Piano Lessons for Children
Swimming, basketball, volleyball, football, soccer, ballet, Taekwondo, Karate, ice skating, painting, theater...
These are all extra-curricular activities that fill up a family's schedule and strengthen young bodies and minds. Ignore them, and the academic requirements of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math will fill the void, overwhelm, and bury you. Take on too many activities, on the other hand, and children face the nightmarish stress of overscheduling and too many commitments (as do their parents).
Where is the balance?
And how on earth is anyone supposed to find time and energy for something as seemingly innocuous as piano lessons? Read on to find out more.
“The nature of creativity is to make space for things to happen... We can drive it out with our busyness and plans. ”
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Why Music?
© Ondřej Kulíšek - Dreamstime.com
Compelling Reasons (Choose Any)
Every musician and music teacher you've ever met will tell you that music education is important. You wouldn't be on my website if you did not already have some inkling of this. If we were to speak more in depth about this topic, you would hear my own passionate appeal for music lessons in general and piano lessons in particular, based on both academic experience and scientific research, highlighting the following:
the emotional and psychological impact of having music as a vehicle for self-expression;
the abundant research showing how music learning boosts all other academic skills;
how the brain immersed in music education, grows and develops quite uniquely from someone who just listens to music;
the emerging consensus among educators and business experts that creativity is critical to supporting the STEM core subjects (science, technology, engineering, and math) that young minds will need to guide them in our modern technology-driven world.
If you'd like your child to reap the neurological, emotional, and intellectual benefits of piano lessons, you can get started today...
Music Is Personal
The truth of the matter is that all of the above info can leave some parents feeling nonplussed because they are abstract, objective arguments crafted by educators, championed by organizations, and injected into our culture almost forcibly by politicians and government entities.
For most people, including myself, music is a deeply personal, subjective thing. It is often quite important even when not consciously prioritized. There is a type of music for everyone. And I challenge you find someone who does not listen to some kind of music for personal enjoyment.
Just think of what life would be like without movie soundtracks, the song you danced to at your wedding, the playlist you go to during your commute, or to motivate you during your workouts? Have you ever been in a Starbucks when the music was turned off? It's a strange, hollow experience.
Even church and religious experiences can be somewhat dulled without music to create the atmosphere for connection and worship. And herein lies a clue. Because, for many people, music is a spiritual experience - not just a cold, objective, manifestation of physical acoustic properties.
“Unfortunately, music has emerged in Western culture and has embedded itself in a scientific paradigm. And while it can be explained there, it does not belong there. It belongs in the spirituality and the humanity of being human, not in the technology and the science of being human. That it can be explained there is a bonus. We think it’s the point.”
Take advantage of a piano program that emphasizes and encourages your child's natural musicality and connects them with the freedom of self-expression.
“Music does a lot of things for a lot of people. It’s transporting, for sure. It can take you right back, years back, to the very moment certain things happened in your life. It’s uplifting, it’s encouraging, it’s strengthening.”
“Music is probably the only real magic I have encountered in my life. There’s not some trick involved with it. It’s pure and it’s real. It moves, it heals, it communicates and does all these incredible things.”
The Hidden Benefits
Ultimately, choosing piano lessons for your child is going to come down to your own personal priorities. If you see the value of music lessons and having music in your own life, then certainly you will want that to extend that to your children.
There are also some additional benefits to piano lessons that are important, but often overlooked or unexpected:
Students learn Collaboration, Cooperation, and Connection in a positive, encouraging social environment (especially in Shared Lessons).
Piano lessons are an activity specifically designed to teach children about sustaining long-term commitments and relationships.
Piano is a powerful vehicle for stress relief, and a unique creative outlet.
Above and beyond almost any other activity, learning the piano (especially using the Simply Music program) teaches children how to extend and expand their own CREATIVITY!
Watch the video above to see how Simply Music is taking a quantum leap forward in music education
Harness the power of creativity in your child with this breakthrough method!
At this point, it's my hope that you understand better just how important piano lessons can be to your child's future. If you do, you may be considering adding this "activity" to your family's schedule. Before you do, I'd like to clarify some important distinctions between piano lessons and other activities like sports and art classes.
Sports Homework?
When participating in a sport or dance, much of the learning and the application is "baked in" - meaning that everything happens during the weekly session (often called "practice"). When the families leave, they give no thought to doing "homework" or continuing additional practice at home. This, of course, changes as children become more involved and invested in the activity at more advanced levels. But beginners can pretty safely expect that they can just return the next week and pick up where they left off.
"Lesson" vs Practice
In stark contrast to the above, piano lessons extend well beyond the weekly, intermittent "coaching session" with the teacher. In fact, any progress depends on the student finding their way back to the piano and repeating segments of their weekly lesson regularly, even multiple times a day in some cases. The "lesson" of piano lessons, then, is actually split into two parts - one lesson happens weekly, with the teacher coaching the student at the piano, and the other lesson happens over the span of the rest of the week. My experience has been that the second part of the "lesson" is almost more important, because that is where the magic happens. That is where students actually make their progress. And without that home laboratory to experiment and experience music on a regular, daily schedule, the weekly coaching session is rendered almost inert.
Parents As "Life Coaches"
Going back to the sports analogy, during the weekly practice, the coach or teacher requires little participation from the parents in order to meet their objectives. Sure, in sports programs, there are often parents who volunteer or assist, but this is not required of all parents. That's why they're usually called volunteers. Another distinguishing factor in piano lessons is the expectation of active parental participation, both in the weekly lessons, and at home as a practice coach (I call them "life coaches").
Many parents starting their children in music lessons with some unstated expectations:
that the student will remain focused during the entire lesson and understand everything;
that the student will leave the lesson inspired and committed;
that motivation will last all week, and the student will want to practice independently every day;
they'll love the process and ultimately become an accomplished musician
Maybe I just don't have what it takes?
Unfortunately, when any of the above expectations are not met, a "story" (myth) is told and believed about the student's ability or level of talent, discipline, etc. You'll often hear parents and even teachers express something like, "Well, maybe music just wasn't for them," or "They just weren't talented," or, "Maybe they just don't have what it takes," or some other similar interpretation.
But this is not the truth. It's a justification based on the belief that somehow children will magically develop the tools and strategies to maintain and sustain a long-term relationship with piano lessons, when, in fact, they've never experienced such a thing before.