Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Teachers Forum New to teaching 5-8 year olds, advice sought.

I have been getting calls recently from parents of 5-8 year olds asking me if I could teach their kids (in response to an ad that clearly stated my experience). I only have experience teaching adult beginners and early intermediate students. However, I'm very excited to teach young children as I have thought about teaching methods and how it is important to make lessons interactive and fun, etc. However, it would be absolutely great to take in some advice based on the collective wisdom of the group of teachers here. Please tell me general principles that you use with young students. Also please let me know what method books you use and which ones you've found produce the best results for most young students.

Also, what is a good idea for an introductory trial lesson for a 5 year old? I can't imagine going in trying to teach her how to read notes (the kid did 2 years of suzuki and has difficulty reading). Someone I know has a 7 year old who reads very well and his teacher uses Piano Adventures. Would that be a good series to start with for 5-8 year olds?

Thanks!

Look at their My First Piano Adventures for 5-6 year olds. I am going to be using that for a new 6 year old student next week.

I know quite a few teachers who start directly with the primer level (I'm talking about a 4 year old who plays quite well after 4-5 months of doing the primer level). Since this child already took suzuki lessons for 2 years (age 3-5), I'm thinking I'll start her with the primer level directly.

Also within the primer level, which books are really essential? After looking at the previews on the Faber website, I thought I should probably get only the lesson book, the theory book and the performance book for the child. The technic book has stuff that I plan to teach anyway without having to have a book tell me about it. What are your views on the new sight reading book? Has anybody tried it? How about the popular repertoire book? Do young students enjoy playing those? I couldn't find a preview for that book.

I would start directly with the primer but it seems to me, compared to many teachers here, I go pretty "fast." I also only ask students to buy the lesson book to begin with. Depending on the student and how the lessons go, I may ask them to buy the other books. However, I typically just supplement on my own by integrating theory, scales, and testing them. The Piano Adventures lesson books already have many fun pieces that it isn't necessary to get others unless you and/or the student really wants to.

When I first started teaching, I tended not to take students younger than 7. This was partly based on my own experiences with lessons. I started at 5, being extremely interested in music and exploring the piano all the time at home. But I found the discipline of sitting for half an hour in lessons (staring at the page of black dots) extremely difficult. To make matters worse, was entered for exams at 6 - and soon came to hate the whole thing. (I quit and went back at about 11 with a different teacher and advanced very quickly.)

But now I have quite a few students who are 5 and 6 - and they are going extremely well. I'm using the My First Piano Adventures (the lesson and writing book) and I have to say I think they are fantastic (notwithstanding Elissa Milne's criticism of synchronisation of the prosody of the songwords with the music - which I agree is a problem). I love the way the pieces get you moving all over the keyboard so quickly. I love the emphasis on listening, creating, hand position and reading. And I love the different characters introduced in the books - the kids seem to get really involved because of them - and it's a cool way to get students interested in composers (and composing) when Mozart and Beethoven come along in book B. And the CDs are an extremely useful tool - especially for home practise with parents that are not musically educated.

I don't find it a problem that the books move extremely slowly. The fact that the pieces are short and easy means that you can spend a lot of lesson time on drilling about the basics and things like hand position. A very bright 6-year-old won't be bored - they will be thrilled to be progressing so quickly.

I promise I'm not on the Faber pay-roll - I just think the books are a brilliant way for a young student to start on the piano.
-Paul

You MUST get the Gold Star Adventures book. It is incredible!! I have yet to encounter a student who disliked it. The Primer and Level 1 books are outstanding. 2A has a few clunkers, but 2B is great, too. The CD's are worth every penny. Their production value is simply amazing.

I envy my students! My teachers used Beyer , Czerny, Glover, Schaum, and John Thompson. Gasp. I would LOVE the piano as a child if I had the chance to learn from Gold Star Adventures books.

For lesson books, I start with the Dozen and Day Mini Book, and then proceed right into Music Tree Book 1. For some reason, so many teachers love the Alfred and Faber methods, but I prefer my students to move very quickly and play a lot of repertoire, so those methods don't fit my style.

But most importantly, when teaching young kids, be prepared to STOP EVERYTHING and move on to something else. You must keep the lessons fresh and upbeat, so don't sink them into something you can't pull them out of. If you sense them getting frustrated, immediately switch gears and move onto something else. Once they get too frustrated or down on themselves, it's hard to pull them out of it.

Remember, they need to leave the lesson feeling inspired and motivated, not exhausted.

Thanks everybody for the input, keep 'em coming! I'm learning a lot.

I suggest you have a look at the Dogs and Birds method for teaching piano to very young children (ages 3 to 7) at www.dogsandbirds.co.uk . It doesn’t rely on finger numbers, it involves lots of singing, and it is fun. In addition they now have a new repertoire book of nursery rhymes and famous melodies with stunning colour illustrations.