Complete Novice - need help to get my son keyboard lessons

[JosieB]

Hi all,

I want my 5 year old son to start music lessons (an opportunity I regret never having). I heard keyboard was best place to start. After a little research I am now completely confused. I thought lessons were lessons and I just had to find a good teacher/ school but looks more complicated than that

So first up, my goal is for him to develop a love of music and playing vs be a concert pianist. Long term I would want him to be good enough to be in a teenage band . So I assume pop/jazz is better than classical for what my goals are.

So, what are peoples opinions on private teacher vs group lessons.

Do people have recommendations on a good school/ private teacher that is importantly fun for kids.

Separately, my hubby says he'd also like to learn (although not sure how serious he is). Are there teachers who do lessons for a 5 yr old and 35yr old at the same time?

Any input very very welcome and appreciated.

Thanks!
Jo

 

[kongwee]

I learn from play-by-ear for pop solo piano. Their strength is in their jazz courses.

 

[Cheez]

For 5 year olds, just build interest first. You can do that in exposure classes when they focus more on fun. If your child is interested, then start piano, NOT KEYBOARD. Starting on keyboards will destroy his technique. At that age, it's the time to develop proper techniques.

You mentioned: "So I assume pop/jazz is better than classical for what my goals are." Careful that these are YOUR goals, and not necessary for your child when he grows up. My suggestion is to build him and set him up for choices he can make himself. So...the way to go about is to learn classical. He has to learn proper technique (stressing that again...). With proper techniques, he can venture out into pop and jazz later. It's too early for jazz. The theory part may confuse him, unless he's a prodigy.

 

[JosieB]

Hi Cheez,

I see what you are saying but we have no space for a piano at home...3 little boys, 3 adults all in 1500sqr feet!

Do you have any suggestions for those classes that can expose him to music in fun way? Sounds ideal!

Thanks so much,
Jo

 

[pf]

How about joining those Yamaha group classes for kids first? Just having fun with the others.

 

[Cheez]

1500 ft2 is bigger than what many other has. A piano doesn't take up a lot of space as many people believe. Because the piano is upright, most of the space taken up is upwards. The space it takes on the floor isn't as much. Just need to move furniture around. I have 3 kids in our apartment as well - about the same size as yours.

 

[evident]

i think find a good teacher who can teach classical AND pop at the same time. most classical pianists don't even know what CHORDS are. i suggest you get a teacher who can do both (my music theory teacher does teach both abrsm stuff and apply it in the pop chord context too) it's much more helpful. and put him maybe in a group of maximum 2 people too many kids and it'll be more of a playgroup session than a piano lesson.

also the teacher must be good with kids and make the lesson interesting, giving him incentives to practice and venture out into the world of music on his own.

 

[pianomankris]

- Please don't take offence to this -

Does your son actually want to play, or do you want him to play simply because you didn't have the opportunity yourself?

In almost every sentence you talk about what 'you' want for him (fair enough), rather than what the kid has to say on the issue.

But, if you force him into it, in the long run, he'll hate you for it. You may see it as giving him an opportunity, but he may see all those hours spent practising as hours wasted when he could be doing something else.

I've taught kids whose parents want them to learn, rather than the kid wanting to learn. They are diligent enough for the first year (they don't want to upset their parents), but then they begin to rebel, first against the teacher (by not practising, intentionally playing wrong notes etc), then they rebel against their parents for making them do something they dont want to do.

There's so much talk in your post of what 'you' want, and 'your' goals, that personally, if you came to me for lessons for your son, I wouldn't take him on.


What does the kid have to say about it?

And yes, I do think 5 is old enough for a kid to say if they would like to do something or not.



Why not wait a bit until he is old enough to really know what he wants? As you said, he'll probably not be a concert pianist - that is certainly for sure - if all he is going to be doing is playing in a band, then what's wrong with him beginning when he is, for example, 12 or 13?

I can guarantee you that if he has the passion for it at 12, the results will be far better than if he has learned from 5 with no passion whatsoever.

Like I said, I hope you don't take offence with this, but i've seen this kind of thing so often that it pains me when I read such a post as the one you made.

If you want him to have a love of music, this can be done without playing an instrument. The playing of an instrument should begin when the love of music is already there. Otherwise you're fighting a losing battle.

Why does it have to be piano? What if he wanted to play guitar? Or tuba? Or anything else?


I'd think about these things before worrying about the best school/teacher to find.

 

[pf]

I agree with pianomankris completely!

There is totally no point to put the kid through lessons if the kid does not want to do it. I know that there are many adults out there who had even Grade 8 certification, but they did it when they were young because their parents wanted them to do it. After that, they no longer play. Neither do they have any passion for music. It was like an extra exam for them to pass. That's all.

