Frequently Asked Questions:
1) What is the best age to start piano: The best age is from grade 1 or 2 and up. As long as your child is not shy, ready to sit calmly and able to pay attention, and follow simple instructions. With piano, I recommend each child to use their own voice to capture the meaning better than just using the eyes and hands. This is almost like learning any language; you must speak it and repeat often to create and remember it better with your own voice. The same works for remember all your friend's name.
2) Does your child know his/her Right and Left-hand difference? Yes, your child needs to know the difference before starting. It will also save some time if your child knows 7 letters from A to G and numbers from 1 to 5.
3) How long can your child focus when school is out each day? Music requires the mind, memory and voice to work together. If your child just came from a soccer practice, that would not be a good idea.
4) Does your child have a lot of afterschool activities? If your child has too many other team sports that required long hours of practice, learning music is very different because no teammates required. The best is to have one sport per season and keep piano as a solo sport.
5) How long should my child practice each day? It depends on how busy each day is. All levels must practice daily to gain better fingers technicality and dexterity. Going by the clock is not the best way. I prefer quality practice, and each child learning speed is very different. Practice time should also be spread out, if possible, the brain will feel tired if you push your learning in 30 min straight.
6) What kind of piano keyboard should I have for a beginner? That depends on how much your child's interest for the love of music learning. If you have a toy piano, I recommend you switching to any sort of weighted keys if possible. If the keys are too soft, each finger will not have a chance to build power and speed or clarity. If you have an electric piano of either 61, 76 or 88 keys, that would be enough for any entry level. I have students that have upgraded to some better keyboards after about 2 years of piano lessons. Lastly, your keyboard should not have any musical note or letter sticker on it, they need to be removed, and the white keys should be cleaned.
7) Should your acoustic piano be tuned before starting lessons? Yes, because off pitch will damage your child's listening skills. Just like a guitar or a violin, if the strings are loose, the sound is not great to listen to.
8) If my child was learning from another teacher, how would my child be able to make a switch? Firstly, all piano teachers have different teaching methods. If you notice that your child is not really grabbing the meaning or the technique, practice will not feel interesting at all. Most teachers teach by the book or by student's preference, but I prefer to customize each child's learning skills. For example, if your child has some difficulty using both hands, I will find the materials that can work on one hand before the other.
9) If I missed a lesson? your teacher will make a video lesson using Zoom platform and send you the link to watch at home, at any time convenient. There will be no make-up lesson. The practice should be caught up instead before new material or any new unit. Reviewing is necessary before introducing something new.
10) How long before my child will be able to participate in a recital? It depends on how quickly your child learns or how often the practice is set daily. Generally, I think after 6 months to one year would be ready. All students are required to participate. Teacher will play along their side and guide them during any live performance, if needed.
11) My daughter wants to have long nails. Sorry, that would not work at all. Nails should be trimmed. Just like any guitar or violin player, they can't have long nails either, the fingertip will not be able to feel or grab the surface of the instrument with a firm touch or good control quickly.
12) Piano location: the best is to park it in the living room, facing the wall. That wall can be used to post some learning guidelines or other kind of reminders. If the piano keyboard is in the bedroom, it will be easily distracted by other things. Also, the practice area needs to be quiet and be away from any media devices.
13) My child wants to learn how to play a particular pop music like Frozen or a very famous classical piece like Fur Elize: that would be very tough and difficult if you are a brand-new beginner or even after the first year. Music learning and playing will not give you any instant gratification or instant result. You may see that way on YouTube or from friends learning on their own and able to play something by trying or guessing, you will not gain any skill if you wish to pursue that kind of dream. Music is made of many layers, think of as building blocks. After all these layers are assigned, (remember, each layer has its own purposes), you will put all of them together by multitasking these layers like your head, eyes, ears, brain, short-term memory, fingers, keys, beat and rhythm.
14) Should the student practice the way that the teacher suggested during the lesson time? The answer is yes if you follow the same way. Efficiency is crucial depends on how you practice, not on how you play. Teacher will show you the proper to practice, whether it's an easy or difficult piece. The goal is to learn from your own mistakes and try to avoid them the next time. But you have to know how. Follow your teacher's guidance and your practice will feel less painful.
15) What about motivation? This is my favorite way to explain motivation. What comes first? Motivation or Action? Motivation does not precede action, action precedes motivation.