Page 2 | Piano Lessons 3 yr old

RKK · 2024-04-12T13:12:56+00:00

Hi all, I'm looking to connect with other parents embarking on teaching their pre-schooler the piano. Would be great to share tips and tricks with others! R

caringcarer · 28/04/2024 01:46

My DD started at 5 1/2. She progressed well and never had to be asked to practice. She did her first grade at just 7. My niece started at 6 but was never very interested and my sister always had to persuade my niece to practice. They had the same teacher. My niece gave it up in under a year. Now as an adult she says her Mum should have made her continue because she'd like to be able to play like my DD can. Most teachers won't start DC until almost 6.

Winter2020 · 28/04/2024 02:31

My son taught himself for a couple of years from the age of eight using simply piano on the ipad and a cheap keyboard. It never did him any harm as when he started lessons at age 10 he was ready to learn the pieces for his grade 1 and got a distinction.

Starting lessons at 10 (hugely keen) we were worried he would be starting too late to have a future in music/piano (as he wanted to) but he flew through his grades and has passed the first Trinity diploma at 14. He's involved in some form of music daily now and definitely wants to be a musician.

I'm not sure if a 3 year old would like or could cope with simply piano but you could check out the free trial part and see. The app starts out for example with you only playing one note to the beat but with a backing track so it sounds quite tuneful and engaging.

The app was £80 when my son learned and I thought that although that was a lot it was only the price of 2 or 3 lessons for a whole year of use.

I guess my general point though is that your child doesn't need to be very young when they start if they are motivated and have an aptitude for music. My son's music lessons were £40 an hour. I would be reluctant to pay that for a 3 year old - I'd probably just look up the notes and teach them a few nursery rhymes myself if they were interested and we would have a sing song.

thirdfiddle · 28/04/2024 11:55

Absolutely agree you don't need to start young to be good. Only start young if it's something they will find fun NOW.
DD at 12 is very happy she started music young. She's had fab opportunities at an age where classmates were still finding their way around holding a violin. I know you're talking piano but any instrument is music learning, and a second instrument goes /fast/ if DC later wants to pick up an orchestral or band instrument.

HanaPales · 28/04/2024 12:28

HanaPales · 23/04/2024 11:39

Sounds from your message that you're planning to teach your child yourself? My DH is a pianist and piano teacher. He didn't have experience of teaching very young kids, but my daughter always showed an interest in bashing around on the piano, so last year when she was 3 he bought these 'Piano for preschoolers' books https://wunderkeys.com/. They involve a lot of games and fun things at the piano (eg naming all the fingers with animals and then using only one or the other of the animals to hit keys; clapping back rhythms; singing songs etc). She has really enjoyed them and fairly regularly asks to go and play 'piano games' with him (he lets her take the lead for when to do it).

In terms of more structured piano lessons, I think we will wait another year until she is 5 before starting. Before then, she goes to a lovely 'music and movement' class based on the principles of Edwin Gordon, which helps to instill principles of rhythm, pitch etc all in a really fun and relaxed manner, and is her favourite time of the week.

Let me know how you get on! Interested to hear all the takes on when is too early to start an instrument. I would be more on the side of older is better, but my DH says it all depends on interest and maturity level so maybe she'll be ready earlier - who knows!

Just another thing to think about if you are planning on teaching her yourself - make sure you are still the parent first, not the teacher! My DH is happy to do the first learning and 'piano games' with my DD, but he has always said that when she starts formal lessons he won't be her teacher. There are some infamous examples in music, sport etc where the parent was also the teacher/coach, and it warps the whole dynamic. Of course every family is different but he doesn't want that for himself and for her.
Although given that my DD is currently saying she wants to learn the piano, violin, guitar and flute when she's older, we might need to remortgage our house (and buy a Timeturner) to manage it all...

RaraRachael · 28/04/2024 13:23

I think it's very important that the child has to be interested and want to do it. My sister was forced to play the violin and wasn't very good at it and now 55 years later, she still speaks about how awful it was.

