Teaching to play keyboard??

[Niniedney]

I am buying my daughter a keyboard for her 3rd birthday and want to know where to start with teaching her how to play it. I do not know how to play an instrument. Is there a book for small children on how to play keyboards?

[DrPrimo]

Hi ninieday!
I'm sorry to be to vague but there was a great video I saw on this site that you can access via you tube. She was great at introducing the piano to the very young .   I'm sorry I just can't remember the name but she is an American and has a how to set of videos on you tube. It was awesome!  If you do a search I'm sure it's easy to find.  She talks about hand position, reading rhythm, notes the whole bit!  Fabulous!
Have fun!  This is a perfect age to start.  However I would start flashing notes asap
Just my advice.  Have fun!!!
The doc

[Niniedney]

Thanks I will definatly search for those videos. And I don't know exacty how to flash notes. Are there music cards in the flash card download area? How often should I flash them? Any advice is much appreciated, thanks so much

[DrPrimo]

yes.  look up solfege and you see various downloads. 
here's how you do it.
try to find note flashcards in multiple clefs.  i have written several posts on the subject, so if you look me you i think you should find them.
if you don't have them right now, just use treble clef.  flash the 'c' note and say this is Do. and then play the note on the piano.then have her play the c on the piano.  do a different note every day until you come to the octave (the c above the original c you started with).  do that first, then the lessons.
i found a link:
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/g0LgUni4KOk&rel=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/v/g0LgUni4KOk&rel=1</a>
she is GREAT!  she shows you how to teach!  so your kids don't have to watch another video!!  the link i sent i think is lesson 4, but you can access her lessons from there.
have fun and good luck!
the doc

[nancylls]

Hi Niniedney

I have taught my boy (starting from 3yrs 2 months) how to play the keyboard using the Soft Mozart software ... It's great! Because he knows his alphabets, I did not use solfege but went straight to notes. Currently, he still has problems reading score ... but with the software that shows him the note names, he is able to play up to 6 songs with both hands. In fact, he is able to play with both hands after 1 month of teaching with the software. It's keeping him motivated to play new songs. I do theory with him ... and he is able to write notes with lots of guidance and can recognize time value of the notes. However, differentiating the spaces and lines on the grand staff is still difficult for him. I think he can take his time to read ... as long as he enjoys playing the instrument (which he does). After he memorized the song on the keyboard .... he could play on the full size piano without stickers on the keys. He only needs a bit of help with placing his left hand.

You may want to check out this website for the software ...  they have fun games too (although some are too difficult for a 3 year old). I believe parents who do not know music still can help their children to learn piano using this software.

http://www.doremifasoft.com/

Hope this helps!

[DrPrimo]

glad to hear things are going so well, nancylis!
however, i think your child will improve her reading skills if you DO teach solfege.  all solfege is are the naming of notes.  almost everywhere else in the world teaches solfege but the US, and we don't do it until much later and by then it is too late.  teaching solfege make reading and playing at the same time almost seamless.  many teachers here in the US don't teach b/c they can't do it themselves, unless they were conservatory trained or spent time in europe.  i am a professional musician and have been all over the world and see how other countries are VASTLY ahead of the US in terms of reading/playing at a very young age.  only until a few years ago, the french didn't introduce an instrument until the child could solfege a piece of music correctly.  this included notes, rhythm, keeping a steady tempo, knowing a key signature, etc.  my girlfriend actually sat principal cello of a BIG orchestra in paris when she was 17 (a HUGE deal for someone so young AND female in france) and she learned to solfege in 3 clefs before she even picked up a cello.
not that your child is the next lang lang, but why not make their life easier?
just my opinion, guys.  niniedney, i strongly urge you (and you, too, nancylis) to add solfege to your music curriculum as you will be glad you did!
take care.  sorry if i butted into your conversation!
the doc

[nancylls]

Hi DrPrimo

Thanks for the advice. I started learning piano at 5 but have never been taught solfege. I picked it up later myself ... however I am much faster at reading score than trying to read it in solfege. I have perfect pitch ... so I can pick up a piece of music by sight without solfege. 

I do have problems teaching solfege as I have never been taught myself. I supposed if solfege is well taught, it is helpful. That's why Suzuki method uses it.

Not sure how to teach it. If you do have advice, I'll be glad to learn more!       

Thanks!

Nancy

[DrPrimo]

solfege is just a way to learn to read music.  it's like naming notes... well... it is naming notes anywhere else but the US.  so instead of saying c,d,e you would say do, re, mi.  then the child associates the name of the note with the pitch.  since you have perfect pitch, it should be a piece of cake for you to pick it up!  anyway, i only suggest it b/c if you child goes further in their studies they will we way above anyone else in their class... and probably more likely to get a scholarship, etc.
as far as suzuki, this was NOT developed by them... this is the french system and employed by every conservatory  and serious music school in the world and has been used for hundreds of years...as far back as the early 1800... maybe earlier.  the organization of it and how to teach (i believe) was really developed by the french, which is probably why all the good solfege books are in french... wow!  a little too much information.   
if you look me up and see my past posts, i describe how to teach it.  i'm also developing a program to help kids learn it, if you're interested.  nothing at all like the music program brillkids is putting out 
good luck!
the doc

[Niniedney]

Okay, I am just now trying to view those videos. It's hard to find time. And we don't have good Internet out here in the middle of nowhere. Lol. I use my phone to chat on the forum with all of you but i can't view videos on it. So hopefully it will download well and I can view it. Also I will go look for some flash cards to download. Should I just start flashing with the solfege and note names, or should I wait until after party and we have a keyboard to use along with the cards? And one more question... Sorry I'm really no good when it come to music. I don know how I'm going to teach it : ) when you flash do: is it pronounced doe, or dew?

