|Piano lessons are a unique experience and
are more than just
a music lesson. It is a learning experience that coordinates
one's mind, hands and fingers, and spirit. It can also
serve as the basis for all
Answers to these frequently asked questions are written
by a pianist and piano pedagogue Ms.
Yoon Huh. During many years
of teaching piano to children of all ages and all levels,
she was asked many questions by parents. And some of the
most frequently asked questions by parents are listed below.
This page will be continuously updated with more questions
in the future.
When should my child begin his/her piano
The average age from my experience is about five years
old. But the age can be younger depending on the interest of
the child. At these age, a child normally has the attention span
to sit for ten to fifteen minutes and simple
rhythmic and melodic patterns can be taught. Depending on
the teacher, various methods may be used to provide the child
with a positive attitude experience during their initial piano lessons.
How long should my child practice?
There is no set time for practicing, however, it is
important that a child spends quality time with his/her
piano rather than quantity. It is also very important to
have concentrated and focused practice session on a daily
How do I know if my child has talent?
Talent or gift is something that a child is born with.
You probably heard this phrase said many times, "oh, that
child is so talented", this simply means that the child is
very natural at what he/she is able to do. Playing the piano
maybe very natural and easy to that child. He/she may learn
a piece of music in few days rather than few weeks,
memorizing a piece of music is easy and not a struggle.
Performing in front of the public is fun and exciting. And
most of all, the child wants to play the piano and simply
enjoys making music.
My child performs better at home than in his/her
Children are most comfortable at home than anywhere else.
When a child goes to his/her piano lessons, he/she will feel
the tension and the anxiety to play their best to their
teachers. It is important that the teacher allows child to
feel at home. In my lessons, I spend first few minutes
talking and listening to the child's weekly events so that
the child can settle into lessons more easily.
When is my child ready for competition or
A competition means that your child is being judged on
how he/she is performing by other teachers and musicians. A
competition may not necessarily be a positive experience for
all children, however, it is necessary in order to award the
best in the field and in that particular age category.
Usually, when a child is ready to enter competition, he/she
will enjoy playing for people and feels very confident. This
is the best sign that the child is ready to go out and be
judged by other musicians and not just by the child's piano
My child practices too fast, what can I do to
Most frequent reason why a child practices fast is to get
it over with the practicing. And most of the time, students
like to play fast. It's very showy and exciting. One way to
avoid this fast playing is to use a metronome. A child
usually finds this interesting. Another way is to practice
clapping the rhythm singing the melody and practicing each
hand separately on a slower pace.
My child is not reading the notes, but rather
plays by ear. How can I help him/her?
In the beginning, it is easier to play by ear than to
actually read the notes on the page. Depending on the piano
teacher and how early the child begins his/her lessons, a
rote learning maybe used. A rote learning simply means that
the child will imitate what the teacher is playing. Once the
rote learning is enforced, a transition from rote to reading
notes must be done in a very careful way. Many of the times,
a child will memorize the notes quickly so that he/she
doesn't have to look up at the book. If this happens too
often, a child's ability to read notes will improve very
slowly. In order to avoid this kind of situation, the child
must practice reading notes before playing the new piece.
Learn the patterns of moving notes and use flashcards to
practice note reading. And writing notes of the pace they
are playing will certainly help.
My child has stage fright and refuses to play in
front of people other than his/her family, why?
It's very natural to be nervous in front of the public.
Children's feeling become very sensitive and excited when
they have to go up on the stage and perform. They feel as if
the whole world is watching them. This is the reason why the
teacher must prepare the child with confidence and build a
self-respect for his/her musical ability. Throughout the
year, the teacher builds self confidence into the child and
allows him/her to express their feelings verbally as well as
My child has difficult time memorizing his/her
music, how can I help?
Memorization means retaining information in one's mind.
How do you memorize music? by playing the music over and
over again? This type of memorization is called finger
memory and it will work for beginners. However, as the child
progresses and plays more demanding pieces, finger memory is
unreliable. The child must memorize by studying the piece's
structure, form, harmonic and melodic aspects of music. If
these theoretical works are studied very carefully, the
child should be able to retain many pieces of music in