Review of Piano for Preschoolers Program

As a homeschooler, I think it's important to incorporate the arts and music into our daily curriculum. As an unschooler, I really don't like to have learning be over-scheduled, stressful, or unnatural for my kids. This has left me with a bit of a delimma when it comes to teaching my children piano. (I started at a young age, and grew to love it. It wasn't without years of frustration over the traditional competitive methods that I was taught with.) How do I get my preschooler engaged in piano without discouragement? Piano for Preschoolers is my answer.

I admit that I had tried teaching my son piano last year. We used a traditional piano course (the same I used as a child), and I worked in basic theory, along with beginning lessons of notes, tempo, and posturing. He learned one song, and loved it so much, he refused to learn another. I gave up.

When I was blessed to be able to try Piano for Preschoolers, I was a bit skeptical that it would make any difference. We had hit a wall with my 5- year-old, but he longed for more lessons. I decided to give it a shot.


This program was different right away. The lessons were short, relaxed, and focused more on the love and appreciation of music than the technique and theory. Children were encouraged to experiment, explore the keyboard, and gain confidence through small accomplishments. (My son's first attempt at “Twinkle, Twinkle” may not have had the correct rhythm, but he was hitting every note, and recognized that he was making music!) The system lets you place a color-coded key guide above the piano keys (or electric keyboard, if you have one) and the child “reads” the notes based on color (all the music is written correctly, but each key has a distinctive color.) This lead to excitement and recognition of notes right away!

We are now on our 3rd lesson. I can't wait to keep showing my son how to play! (Note: You do not have to know how to play piano to teach your children with this program. It tells you exactly how to give the lesson, and you may even learn something new yourself!)

Do I recommend this program? YES! It has helped me tremendously, given hope for my children's musical future, and has given my preschooler (or kindergartener, in my case) a good foundation for learning piano. The set (which sells for a very reasonable $39.99) is available at www.pianoforpreschoolers.com



Comments

  1. do you recommend it for a two year old

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  2. I personally would wait until the child is old enough to recognize colors. Since the system requires them to match up colors on the keyboard with the notes in the book, it may just be frustrating until they know their colors. Good luck!

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