 

[noinimod]

Yea.. JosieB, please ensure that your kid actually wants to learn the piano before signing him up. I've been a victim of my mom when i was a kid too and absolutely hated playing/practicing the piano. It was not until i stopped taking formal lessons altogether that i started to appreciate playing it

 

[kongwee]

I think for kid, it is very important to find teacher that is able to click with children. Kid do not know what they want,but always like fun.

 

[syltramon]

my mom enrolled me for piano classes when i was 5, i lost interest in that, but still remained musically interested in other fields like dance, ballet and singing.



A few years ago i picked up the guitar by ear, self thought myself, enrolled for classical guitar classes (which i stopped after 2 grades, because i am not the theory kinda person).

and now i am earning money out of my talent

 

[JosieB]

Thanks all,

No offense taken but in my defense I am not a pushy sort of mum. I just want to give him the opportunity. If he starts and doesn't like it after a while I am not going to force him to keep going. I want it to be fun for him. He says he is keen but of course who knows till he starts it. So many people have told me that you need to start young before the music neurons turn off in your brain or something like that ('use it or lose it') which is why I am looking at starting him in music soon vs waiting till he is 12.

That is why I am after a fun teacher, someone who can build on the enjoyment he already has with music.

Thanks,
Jo

 

[Cheez]

We must avoid both extremes. The right way is probably somewhere in the middle. While we must be careful not to impose strongly our views, we must also know that most children left to themselves will never want to study, read, obey their parents, do chores etc ...and of course, learn an instrument.

I wasn't forced into piano. But I was "strongly encouraged". From grades 1 through 5, I never had any interest. From Grade 5 through 8, I started to realise something different about music. If I was left to my own whims and fancy, I wouldn't be playing 3 instruments today (2 of which I had ABRSM exams with). I wouldn't be writing and composing music, and definitely not arranging orchestral scores. Neither would I be playing pop, contemporary and jazz.

Also, left to myself, I wouldn't have graduated from university, and from post-graduate either.

Yes, I agree we shouldn't force our children. This hinders true learning (they would be doing it for the sake of their parents instead). But we shouldn't throw the baby out with the bath water. A balance is needed.

I'm still learning. But I'm speaking as a father of 3 sons...

 

[kongwee]

[=JosieB

I start my dizi lesson on 17. Take an keyboard composing at 26. Luckly my music neurons have not turn off yet.:mrgreen: But kid have an advantage in music, as they will not face daily issue like us.

 

[pianomankris]

Jo;

Does he exclusively want to play piano? What's wrong with suggesting other instruments, and seeing his reaction? Did he mention piano to you first?

Regarding neural programming - best to learn before or at the latest during puberty, as after this time, it is more difficult to develop the neural pathways necessary in order to coordinate the specific movements required in the execution of playing notes on an instrument, as by that time the brain's neural pathways are pretty much 'in place' (please excuse the simplified and crude explanation).

But, i've had people begin lessons aged 50 (and older), and they've managed fine. There's a lot to be said for hard work alone.

Remember that playing an instrument is 99% hard work.



Culturally, things may be different in Singapore, but over here, the length of lesson is tied in with the average attention span (given a new task) of the average child at that specific age. At age 5, the lesson would/should last about 10/15 minutes.

IF you find someone who would do this, then i'd say go for it, and try him out. 15 minutes doesn't hurt.

Just watch you don't get a teacher who insists on teaching the kid for 30 minutes or longer. As this will have the kid climbing the walls lol.


PS teaching young children is a highly specialised skill - one that requires many skills that go way beyond the 'average' teacher.


It would be best to ask at the music conservatoire (is there one in S'Pore?)- get the best teacher you can find, and one who is highly experienced in teaching children. Most conservatoire professors will either be trained in this, or will know someone who can help.

This way, if the child fails in learning the instrument, at least you'll know it most certainly won't be due to the tuition provided.

 

[vernplum]

Cheez, what do you mean that a kid should start on piano and not on keyboard and doing so will 'destroy his technique'?

My son is 4.5 and has been taking lessons at Mandeville at United Square for a few months now. He enjoys it most of the time, but like most little kids has his off days and doesn't want to play. We don't have space in our place for a piano, so we have a Yamaha keyboard (I forget the model) which I assumed was adequate for him to get started on. Part of the decision to get that (aside from space considerations) was to see if he liked and had aptitude for it (which we think he does) before splashing out on a piano proper.

Cheers

 

[pf]

Vernplum, the major issue with regards to piano technique would be touch. Other things like bad habits in finger positioning, weak fingers, etc etc. I'm not a proper pianist, so I guess Cheez and pianomankris can explain to you better on that.

I wrote a post on touch before. Please refer to this to see if it helps you to understand better.

http://soft.com.sg/forum/gear-keyboard/92901-help-buying-keyboard-3.html