that it also helps with their school lessons. Numerous studies available show children who play an instrument, score higher on both standard and spatial cognitive development tests alike. There are also findings that show kids who play piano, in particular, scored higher in math, especially on problems dealing with ratios and fractions.

In one particular study conducted by Dr. Frances Rauscher (a psychologist at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh) and Gordon Shaw (a physicist at of the University of California at Irvine) tested preschoolers who received piano instruction. They found that preschoolers who received piano lessons scored 34% higher than their nonmusical counterparts in tests measuring spatial-temporal reasoning, which is the brain function used to understand math, science and engineering.

2. Piano Lessons Raise Self Esteem

Learning to play the piano is hard work and takes dedication. Not only does each song mastered increase a child's self-esteem, but showcasing their newly learned talents at piano recitals can boost their self esteem as much as winning a game in a sports competition.

Lessons also help kids to learn how to keep a positive outlook when facing difficult tasks. The understanding that mastering a new skill is a process that requires patience helps children to approach tasks with confidence, and not become discouraged or frustrated.

3. Piano Lessons Increase Coordination

Increased eye-hand coordination is almost a given for children that learn to play the piano, but there is more than that. Kids who play the piano have improved fine motor skills and, unlike other instruments, the piano requires both hands to work independently of each other, one moving fast while the other may be moving at a slower rate. All of these things help to increase a child's overall dexterity and complex thought processes.

4. Piano Lessons Help Children to Concentrate

Reading a piece of music takes a great deal of focus, causing a child to interpret a note and a rhythm, translate it into hand movements on the keyboard and then immediately go on to the next one. Reading and playing music allows them to think both critically and creatively, which is a skill that will assist them in anything they choose to undertake in the future.

5. Piano Lessons Help Children to be Well-Rounded

Regardless of whether a child plays the piano for a short time or for a lifetime, the long-term effects of their piano pursuance are many. Through playing the piano, children are exposed to classical music that they may otherwise have never heard. Kids may develop an appreciation for composers like Bach or Mozart that stay with them for life. In addition, the skills and knowledge they learn in piano may help them easily pick up another musical instrument later.

What is a Recorder?

Most people have played a recorder or one of its relatives such as the tin-or penny-whistle. It is a reasonably easy instrument to play and most recorder tutor books introduce easy tunes, consisting of only three or four notes.

As with all families of instruments, the smaller the size, the higher the pitch.

TYPES OF RECORDER

There are five instruments in the recorder family. The bigger ones have lower pitch and the smaller ones have higher pitch. The different recorders are sopranino, descant, treble, tenorand bass.

The descant is the most familiar, because of its size, about twelve inches long; it is easily played by small hands and it is the one which children learn on in school. Descant recorders the most popular type are made of plastic or wood and usually have two or three sections which fit together. They are about 1 ft long.

The bass recorder is the largest recorde with the lowest pitch. it is so big, it has an extra metal tube to blow into so that the player can reach the finger holes.

The range of each recorder in the family spans over two octaves. Some are made of plastic which tends to give their sound a hard edge. Those made of wood generally produce a sound which is much more mellow.

The recorder was one of the most popular instruments in Europe from the 14^th to 18^th centuries and the model we know today evolved from when Henry VIII was on the throne. It was his favourite instrument and when he died, he left a collection of 76 recorders.

By 1750 compositions for the recorder became scarce until the beginning of the 20^th century.

Today, high quality recorders are made from a range of wood such as maple, pear or rosewood. Plastics recorders are produced in large quantities, and these are the types that are usually used in children's ensembles, plastic are cheaper and easy to maintain.

How the Recorder Works

The recorder is a member of the woodwind family of instruments- so called because at one time they were all made of wood and were blown to produce their sounds. Today the woodwind sections includes instruments such as the flute, which are metal.

• When the instrument is blown, the sound is created by the air striking the recorder lip as it emerges from the small air channel.
• The remaining column of air vibrates as it passes down the tube. All woodwind instruments have holes down one side of the tube and usually one on the opposite sides for the thumb.
• The instrument produces specific notes if one or more of the holes are blocked, when it is blown. The more holes that are covered, the deeper the note.

You can learn to play the recorder with a teacher. There are also books to help you learn to play the recorder on your own. The book will tell the musician which notes and how to play the notes.

Parts of a Recorder

Ther recorder has three parts. The head has a mouthpiece you blow into. The middle has six finger-holes and a thumb hole. The foot has a hole for the little finger.

Fact File

• The earliest recorder ever found was made around 25,000BC.
• It was made from a hollow animal bone with holes cut into the sides

The Violin

The violin is one of the best loved of all musical instruments. The beauty of its shape is matched by a beauty of tone. The violin is a member of the family of stringed instruments. It is capable of a wide range of musical expressions; the sound of the violin can be almost as varied and as moving as the human voice.

