How to Play the Piano for a Child
Playing the piano can be an educational activity for child and parent alike. The process of listening to the piano and gaining an appreciation for music and instruments is beneficial to the child, while seeing how a child responds to music can be revealing for a parent. Even if the child is too young to be playing the piano himself, there is still much to be gained for being exposed to the instrument at an early age.
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Instructions
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Seat the child on the piano next to you on the bench. If he is too small to sit up by himself, seat him in your lap.
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Begin playing simple notes up and down the piano so the child can understand the process of pressing notes to make sounds.
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Ask the child, if he is old enough to answer, whether a certain note is a high note and which is low? Pitch recognition is very possible for young children.
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Ask the child to play a high note on the piano and then a low note if he seems to be understanding the concept of high and low.
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Play a song on the piano that the child may know (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Row Row Row Your Boat) and ask him to identify the piece. Keeping the child as active as possible will help keep him engaged.
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Try playing a more complex but calming song on the piano: A Mozart sonata or a Bach piece from the "Anna Magdalena Notebook," for instance. These early forays into classical music will help build a foundation for music and music appreciation.
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References
- Photo Credit piano practice image by Lisa Eastman from Fotolia.com
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Comments
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rpawlak
Feb 10, 2011
Trying to develop pitch recognition can be a long tedious process for anyone. I found a fun way to do it that children can enjoy. It is a computer game called Perfect Pitch Pursuit. It was created by Smartwave Software and can be downloaded from their website, or from cnet. My son has been using it and making great progress.