Dreamsavvy · 01/04/2025 17:53

check out pipsqueak piano! Dance songs and lessons on youtube and there are books on amazon. The series is designed for little fingers and there are online videos of lessons with 2 - 5 year olds.

The problem with most piano lessons and books is they start off on adult instruments with already complex subjects. 2 year olds are still learning letters, numbers, and shapes, and 5 year olds are still learning to read. Pipsqueak Piano is designed to teach music literacy at the same rate and time as normal literacy. It teaches to look for shapes and colors on the piano without adding any stickers or unnecessary crutches. The program recommends using toy pianos so that the word "no" and "don't" are used as little as possible. The part of the brain used for aggression and the part of the brain used for love are still not separated in young children so many will hit or stomp or play hard with their piano. This is actually a demonstration of love! With adult instruments, this translates into reprimandable behavior because the instrument is expensive. But a child's brain might not be able to distinguish this.

Pipsqueak is entirely built on the word YES! All the songs in the Toddler book are designed to allow for the natural tendancies kids have when first approaching it, paired with new songs and challenges that will teach little fingers how to be more gentle and deliberate. Everything meant for your typical $25 keyboard toy. The three book series teaches kids how to read the basic notes on the staff and play simple songs at 4 years old.

Check out youtube and see for yourself! My kid just turned 3 when he had his first piano recital because of pipsqueak piano. He played all the white keys up and down without skipping and then took a bow, it was adorable and everytime he sees a piano now he has to play all the white keys without skipping lol.

minnienono · 01/04/2025 18:22

My dd started on violin at 3, added piano later, starting piano later didn’t hinder her progression!

HanaPales · 01/04/2025 18:50

Dreamsavvy · 01/04/2025 17:53

check out pipsqueak piano! Dance songs and lessons on youtube and there are books on amazon. The series is designed for little fingers and there are online videos of lessons with 2 - 5 year olds.

The problem with most piano lessons and books is they start off on adult instruments with already complex subjects. 2 year olds are still learning letters, numbers, and shapes, and 5 year olds are still learning to read. Pipsqueak Piano is designed to teach music literacy at the same rate and time as normal literacy. It teaches to look for shapes and colors on the piano without adding any stickers or unnecessary crutches. The program recommends using toy pianos so that the word "no" and "don't" are used as little as possible. The part of the brain used for aggression and the part of the brain used for love are still not separated in young children so many will hit or stomp or play hard with their piano. This is actually a demonstration of love! With adult instruments, this translates into reprimandable behavior because the instrument is expensive. But a child's brain might not be able to distinguish this.

Pipsqueak is entirely built on the word YES! All the songs in the Toddler book are designed to allow for the natural tendancies kids have when first approaching it, paired with new songs and challenges that will teach little fingers how to be more gentle and deliberate. Everything meant for your typical $25 keyboard toy. The three book series teaches kids how to read the basic notes on the staff and play simple songs at 4 years old.

Check out youtube and see for yourself! My kid just turned 3 when he had his first piano recital because of pipsqueak piano. He played all the white keys up and down without skipping and then took a bow, it was adorable and everytime he sees a piano now he has to play all the white keys without skipping lol.

Edited

I just wanted to say that I believe your concern for a child being rough with a piano is somewhat unfounded. My pianist husband always lets kids who come to our house bash around on his very expensive piano. I asked him if he wasn't worried about them damaging it and his reply was that they will never hit the keys harder than he does! Pianos are designed to be played hard. I would think a cheap keyboard is more likely to be damaged by kids' hands.
Of course stamping is not OK, but it should be easy to teach even a 2 year-old not to do that. (And they have to wash their hands first and not bring any drinks or food near it of course, but that's common sense).

StJulian2023 · 10/04/2025 19:22

Yes it’s very young except for quite unusual children. At 3, my sibling watched our oldest sibling play a piece on the piano, copied it and demanded lessons. All grades finished before primary school ended, and then many Saturdays travelling to the nearest city for lessons as no one local could teach them any more. Could’ve been a concert pianist but plays for fun instead (has a much better paid job in computing).

I started at 6 and finished grades by end of secondary school; I’m fine being the underachiever in the family 🤣