Anyone who is asked to make a list of musical instruments will no doubt place the violin close to the top. Its clear tones are familiar to everyone and its versatility has given the violin its place as leader of the orchestra.

It is a symbol of romance in countries of the Mediterranean, where violin players serenade young lovers at café tables. The violin is also an instrument to dance to. Almost all traditional country dances rely on the accompaniment of the fiddle. In Medieval times, minstrels with stringed instruments were a familiar sight.

Violin is one of the most expressive instruments and is used by composers to evoke moods. A wide range of effects can be achieved from a variety of playing techniques.

• The familiar mellow sound is made by simply drawing the bow across the strings creating an atmosphere of serenity and stillness.
• Sometimes the sound can be so pure that it resembles the soprano voice of a choirboy. By contrast scraping the bow across the strings in abrupt jerky movements gives a harsh, angry sound and is often used to portray storms or violent events.
• The trembling effect used for sad music is obtained by sliding the fingers along the strings, whereas the short,snappy sounds used to conjure up lighter moods come from plucking the strings. This technique can create an impression of dancing or raindrops.

In recent years, the violin has become a feature of modern popular and jazz music; many rock and pop artists have abandoned synthesizers in favour of orchestral arrangements for massed violins to create a softer effect.

How the Violin Works

Sound is produced from strings by bowing or plucking. This makes the air inside the body of the instrument vibrateand amplify the sound. This is called"resonance".

Four strings are stretched from the bottom of the instrument, over a raised'bridge' and held in position by pegs at the end of the finger board. The violin is tuned by twisting thsese pegs to slacken or tighten the strings.

High and low notes depend on the size thickness and tension of the string. The shorter, thinner and more taut it is, the higher the note it produces.

How strings are made?

All violin strings used to be made from sheep or even cat gut. Then it was discovered that winding aluminum or silver thread round the gut meant that strings could be made stronger and thinner.

Now nylon or plastic is often used instead of gut for the central core and the strings are wound with aluminum or copper wire. the material from which the string is made affects the quality of the sound it produce.

Fact File

• The highest price ever paid for a violin was £820,000 in November 1990 for a Stradivarius made in 1720.
• Until the late18th century the violin was held against the chest not under the chin.
• Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741) was one of the most important and prolific composers for the violin. He lived in Venice and entered the priesthood at age 15. Vivaldi wrote nearly 400 concertos for the violin. A concerto is a composition for a solo instrument and orchestra. Vivaldi's most famous work is"The Four Seasons" a set of four concertos one for each season of the year.

The variety of musical effects possible on the violin makes it one of the most popular of all musical instruments.

All over the world you will find people playing violins or similar kinds of musical instruments. The versatility of the violin makes it suitable for playing many different styles of music.

How to Teach Young Children Piano ?

The fact that young children's brains are still growing and developing means that they usually have an easier time than adults when it comes to learning languages and musical instruments. Capitalizing on the impressionable minds of children can help turn them into brilliant young musicians. Knowing how kids think can be helpful when attempting to teach them how to play the piano.

1. Assess the size of the child's hands before you begin to teach him piano. Young piano students do not need to span an octave (eight notes) right away, but they will need to be able to reach 4 to 5 notes at a time. If your child has small hands or is under 5 years old, he may not be ready for piano lessons.

2. Choose a piano teacher who specializes in teaching children if you do not plan to teach your young child how to play the piano yourself. A music teacher or pianist that has experience working with elementary school-age children already has the basic knowledge (including patience) that is necessary when working with young musicians.

3. Begin to teach young piano students with the "sound before sight" philosophy. This way of teaching music focuses on paying attention to what is heard and actively played on the piano before attaching note names and symbols to the process. Sound before sight can be especially useful when dealing with young kids who are non-readers.

4. Allow the child to explore the piano keyboard and make music on her own as an introduction to formal lessons. Ask her to explain what she likes to hear and why. This type of freedom may lead naturally into music theory that is an integral part of learning to play the piano.

5. Choose a piano lesson book series and stick with it, rather than hopping back and forth between the various types of learning that different companies may employ. Consistency is important to children and makes for an easier learning experience.

6. Make flash cards for both the treble and bass clefs when the young child is ready to learn the note names. Review flash cards several times daily to help the piano student connect the note names and positions on the staff with the notes he's actually playing on the keyboard.

7. Set up a regular practice schedule and make sure it is followed. Some children may pick up the piano very easily, while others may be more challenged. Every young piano student needs daily practice in order to develop their musical abilities more fully.

