Traditional vs Suzuki Method for Piano

[FW]

My son (now 4.5) started his suzuki piano lesson couple months ago.  He was very interested at the beginning.  However, he lost all the interest when he was only taught three songs for couple months and he was required to listen to the same suzuki CD for so many times.  It also may be because the teacher is inexperienced with young kids at this age or suzuki method is not quite suitable for him.  Then I find him a new piano teacher using traditional method and having rich experience with young kids.  After the first lesson, he gains back all the interest on piano.  He even likes to practice on his own because he was taught to read notes.   The new teacher is so against suzuki method because she has students who came from suzuki method having hard time to learn notes.  I don't know music myself, so I am not sure my son's change just because of different teachers or different methods.  I would love to hear any comments on both methods, any pros and cons  Thanks!

[mmetlich]

I am also looking for a piano teacher for my child. Anyone any suggestions on how to make sure he or she is good?
I have he suzuki books, but am not a teacher myself, so I don's think I could teach him. Any ideas??

[MIP1999]

I am a piano teacher...albeit part-time.  Not knowing too much about Suzuki, I can't really comment on it.  But I believe Suzuki is about teaching really young kids (even 2 yo) to play an instrument without having to learn to read notes.  Since I belong to the traditional school, I always believe, except for the savant, that a child should be able to read before learning piano.  This way, the child can learn to read notes, understand how a scale is formed, with a bit of music theory thrown in (without knowing it's "theory").  this way, the child can form a good foundation for future learning, and what's more important, enhance their interest.  When your child is interested in music, it will be much easier to play well.  I've seen too many children who dreaded piano lessons only because they're not interested.  And to boost interest...needs a good teacher that will teach them not just how to "play" notes, but to appreciate "music".  Sorry, I'm talking too much here....just my 2 cents.

[FW]

Thanks MIP1999 for your comments.  So, I believe traditional is more suitable for my son as he starts to read now.  And I think a good teacher is really the key.

For mmetlich, I believe experience, patience, able to draw the kids' attention, able to bring up their interest and understand their ability are the key factors for a good teacher.  You will know once you observe some classes.

[Cristofori]

I think most parents start their children with Suzuki because Suzuki gladly teaches the very young children and most traditional piano teachers do not want to or do not know how to deal with very young children.  Many parents who started their child with the Suzuki method find that when it comes time to learn to read music, the children do not want to do it and try to rely on their ears, which is a problem for someone who has a long range goal for their child to play an instrument. 

Young children, however, can learn to read notes and can take traditional lessons with a very patient and creative teacher who loves young children.  It may be difficult to find a teacher but worth the search.

My husband and I created the Trebellina DVD (for which you can receive a discount on this site) to teach super young children to decode the notes and move forward the age at which children can start lessons.  [It also helps them develop pitch.]

[RP98]

I agree with the sentiments that the Suzuki method may suit very young children who can't read.  However having played in orchestras as a child in primary school with other kids who learned the Suzuki method - there were difficulties with notes.  At 4.5 yo traditional methods would be fine for your son.  The  is to link your son up with a music teacher who he will get along with and enjoy lessons with.  I know I gave up violin as my teacher left my local area - I was placed with a very good teacher (whose daughter was a child prodigy and is doing quite well as a soloist) who I didn't like when I was in my teens (too strict and classes weren't fun).  However I continued on with piano and enjoyed it til finishing school.

[dopeywong]

Being a "music" teacher who have over 10 years of experience in teaching children under the age of 4, I must admit that the "traditional" way of learning piano may not be the best choice for children under the age of 5. 

Traditional piano lesson = one-on-one private lesson.  This will require the child (student) to be able to stay focus for the duration of the lesson, and have the ability to read.  In my many years of teaching youngsters, the reading ability can be obtained at the age of 4.  However, there is a big difference between being able to identify a note on paper than finding the correct key on the keyboard while reading the notes on the staff!  I believe this is where most parents are confused.  I my opinion, a child shouldn't sign up for private lesson until the age of 5 or 6 when one can be more independent and be able to understand things in a logical way.

And for those who want to start their child in piano lesson at a younger age, there are quite a few group methods available in HK.  Parson Music, Tom Lee Music, My Musikbox to name a few.

I hope you find this information useful

[mmetlich]

thanks for your comments. I would not like my child to learn by ear and have a hard time reading notes as I had. there are some programs mentioned in other links like Doremifasoft, that I think I will try. although I have the piano, violin, and flute suzuki method I will wait to try one of these other programs more based on reading. thanks for your ideas as experts... as I am not a teacher, and never learned to play well i had no idea of knowing what might be better!!

[AprylP]

I'm love teaching piano to very young children (although I think they aught to be at least 3 in order to have the attention span for a private lesson). I'm working with my 2 year old now just to see what I can teach him. Anyway, I like teaching a mixture of the Suzukii method and traditional, because I think it is more balanced. So at first, i teach songs by writing the key names above the written notes on the staff. That gets them used to looking at the music and finding the notes. But I also like to encourage ear training. It has been a very useful skill for me. I think the ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) has a very thorough and balanced approach. They do exams worldwide, but you'd have to find a teacher that participates in the program.

[cybermommy]

AprylP,

How do you manage to engage the attention of a 3 year old at the piano? Do you have any special games that you play?

[ChrisSalter]

We posted a summary and comparison of different approaches to learning piano today.

We shared the free report on "Is Music a Birthright?"(http://www.brillkids.com/ext/partners/ebook-free-download-2.php) that gives some perspective the challenges of learning music, and their roots, some of which was brought out in our discussions. SoftMozart has some similar, more in depth articles on the origins and challenges of traditional music notation as well, the summary of which you can see in this thread

(http://forum.brillkids.com/teaching-your-child-music/information-about-music-history-and-theory-every-parent-should-know/new/#new).

What I also added, in a different section, to try and give some perspective of the range of approaches and choices, is a series of posts about the four common approaches to learning piano (up to now). I believe that our methods, both Hellene of SoftMozart and Piano Wizard Academy, begin to shape a "fifth way". What is important to appreciate is they were both developed in response to something that was not really working, in the context of the limitations of the other approaches, trying to compensate for those gaps and yet leverage their strengths. Though each method has its advocates and champions, including Hellene and I for our own, and those advocates can be as we have seen quite passionate and compelling, NONE OF THESE APPROACHES IS PERFECT. We do strive to honestly "perfect" our process every day, with more and more knowledge, and this forum has been I think very fruitful in its exploration of the options. Here is my latest contribution to that conversation.

http://forum.brillkids.com/teaching-your-child-music/four-common-approaches-to-learning-piano-some-pros-and-cons/msg60967/#msg60967

I don't know how many parents are following all this, but I can tell you if you are, you are now MUCH more knowledgeable about both the challenges of music education, and the pallet of options available, and I hope it helps you all find your own unique solution to your children's needs, and leads to a less dogmatic, more practical, efficient and fun way to bring music into their lives.

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