6 Things You Need to Know About Supporting Your Child Learning to Play the Piano

If you’re a parent who has no background in playing a musical instrument it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the number of things the piano teacher wants you to know to keep your child engaged and enthused about their learning. Here are the basics that you need to know to be able to support your child’s musical education:

1. You must try to not miss lessons. Your child having extra homework that night or wanting a playdate with a best friend simply doesn’t cut it as a reason to consider skipping a lesson. Consistency is the key to learning!

2. Practice has to happen most days of the week.  Approximately 15 to 20 minutes per practice session is typically adequate for beginners. Get your child into the habit of practicing regularly. There is a direct correlation between practice time and progression! Teachers traditionally give written practice notes. Use whatever the teacher gives you as a guide for what will take place during practice sessions that week at home.

3. Think long-term. In other words, don’t plan to ‘try’ piano for two months to see if it’s a good fit – if you want your child to learn to play the piano you need to be internally committing to at least one year of lessons and practice. Then you can reflect on how things are going. This isn’t about being a tiger parent, it’s about being realistic about what’s involved in gaining musical skills.

4. Get a piano. Seems kind of obvious but if you want your child to learn to play the piano, it's imperative that you get a piano at home for your child to practice upon. You can buy either an acoustic piano or digital piano with weighted keys. Sometimes there are great reasons why you end up choosing to buy a digital piano (cost, available space, etc.), and these days there are fantastic digital pianos available.

5. Grab every chance to sit in on your child’s piano lessons. You will be a hundred times more likely to be able to support your child’s practice if you’ve been observing the teacher working with your child throughout the lesson – from how to use the body (shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingertips, proper seating position, etc.) to how to practice each piece to getting to understand the lingo (staccato, arpeggio, inversion, etc.). You have the chance to get your own free tutoring just by sitting in on your child’s lesson!

6. Participate in studio recitals. You will be amazed how much your child is motivated by playing at and attending recitals – they get to learn performance skills and hear music being performed by more advanced students.