Hi,

I have been teaching music lessons for a few years now and recently have been asked to teach a 3 year old how to play. The parents understand that the lessons would be very informal, etc. I just don't even know where to start on teaching such a young child. Does anyone have any suggestions?

-- C Purtell (cpurtell@musiceducator.org), June 24, 2002

Answers

The fine motor skills of a 3-year-old are not developed enough for him to learn piano in the same way as an older student. And the attention span of a toddler is very, very short. Children this age need to experience music through movement, singing, finger games, and imaginitive play. Programs like Musikgarten, Music Together, Kindermusik, and the like, use these activities. If you want to also include keyboard activities (finding 2's and 3's black keys, experiencing 'high' and 'low' on the keyboard, learning note names on the keyboard WITHOUT focus on specific fingering), the Harmony Road Music Course has a great program for 3-4 year olds called "Music in Me". There's curriculum for 16 weeks, then an additional 16-week program called "More Music in Me". That would keep him busy for almost a year. Check out the website at "www.harmonyroadmusic.com".

Good

-- alexandra (alidoremi@aol.com), June 26, 2002.

Thanks for your advice! That is something I'm going to definitely check into!

-- C Purtell (cpurtell@musiceducator.org), July 02, 2002.

Um...if you "just don't even know where to start on teaching such a young child," then it seems irresponsible to me to accept the student. I'd suggest telling the parents to look into Kindermusik, Musikgarten, or Music for Young Children programs, they're designed to handle pre-school children.

-- Jason (jsifford@pianoped.com), July 05, 2002.

I know better than to take a student I don't know how to teach!!! Just wanted some advice on what other options were out there! Thanks.

-- C Purtell (cpurtell@musiceducator.org), July 06, 2002.