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Important Piano Lesson Tips

In 1993 there was an experiment done by scientists at the University of California at Irvine. They had college students listen to Mozart Sonata for two Pianos in D Major, a relaxation tape or silence.  Immediately after these sessions, the students took a spatial reasoning test (the ability to put together puzzles) and the students' scores improved drastically after listening to the music. The reason is because music and spatial abilities share the same pathways in the brain.

Another experiment was done later on by researchers at Appalachian State University and the researchers were successful as well in connecting music to boosting "brain power".  They gave preschool children (ages three to four years old) training for eight months. Children were divided into four groups: keyboard lessons, singing lessons, computer lessons and no lessons.  After eight months, the children were tested on their ability to put together puzzles (spatial-temporal reasoning) and to recognize shapes (spatial-recognition reasoning) and the results were astounding!  They found that only those children who had taken the keyboard lessons had improvement in the spatial-temporal test. The children did not, however show any change with the spatial-recognition.

Now, for the piano lessons tips:

Interest:
Assess the interest of your child. Is this something they really like, or is it your dream? The child should show genuine interest in music and a keyboard in order for their learning experience to be a pleasant and successful one. If they are not interested then you need to ask yourself why you are pursuing this? Is it because you have an inner desire for it? It's never too late to begin! Sign yourself up for piano lessons if that's the case.

Instrument:
It's fine to begin piano lessons on an electronic keyboard.  As time goes on, the student will know in which direction they'd like to take their piano lessons. If it's just for personal enjoyment, it's fine to stay with a keyboard.

If it's for classical piano training. then the student should be switched over to an acoustic piano. Spinet piano (the ones that have a low back) unless it is given as a gift, should not be purchased. It would be preferable to purchase an upright piano which is a baby grand piano, but instead of the strings being vertical they're horizontal. The reason being, that the action on the keys is much better technically for the student's hand, and it sound substantially better to the ear.

Teacher:
Ask around and get feedback from others about their teachers. Find out the teacher's background. Where did they get the education from, how long have they been teaching, where do they teach from, what are the surroundings like? Ask current students how patient the teacher is and how do they feel during the lesson. You should get a pretty good idea about the teacher by how current students are progressing. Does the teacher's personality blend with your child's. Remember, this is a choice! In school the children have to adapt to the teacher that has been assigned to them, and that's a good thing. They learn to get along with different types of personalities, but piano lessons are an extra-curricular activity and should be a pleasant one that they look forward to.

Schedule:
Children can be easily overwhelmed by too much on their schedule. As adults we've experienced overload and we know how counter productive it is to be overwhelmed. Make sure you child will have the time to practice.

Dedication:
Once a schedule is in place, practicing piano will become part of daily routine. After a while, the student won't be so worried about time, but will want to achieve goals set by the teacher. The student will need dedication in order for the craft to go from mechanical to musical. Encourage them to listen to a wide range of styles and genre's in order for them to develop their own taste for music. At an early stage, dedication can be ingrained in a student by participating in recitals, talent shows and worship services. It takes diligence and dedication and also sacrifices to make piano playing a part of your life.

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