Teaching piano and voice to students, ages 3 to 99
Helpful Information
The following are some suggestions for motivating your student to practice piano:
- Concert for the Cook: Whenever a meal is being prepared by mother or father or babysitter (or anyone), ask your child to play some music while the dinner is being cooked (or microwaved). Tell them that this music makes the cook happy and therefore the dinner will be ready faster.
- Serenade Our Guests: Have your student play for your guests and for his/her friends when they come over to play. No matter what level your student is, your friends are always delighted to be honored in this manner. [Who’s going to refuse to listen to a budding Beethoven?!]
- How many times can you touch the piano keys?
Everytime your student passes the piano or the keyboard, have him/her play a little something, even if it’s just one or two notes. You can make this a game to see how many times each day or in an hour s/he touches the piano. Once the notes become a recognizable melody or tune, you might give a little reward. Believe me, you’ll hear some progress before you or your student realize it!
Reading Sheet Music
IN SHEET MUSIC, ‘ABOVE’ IS THE SAME AS ‘AFTER,’ and ‘BELOW’ IS THE SAME AS ‘BEFORE’.
Reading Sheet Music
On the music staff, a note that is “above” another note is after it in the music alphabet. For example, in sheet music the line note Middle C is above the space note B. Isn’t the letter C after the letter B in the alphabet?
On the music staff, a note that is “below” another note is before it in the music alphabet. For example, the line note Middle C is below the space note D. Isn’t the letter C before the letter D in the alphabet?”