Piano Guidance
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio Pexels Logo Photo: Andrea Piacquadio

Is 4 years old too early to learn piano?

The "right" age to begin piano lessons varies from child to child. A good first test is the age when your child can tie their shoes. Many four year olds can achieve great success with piano lessons. It's important for these early lessons to be based around fun, and plenty of off the piano activities and games.

What side of the brain do men think with?
What side of the brain do men think with?

left side Research found that men tend to use one side of their brain (particularly the left side for verbal reasoning) while women tend to use...

Read More »
Who is the coolest guitarist in the world?
Who is the coolest guitarist in the world?

The best guitarists in history: Jimi Hendrix. Eric Clapton. Jeff Beck. Chuck Berry. Stevie Ray Vaughan. Joe Satriani. Steve Vai. Yngwie Malmsteen....

Read More »

The "right" age to begin piano lessons varies from child to child. A good first test is the age when your child can tie their shoes. Many four year olds can achieve great success with piano lessons. It's important for these early lessons to be based around fun, and plenty of off the piano activities and games. Below are the skills you can expect your 4-year-old to gain in their first few months of lessons. Begin teaching 4-year-olds with finger numbers. Books like WunderKeys, Faber Piano Adventures, and Alfred 1A Lesson Book, all have great pre-reading pieces. See more fun songs below.

Build Finger Dexterity

In the early days of piano lesson, 4-year-olds can gradually build finger strength with fun games and stories. Practicing separating each finger from the other will help build grace and confidence at the piano.

Identify Notes and Patterns

Start teaching notes by identifying the patterns of black keys on the piano (try using Seeing Black Key Patterns). Then slowly introduce one note at a time.

Learn Rhythmic Patterns

I love using the stick rhythm method to teach young students. This technique uses words for each rhythm instead of numbers. This is particularly helpful for children who haven't yet learned math.

Improvise

I love to start the first lesson with young students by playing an Eb blues scale, and encouraging them to improvise by only playing black keys.

Compose

Four-year-olds can start composing at their first lesson. Encourage your student to start by using only two notes and write the pattern on one of the composing templates below.

Who owns the rights to a song?
Who owns the rights to a song?

Composition rights are usually owned by a publisher, whereas the recording rights are usually owned by the record label. In some situations,...

Read More »
Does KTM own Husqvarna?
Does KTM own Husqvarna?

In 2013, KTM GROUP (Husaberg's owner) bought Husqvarna Motorcycles, marking the reunion of two halves of the original Husqvarna brand of the 60s...

Read More »

Were piano keys ever black?

On modern piano keyboards, the seven "natural" notes of each octave are the white keys and the five half-tones are black keys in between. But, on pianos dating from the 18th century when Mozart was alive, the colors of the keys was exactly reversed: the white keys were black and the black keys were white.

On modern piano keyboards, the seven "natural" notes of each octave are the white keys and the five half-tones are black keys in between. But, on pianos dating from the 18th century when Mozart was alive, the colors of the keys was exactly reversed: the white keys were black and the black keys were white. This was true not only for pianos, but also for the keyboards of organs and cembalos of the time. They were the opposite of the white/black arrangement that predominates today. However, when pianos became the dominant keyboard instrument in the 19th century, somewhere along the line, the positional relationship between black and white switched. Why this happened is not well understood, but because visually, the color white stands out while the color black recedes into the background, the reason is said to be because making the half-tone keys that stick out black presents an image of stability to the eye. Also, it is said that as pianos became more widely used, a brighter keyboard was simply more preferable.

Why do you downshift to pass?
Why do you downshift to pass?

What is the purpose of downshifting? Downshifting is necessary in order to put the car in the optimal gear to maximize acceleration when the time...

Read More »
What is Taylor Swift's lowest note?
What is Taylor Swift's lowest note?

Taylor's vocal range is around three octaves, from a low A2 to an E5. Jul 19, 2022

Read More »
Why is learning the piano so hard?
Why is learning the piano so hard?

The piano is one of the most difficult and rewarding instruments to learn; not only do you have to learn to read notes and translate them to the...

Read More »
What is the morning star in Bible?
What is the morning star in Bible?

The metaphor of the morning star that Isaiah 14:12 applied to a king of Babylon gave rise to the general use of the Latin word for "morning star",...

Read More »