[DrPrimo]

here's the pronunciation and spelling of the white notes:
c = do = doe
d = re = ray
e = mi = mee
f = fa
g = sol = sole
a = la
b = si = see

for black notes as you go up say SHARP, as you go down say FLAT:
c# = do sharp
d# = re sharp
f# = fa sharp
g#= sol sharp
a# = la sharp
Bb = b flat
Ab = a flat
Gb= g flat
Eb = e flat
Db = d flat

i would get flashcards (search the internet for note flashcards) in the following clefs:  treble, bass, alto and tenor.  say the solfege note as you flash just like when you flash bits.  if you have a piano, or tuning forks, you can play at the same time you flash the cards.  if you have the TW series they introduce notes (only one octave in treble clef, but it is a start).  i would do 1 note with 2-3 clefs  2X/day for a couple of days (or until boredom strikes) then do onto the next. 
hope that helps,
the doc

[waterdreamer]

DrPrimo, thank-you a everytime I see you on here I add karma to you.
This is exactly what I need for my son. I plan on going out and getting black ink for my printer and making some flashcards. Do you know of any good sites that I can download some from or where I can purchase them?
Thanks again!!

[Fludo]

Sorry Dr Primo but I have to disagree with some of what you've said.  I'm also a professional musician and music teacher and studied solfege to a high level as part of my music degree.

I believe solfege is FANTASTIC /....... IF you teach it as MOVEABLE DO" - that is, doe does not equal c.  Doe equals the tonic. So if the song is in c major, c is doe, if the song is in G major, g is do. etc.  That way you learn to hear the notes in relation to the scale degrees, and helps you learn to hear intervals.

I don't have perfect pitch, but this training really helped me to be able to play from ear.

If you always call c "doe", it's just semantics - that is no better or worse than calling c "c", or "k" or "frog" for that matter.

Also, you don't call C#, or doe sharp "do sharp" - you need a sound that makes one syllable to fit with the rhythm of the music, so you say "cees" ("cease"), fa sharp becomes "fees" etc.  And for flats it's the "es" sound. So Bb becomes "bess"

I must say I am a little worried by parents with no musical training teaching the kids solfege and using flash cards.  I think using a specially designed program the parent can follow might be ok, but really, lots of singing, dancing, going to music classes for kids from babies through toddler years is going to be more beneficial than flashing notes, if the notes are out of context to real music.

[Niniedney]

Hi Fludo. Thank you for your input. I am nervous about trying to teach my daughter keyboard when I have never played an instrument myself. But I do not have money to buy a program, or put her into lessons. So I am trying to look for a way I can teach her myself. Any advice is much appreciated!! I am going to see if I can find a book at the library tomorrow.

[Fludo]

I realise I made an error in my info above.....

C # is called "cees"

but do # is called "di" (as in "dee")

so fa # is "fi"

Then for the flats, Bb is Bess, but ti flat, is "ta",

Gets a bit complicated.

Someone who's not educated in music is not going to be able to understand how to use doe in the moveable form.

I don't believe you can teach something you don't know yourself, so realise that if you are going to embark on teaching any of this to your child, you must first learn and UNDERSTAND it yourself first.

Also, if you have no music background, yes you can get flashcards with the notes on, and work out where the notes are on the keyboard from a book, but how are you going to go the next step, so actually link the sounds together to make music?  Music is based on rhythm, so I would be learning the rhythm symbols etc, BUT, having taught adults myself, some adults (and children) have a hard time developing a sense of beat - and they need a teacher to tell them if they are clapping the rhythm correctly.  You need to be sure you are doing it right first before you teach it to your child.

Also, you may find you do have quite some success in the beginning, but you will get to a point where you are no longer able to teach her and will have to put her into proper lessons - if you already know you won't be able to afford this, then this is something to consider when deciding what and how much to teach her.  I would be more focused on getting your child to enjoy listening to music, dancing to it, buy some cheap percussion instruments and try to get her to tap a steady beat with the music.  And then singing when she's able.

Just my opinion

[Niniedney]

So I am reading some books on how to play piano and keyboard. I am starting to learn to read music. Having a good time : ) so I think I am waiting until I give Dakota give her keyboard to start teachin her. So when I flash notes I can also play it. I'm just not sure about one thing, do I call all c's c. And all d's d, and so on. Or are there different names for each note? Or maybe you just know they are higher or lower because of where they are the stave? I'm not sure. I want to teach her the name of the note. And once we get to a place where we can get her some formal lessons we will. Or maybe get her aunt to teach her, she has taken a lot of music classes, for guitar and singing. She writes her own music, it's beauiful! And she's 16! Anyway, just an update. I am also going to be doing the suggestions from childandme.com fo doman method of teaching music

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