PIANO LESSONS - GUIDE
Can anyone guarantee that a child will learn to play the piano? Let’s face it, a piano is a significant
investment…or not, depending upon your personal financial state. There is no guarantee for success in any
musical instrument course of study. Piano, brass, strings, organ and other instruments require WORK and
PRACTICE. The idea that music is an iPod experience with glitz and “coolness” is about as far from the truth
as is possible to be. Granted, it CAN be a cool experience with lots of fun, but the requisites for piano study are:
1. A good acoustic piano
2. An accomplished, intuitive teacher, with a college level degree in the instrument that is taught and
3. Involved parents that will monitor progress and set the rules for consistent practice.
There is always a tendency among most parents where children are permitted to make decisions that will
affect the rest of their lives. It is all too common to hear, “well, we don’t want to force her to practice” or “we want
him to be rounded out with experiences and think piano lessons would be good”. What this could do is to
allow children to dabble in everything and become master of nothing. In looking back on my experience in this
field, I find that the best musicians are those where parents and teachers do not have a laissez faire attitude
about music study. These students excel and grow up to be the world’s finest musicians.
Piano lessons for the young: Whether you select an acoustic piano, or a digital piano to use for a short term,
parental guidance, practice ethics, feedback between teacher-student-parent are all necessary. Piano lessons
can be the element that brings family and friends together, and musical skills become a heritage that
continues through the life and family for generations.
Play Piano Perfectly in 30 minutes?: You see this type of teaching promoted in order to suggest that a “quick
fix” without real work will put your child over the top in piano playing in short order! Well, once again it is a
merchandising technique that pushes you to purchase electronic instruments rather than acoustic for the most
part. Apparently there is a popular attitude that implies electronic devices can somehow make music skills
easier to acquire. We admit that some success can obtain form this type of teaching, but why waste valuable
time in a child’s life when what they really need is.....
A. To be learning MUSIC & TECHNIQUE, not software
B. To have the opportunity to experience REAL pianos and qualified Teachers.
C. To have a sound musical education through High School that will prepare them to enter college level music
IF they choose, with firm piano skills that are acceptable by college music departments.
There is nothing more devastating than for young students who have fallen under the spell of the cutesy
keyboards and have been allowed to dabble in piano and fiddle around with electronics, to finally decide they
want to study piano in college, only to find out that their lack of core technical and musical abilities prevent
entrance as a music or piano major in a college environment. At that point it is too late for make-up work that
should have been done 10 years ago.
KeyArts Houston & Church Organs of Houston, provide digital pianos used by professional musicians,
recording studios and teachers across the country: Kurzweil. With it, one can instantly & easily produce
virtually any type of synthetic music while incorporating recording ability and ease of use. Use it with UIL
rehearsals, choir accompaniment recording, parts recording for choir sections and piano students. We
recommend that IF you wish to use an electronic piano for beginning lessons, you should ask your teacher and
be aware when your child begins to outgrow it musically.
Another valid use of the electronic piano is as a second piano in the home to use if there are several children
taking piano lessons. Consider a fine acoustic piano as soon as possible or trade back the electronic
instrument on this purchase. Our digital pianos are at a much lower cost than any of the similar products
available at most piano stores.
THANK YOU FOR READING OUR GUIDE.
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