Starting Music Lessons - Please Help a Non-Musical Mom

[Anonymous]

To say our family is non-musical is an understatement. I rarely even listen to the radio in the car. Still, I understand the importance of it and am beginning to feel neglectful for not letting DC (soon to be 12) at least explore music lessons, beyond what is taught at school.

My questions:

1. Is 12 too late to start piano lessons?

2. What if we don't own a piano and don't plan to buy one, unless for some reason this really takes off?

3. What kind of time commitment will be required (lessons/ practice) for a beginner at this age?

4. Is it best to start in the fall or is there some way to start this summer, to see if there is any interest in on the part of DC?

Any other advice? I would love to find a way to try this out to see how it goes for DC, without a huge financial commitment up front (e.g. buying a piano.)

Many thanks!

[Anonymous]

It's not too late to start learning ANYTHING. Piano is something that should be practiced close to daily, so if you don't have one practicing will be super hard.

Why don't you start with singing lessons. That requires no equipment, and the music is portable.

[Anonymous]

What is your child requesting?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not too late to start learning ANYTHING. Piano is something that should be practiced close to daily, so if you don't have one practicing will be super hard.

Why don't you start with singing lessons. That requires no equipment, and the music is portable.

because it is hard.

[Anonymous]

OP -

You have to get a reasonable keyboard/electric piano if your child is going to take piano. You don't have to get a proper wooden piano. Any teacher who thinks that isn't good enough is not the teacher for you.

Granted, 12 is late, but it is never too late. I'm warning you that unless there is some intrinsic motivation, this won't work. If you are planning to try to force this, you should take lesssons and suffer through practice, too.

A bit of piano is nice, and if your kid turns out to have some aptitude, he can run with it.

You can probably get a teacher who comes to the house who is around this summer. They generally redo slots in the fall, and some kids are away over the summer, so you should at least investigate now.

[Anonymous]

I started my son in group piano lessons because it's cheaper and I wanted to see if he would like it first, before making a big commitment.

You probably need to have a piano at home for practice. Depending on the teacher, it can be a digital piano. You can rent used ones (Singing Strings), to reduce the commitment even more.

My son is 9 and practices 10 minutes a day, about 4 days a week, and this is sufficient for his beginner level. He plays more than that, but that's for fun. I'd expect a 12 year old to put a little more effort into it.

[Anonymous]

My DD took piano lessons on and off for many years with just a digital piano (around $500 new). You need something with 88 weighted keys.

Summer is a great time to start - if your DC likes it, it can become part of his/her routine before school and other activities start up.

[Anonymous]

It is never too late to learn how to play the piano.

You will need an instrument in the home to play. You should be able to rent a keyboard from a local music store. Make sure the keys are full size. The child should practice every day, 15-30 minutes a day at the beginning. Less practice means less progress. At the beginning, progress can be made with just 10-15 minutes a day, but if lessons continue, practice time will need to increase.

Starting in the summer is a great idea.

[Anonymous]

You can buy a portable keyboard for less than $500. Korg is a great brand. I started playing by ear at age six, but I didn't start formal lessons until I was 12. At age 15 I started playing for my church choir, and was the choir pianist there for ten years. My son bought an electric guitar when he was 18, has never had a lesson, and can play any heavy metal song that he hears. You never know, your child may start taking lessons and may be awesome at it!

[Anonymous]

Why piano? Or is there band in school that you can start with. Or how did he fair during recorder?

[Anonymous]

1. Rent a piano. You might get away with a keyboard but only if it has 88 weighted keys.

2. Daily practice or at least 5 days a week is a given, but it doesn't need to be long at first. 15 minutes the first month. 30 minutes the next 6 months. And hour after. Or whatever corresponds to the speed of progress. The days you don't practice are days you lose whatever you learned, so not practicing actually means you have more work to do to re-learn what you forgot.

3. More practicing does not equal better playing. The student has to be fully engaged in what he is doing, and figuring out ways to fix mistakes and learn new stuff. Thus, a short, intelligent practice will be much better than a long, mindless one where he keeps repeating the same mistakes.

4. Depending on the player's personality, practicing a piece until it is absolutely perfect may not be the way to go as it kills all enjoyment. Sometimes it's better to keep moving along from piece to piece at a reasonable pace to sustain interest. This is usually more allowed in younger students, and older students are expected to focus enough to be able to polish their pieces to a higher degree of perfection. But your child will be a beginner, so he's allowed some flexibility in that regard as well.

[Anonymous]

PP again - practice ideas apply to all instruments, including voice. Voice isn't harder or easier than an instrument, unless your child has a finer motor disability. There are instruments that are perceived to be more difficult for a beginner - oboe, for example, is usually not tried as a first instrument. But all the most common choices (choir, individual voice, piano, guitar, flute, even violin) are all wonderful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
1. Rent a piano. You might get away with a keyboard but only if it has 88 weighted keys.

2. Daily practice or at least 5 days a week is a given, but it doesn't need to be long at first. 15 minutes the first month. 30 minutes the next 6 months. And hour after. Or whatever corresponds to the speed of progress. The days you don't practice are days you lose whatever you learned, so not practicing actually means you have more work to do to re-learn what you forgot.

3. More practicing does not equal better playing. The student has to be fully engaged in what he is doing, and figuring out ways to fix mistakes and learn new stuff. Thus, a short, intelligent practice will be much better than a long, mindless one where he keeps repeating the same mistakes.

4. Depending on the player's personality, practicing a piece until it is absolutely perfect may not be the way to go as it kills all enjoyment. Sometimes it's better to keep moving along from piece to piece at a reasonable pace to sustain interest. This is usually more allowed in younger students, and older students are expected to focus enough to be able to polish their pieces to a higher degree of perfection. But your child will be a beginner, so he's allowed some flexibility in that regard as well.

Not prior poster but I have a 9 year old who takes lessons and I completely agree with this advice (well except instead of renting- I would buy a used acoustic piano (cheap) to start and then upgrade if the interest is there.

[Anonymous]

Our experience (mom with NO music aptitude but definitely a LOVE for all music).

I always encourage DS's love of music - even if I can't STAND it (#dubstep)

I always get a fun, hip YOUNG teacher - highschool aged or college-aged if high-school is not available. Call your local school to find a teacher. I pay close attention during lesson; Is the teacher responding to my child's needs? This could mean anything from pushing harder when necessary to backing off when necessary.

Make sure the teacher leaves good notes and directions for the week's practice. If possible, record the lesson. You know how it is when you get home and you don't know where to start after a lesson. ...

I usually sit on the bench during piano practice: "please play that again! That sounded good!" "is that correct? are you sure?" even though I have NO IDEA what he's playing or if it's correct. Always encouraging, often rewarding for time spent playing. It is hard! Their hands cramp. They can't remember what the teacher said! The teacher makes it look so easy!

Ask the teacher to help find good tutorials on Youtube for practicing during the week. There are many ways to play the same piece, so finding a piece together will help everyone stay on the same page.

Also, while you may desire a "classical music training" for your child, I find that pop tunes are much more motivating, and he learns just as well. I always look for a teacher who can play pop tunes or even jazz. Something DC can relate to rather than strictly classical music. Once DC has learned to read and appreciate music, perhaps he will go on to classical...