Our Blog
10 March 2010
Young piano students need a bit of guidance to practice their music at home using effective strategies to develop good playing habits. Their music pieces can be mastered in just a small amount of time with good practice habits.
Here are 5 tips for parents to help their young children use effective learning strategies at home and develop good playing habits.
Remind your child practicing piano at home to:
1. Sing the note names as they are played. Pre-reading music has the names of the notes written on the note heads. Children need to say the names of then notes as they are played so they learn to visualize what keys are under their fingers in beginning hand positions C and Middle C. Without this simple knowledge, children will not be able to go on to learning to read notes on the staff.
2. Keep eyes on the music, not the hands. Once children have their hand position, they need to keep their eyes on the music and not look down at their hands. This way they are developing a keyboard in their imaginations. This is also necessary for reading notes on the staff, which is just a map of the piano keyboard.
3. Sit back on the piano bench and reach out to the piano. Young piano students will not be able to use their small muscles in the fingers unless they are reaching out to the piano with their arms extended and elbows slightly bent with elbows pointing to the walls and not the floor.
4. Round the hands over the keyboard. The fingers need to stretch down to the piano keys from the top knuckle and then retract back to a rounded hand position. This allows for finger flexibility and control.
5. Play each song 5 to 7 times a day. It doesn’t take long for a young child to practice their beginning lessons. But each song needs to be played about 7 times using good playing strategies. For the average young student whose teacher has assigned them two songs, this will take about 5 minutes a song. That’s a ten minute practice session. And that’s really all beginning children need to do to learn their lessons. But without these strategies they could sit at the piano for hours and never learn what they need to know.
Guide your young piano student at home with these 5 practice easy to use practice tips and no one will ever know that their parents don’t play the piano!
*(adapted from Cynthia VanLandingham)
6 March 2010
Happiness is shared 
Adapt this way of life with our kids! Makes all of life smoother and helps piano practice time come easier
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Many times, we would zip through the day or sometimes laze away the day without giving it much thought. We simply go through the motions and before we know it, the day has come to an end. Then, we begin the next day, repeating the cycle.
How about this? Let’s break the cycle and consciously choose to do one nice thing today. It can be something as simple as giving a smile to a stranger, holding the door for someone, giving a co-worker a pat on the shoulder, writing a thank-you note, inviting a new colleague for lunch, offering a listening ear, giving the right of way, guiding a tourist who has lost her way, listening to your child practice piano with a smile, forgiving the waiter who has spilled water over you . . .
Your act may not mean very much to you, but to the recipients, you can never know — it may mean a world of difference. Your gracious act will certainly brighten their day and in some instances, may even bring comfort, help soothe pain, provide hope, motivate and inspire. Just a simple act can sometimes trigger a chain of positive reactions, touching many others along the way.
Take your time. Don’t rush things. Gradually you may find yourself doing two, three . . . nice things a day and in no time it will become a part of you as you breeze through your day. As you focus on making things easier for those around you, you will inevitably find yourself smiling more and walking lighter.
It only takes a small step to begin. Once you make the first move, the rest will be easier. Why not make a difference while you can, for as long as you can? All it takes is just to do one nice thing today.
You and your child will benefit greatly from smiling and piano practice will become a happier time.
(adapted from)
JL Kah has profound interest in the areas of self improvement and motivation. She enjoys travelling to different places and loves to share her thoughts and touch lives. You can visit her website at :
http://www.jlkah.com
2 March 2010
I came across this cool article I had to share:
To this day, I feel deprived that my parents didn’t sign me up for piano lessons. You see, I have two sisters who are considerably older than I am (ten and 14 years older, respectively). They both learned to play the piano, and my parents had a piano in the house until the time I was six years old. At that point, they sold the piano and, alas, my potential piano lessons went with out the door with the instrument. In retrospect, I imagine they felt as though they’d “been there, done that” with my sisters, and that another round of piano practices and recitals was more than they could bear. Still, to this day, I wish I had learned to play the piano.
