Any beginner piano books which don't need knowing how to read music

[lovinbeingmum]

Hi, we have just been given a keyboard by a friend and I have a 4 year old at home who can't keep his fingers off it. Was wondering if there are any books out there which give the notes for songs in letters.

For example, like C C G G A A G.

Would love to put stickers on the keys and then let him find his way around. Should be fun to watch :)

Thanks!

[OneDayWhenIGrowUp]

Look up "birds and dogs" I think it's called (might be dogs and birds!), sounds just like what you're after. It starts with each note having an animal and gradually introduces the notation later on.

[lovinbeingmum]

That is a lovely site! Thanks. Just ordered book1 and the stickers :)

[Ferguson]

DO NOT PUT LETTER STICKERS ON KEYS!

I was also about to say Don't consider Dogs and Birds, as well but it looks like I am too late!

I taught 'informal ' music in primary schools for twenty-five years - keyboard, recorder, percussion - and the gimmicky things you are proposing makes it HARDER for a child to learn!

There are only EIGHT white notes (including C and an octave higher C) and, including thumbs, you have TEN fingers. In the first 'baby' music, each finger in the right hand has its own note, so we are only looking at FIVE different different notes.

Unfortunately, many people seem to consider music is somehow too difficult for ordinary mortals to master, and it become steeped in elitist mystique!

Dogs and Birds introduces an EXTRA step the child has to learn, namely 'what letter goes with what creature'. This then has to be translated to the keyboard, an extra and unnecessary step.

Our DS started on our Yamaha organ at under two, and was reading music, making up tunes and singing along to them by four or five.

If I haven't annoyed you too much already, can you tell me what sort of keyboard it is. Are they full size keys, and ideally there should be 61 of them? Or is it more of a 'toy' keyboard?

[Sometime, I can talk you through how to teach him, should you be interested.]

[lovinbeingmum]

Ferguson, thanks so much for taking the time to reply. Over the weekend i marked 4 letters and by the end of the day he was playing mary had a little lamb! (Having a mum moment) :)

did order dogs and birds and it came in today. Not sure how much it will work. It got in both hands but then today it was all about the stickers (to be expected, I guess ) :)

We have the np11.

Would LOVE some inputs on how to proceed, if ever when ever you can.

[Ferguson]

You - and DS - are very lucky then!

It is more of a digital piano then, than the usual keyboard which has hundreds of sounds, accompaniments, rhythms etc.

So it is good enough to start learning the basics of proper piano technique. But for DS a down-side is there aren't very many novelty sounds or features to keep him entertained. However, I see it has MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) which means it can be connected to computers and other music equipment. You will need special cables for that, unless it came with them. I hope you are using a mains power adapter, as using batteries would be expensive.

This is a demo of it, and I'll come back in a few days:

Good luck, and Enjoy!