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Beginner Piano Lessons – Hearing the Music

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By Cynthia VanLandingham

Beginning piano students can become focused on reading the notes and finding the right keys on the piano and miss the point of playing – to bring their personal sensitivity to bear on the music. Hearing each note in the mind before it is played and thinking about how to touch each key is important to playing thoughtfully and creatively. Music is a language and as such it always tells a story or paints a picture.

Painting is a great analogy for children in piano as it is something that can easily relate to. In children’s music the first place kids can look to get an idea of what this picture will look like is the title of the piece. The title could be for example about the “Morning,” “Moonlight,” a “Triumphant March,” or a “Dance.”

Young students with limited experience learn by imitation and need to hear the pieces played. Parents sometimes think their child isn’t learning to read the notes if the teacher has to play the music for their child. And often children who are able to read music well will not attempt to play new pieces of music at home if they don’t know how it is supposed to sound. Over time, as students gain experience and begin to recognize melody in the music notes, they feel more confident interpreting the music on their own.

Listening to many examples over time allows children to develop their musical ear and artistic abilities. Putting too much emphasis on note reading, or not enough, creates an imbalance between note reading and artistic interpretation. For the beginning piano student these need to go hand-in-hand over time to develop the whole musician.

To learn the best way to share the gift of music with children visit Amazon.com for my Piano Bears Musical Stories for Children The exciting Piano Bears Musical Stories for children ages 5 to 11 feature the loveable characters, Mrs. Treble Beary and her new piano student, Albeart Littlebud. Children love following along with Albeart to Mrs. Treble Beary’s piano studio in Musical Acres Forest. Here they learn what piano lessons are all about in a fun way that kids readily understand and appreciate! Piano students laugh and giggle while reading “Little Bear’s Musical Garden” and “Little Bear’s Piano Goals.”

For a wealth of free information and piano music online visit Piano Bears Music Education Resources Don’t Wait to Share the Gift of Music!

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  • I think that music is much larger in scope than simply knowing where the notes are. Having said that, notes and there proper placement on a keyboard are a very practical pre-requisite for learning written music from the past and present. It's a good piano teacher's task to find a balance between practical necessity and aesthetic thoughts.
  • David
    Thanks for your question. I hope I can be of help. To the best of my understanding, what most people refer to as tone deaf is actually a lack of experience in telling how one note relates to another. I know that when I was younger it was common for voice teachers to play two notes one at a time and either have the student try to match the notes or tell the interval. You don't say what if any music training you've had so I'd like to have you try this: Go to your public library and look for a book on basic music theory. Just something that will tell you the names for different notes and intervals. (I think there is a "For Dummies" that would do it.) Then go to here or here. Both are free ear training sites. The first one seemed simpler so you might want to work with it some before you try the other. Let me know how it goes, okay?

    David
  • Good afternoon David,

    I'm always interested in learning music but I think I'm a tone deaf. Is there any method to fix this problem? Can you recommend one? Thanks in advance.
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