Piano Tuition for All
Tatiana Causey, your Piano Instructor
Music for Little Mozarts – Piano tuition for the very young
I am often asked by parents, at what age is a child old enough to begin piano lessons?
The general consensus goes with 5 years as the earliest suitable age (Mozart being the most famous exception!). Earlier than that and the childs ability to sit still is just too limited. Ultimately though, it depends on the individual child.
Another question asked by interested parents is how do you begin to teach piano to a child as young as 5? After all, they can’t understant music notation can they?
This is quite right. I don’t attempt to teach 5 year olds using the same methods as I would say, a 10 year old. Their cognitive abilities and modes of understanding are just too different. Over the years however, there have been a few special methodologies developed to teach piano to the very young.
There is one in particular that I endorse and have used very successfully to teach piano to very young children over the last few years. It is Music For Little Mozarts, and you can read more about it here.
Older Children – Piano tuition to ABRSM
For children aged 8 and upwards, the piano lessons I teach are predominately ABRSM driven and are directed towards achieving their next ABRSM grades.
For these piano lessons I teach everything included in the full range of ABRSM syllabus and will coach your child in:
- Music theory
- Sight reading
- Aural training
- Piano recital
- Piano duets
Your child just wants to learn for fun?
No problem. Many youngsters are inspired by some music they have heard and just want to learn enough to play piano for themselves. I teach piano and keyboard to a wide range of pop, film and simple jazz and blues arrangements. It is often the case though, that when a child is learning a piece of favourite music, they are more motivated, practice for longer and remember more of what they have practised.
Children get a great sense of achievement from having learnt their piano pieces and it is interesting to note that many then choose to go on towards the ABRSM exams.
The more mature student
Experience has shown that adults have different motivations and needs from children in terms of piano learning. Usually are less motivated by grade achievement and more results oriented. Adults tend to seek perfection quickly in their piano playing, and interestingly, have shorter time horizons than do children. Where the child is immersed in a school environment which instils a slow and steady progress towards some distant goal, the adult often wants to achieve and achieve now, or at least within some small time frame.
The good news is that beginning adults do tend to make progress learning the piano faster than young children. If you have never played before you will learn to play simple yet rewarding pieces within a few months. At that point the sense of achievement one feels from this is very high. Looking further ahead, progress towards more advanced techniques and complex recitals does take time, and one should be equipped with patience and be prepared for regular practice.
If you are an adult thinking about learning piano for the first time , lessons will be planned to suit your own pace and you will use books and materials specifically designed to show you not only how to play different styles of music confidently but also the theory concepts necessary for excellent understanding.
If you can already play the piano but feel as if you have been “stuck” at the same level for too long, I can improve your technique and get you to the next level.