Piano is the Perfect First Instrument

For some musicians, choosing an instrument can be a daunting task. Obviously each instrument has its own pros and cons. But in the long run, which instrument will be best for you? Piano is the recommended starting point. That does not mean go out and buy a grand piano. You can find a basic 49 key keyboard fairly cheap at most department and electronic stores. Some people will tell you to spend a lot and go ahead and buy the most expensive keyboard you can find. They are wrong. For a beginner, a cheaper keyboard will allow you to learn the basics just as well as the higher ends. As long as it has black and white keys and sounds somewhat similar to a piano, you should be ready to go.

Why choose piano? For starters, most have headphone jacks. Your family and friends will appreciate this. You are able to practice silently and at your own pace without feeling the need to impress anyone but yourself. You will find very few instruments with this feature. From personal experience as well as through research, I have discovered that piano is a bit simpler to learn. You have the same set of keys, A through G, repeated in octaves. If you learn one octave, you've learned them all. Most keyboards come with a small book of songs and may have some pre-programmed for you to play along with. This will teach you to read sheet music. It is incredibly easy to find sheet music for piano and guitar as opposed to other instruments.

Classical Music Improving Children's Development

Ever since a 1993 study revealed that college students' scores improved on spatial-temporal reasoning tests after listening to Mozart, the "Mozart Effect" has been the buzz phrase that won't disappear.

The researchers behind the "Mozart Effect" study, Professor Francis Rauscher and Dr. Gordon Shaw, made national news again in the late 1990s with an inspiring study that motivated people on a national scale to reintroduce music – especially classical music – into children's lives and education.

• After receiving keyboard lessons, preschool children in Los Angeles performed 34 percent higher on tests for spatial-temporal reasoning than children who were either trained on computers or received no special training.
• At the Wales and Magee elementary schools in Wisconsin, kindergarten students, after a minimal amount of keyboard lessons, scored 36 percent higher on spatial - temporal reasoning tests than students who received no instruction.

Although other studies have produced different findings, the Rauscher and Shaw studies captured the nation's curiosity. The prospect of classical music as a device for enhancing intellect and stimulating development fascinates educators, leaders, and families. Even skeptics are intrigued. In fact, a Georgia Program was founded based on the studies.

Raucher and Shaw's findings are not the first of their kind. Since the mid-1800s, research has suggested that classical music can have numerous positive effects on children's development and health.

Memory
Background music may aid in developing memory. Most importantly, memory recall improves when the same music played during learning is played during recall.

Emotion and mood
An Ohio study using the 30 variations in J. S. Bach's Goldberg Variations, BWV 988, found that children of different ages were mostly consistent in identifying the "emotion" of the variation as excited, sad, happy, or calm. Even children with no musical background were able to articulate the emotions expressed by the music.

The prodigy myth
Famous classical musicians are often deemed child geniuses. While Mozart is the most common example, there are others: Felix Mendelssohn wrote his first piece at age 11, and Frederick Chopin, the quintessential "romantic" composer, performed crowded concerts by the time he was 20.

While every child may not develop into a musical master, every child does have the potential to benefit from classical music – especially when music teaching takes a broad sensory approach.


Make the most of classical music

• Develop motor and rhythmic skills by having children invent their own instruments with classroom materials or recycled objects. Encourage students to organize small ensembles and perform for the rest of the class.
• Highlight a composer each month by providing biographical information and samples. Encourage class discussions that compare and contrast each month's composer with the previous ones.
• Invite children to hum and sing along with music to enhance language development skills. David Brin of classical music station KDFC suggests the CDs "The Mozart Effect: Music for Children" and Polygram's "Bach for Breakfast."
• Teach children the pleasure of music through dance. Encourage students to express themselves physically by stomping, marching, swaying, jumping, or shaking.

When appropriate, play consistent background music. Experiment to see which pieces children respond to the most. Below is a recommended list to get you started; it was compiled by announcer and producer John Clare, fromKMUW, a public radio station in Wichita.

Top 10 classical music list

1. Beethoven:Symphony #5
2. Pachelbel:Canon in D
3. Mozart:Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
4. Bach:Jesu, Joy of Man's Desire
5. Brahms:Piano Concerto #1
6. Mendelssohn:Symphony #4
7. Beethoven:Fur Elise
8. Mozart:Violin Concerto #3
9. Tchaikovsky:Waltz of the Flowers
10. Schubert:Trout Quintet

Note:

Spatial-temporal reasoning

• It is the brain function behind difficult, complicated tasks like math or chess.
• Spatial-temporal reasoning allows us to imagine ratios and proportions. For example, this type of reasoning is why we know that a tall, skinny glass and a short, wide glass can be filled with the same amount of water.

Georgia program

• In 1998, an inspired Governor Zell Miller founded a controversial program that distributes the recording "Build Your Baby's Brain Power Through the Power of Music" to the 110,000 babies born in Georgia each year. Governor Miller and tenor Michael McGuire chose the selections for the album, which includes works by Handel, Mozart, and Vivaldi.