Many parents embrace the idea of piano lessons for their children, but wonder when beginner piano lessons are appropriate. Is it when their prodigy-to-be bangs out his first tune on his toy piano? Is it once he’s show an interest in an educational toy or an educational game? Is it once he’s started school?
Experts generally agree that parents should take their child’s lead in deciding when beginner piano lessons are appropriate. If a child shows an interest in her toy piano, that may be an early indicator. A child who sits down at her aunt’s piano and bangs out notes at every opportunity is one who may be ready for piano lessons.
Ultimately, a child’s experience of piano lessons – just like the experience of playing with an educational toy or educational game – should be one that’s enjoyable. He should be old enough to understand that there is a level of commitment necessary in learning to play the piano, and to understand that beginner piano lessons are just that – for beginners. Once he can see that his skills improve with practice, he’s likely to more thoroughly enjoy his piano lessons.
Parents can contribute to their child’s feels of satisfaction about her progress by encouraging her at every opportunity. Applaud her initiative in practicing, attend her recitals, and – if you’ve ever had the urge – consider taking beginner piano lessons with her. Family involvement in her piano lessons will go far in giving her the motivation to continue playing.
If a child does lose interest in piano lessons after a time, though, it doesn’t pay for parents to force their child to continue taking piano lessons. Instead, they should encourage him to continue to enjoy music in its infinite variety.
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(Chris Robertson is a published author of Majon International. Majon International is one of the world’s MOST popular internet marketing and internet advertising companies on the web. Visit their main business resource web site at: http://www.majon.com (NOTE: Content article shown above may be linked and circulated freely on web sites, ezines and other publications as long as ALL article content, links and author information remain UNCHANGED in any way whatsoever.)
27 February 2010
1. Aim for balance. Take a cue from figure skater Mirai Nagasu, 16, who finds time for school, homework, friends and Japanese classes…plus her intense skating schedule. Goodbye, lame TV shows.
2. Ditch excuses. Limb loss, wheelchairs and brain injury don’t stop Para-Olympians from high achievements in competition. Don’t let the li’l stuff slow ya down.
3. Stay dedicated. Some world-class athletes travel hundreds of miles for every practice. Makes the few-minute walk to the piano seem not-so bad, huh?
4. Have fun. U.S. skeleton athlete Noelle Pikus-Pace tapes funny messages to her sled before races. Make it a fun practice for you!
5. Share those skills. We love that hockey player Angela Ruggiero runs camps for girls. Take a second to teach a younger (or older) player.
6. Stay organized. Olympic athletes have a lot to do! On top of preparing and competing, they also have press events and have to make time for their friends and family. Being organized and creating lists is a good idea for every busy bee!
(adapted from www.justaskmarlene.com)
20 February 2010
This is a quick way to learn how to read and recognize notes written on the staff and on the piano. However, there is no replacement for learning how to sound smooth and pretty on the piano than with step by step instruction and with songs that allows gradual progress.
Recognizing the names of the bass and treble clef notes can be fun and rather simple. All you have to do is memorize a word for each note, like this.
Caution: Use this method only for learning “off” the piano. Do not rely on this method while you are actually reading music and playing because it will slow you down as you try to recite these. Only use this as a fun way to learn the notes off the piano:
Bass clef space notes: A C E G (All Cows Eat Grass)
Bass clef line notes: G B D F A (Good Boys Do Fine Always)
Treble clef space notes: F A C E (This spells “face”)
Treble clef line notes: E G B D F (Every Good Boy Deserves Fudge)
Now the fun begins. Here are some simple and fun ways to memorize these notes.
1) Speed Run: See how fast you can say the names of the notes. Try doing it first with the words, and then with the letter names only.
2) Reverse Speed Run: Now see how fast you can practice saying the letter names in reverse. This is a great way to see just how well you know the letter names.
3) Say-n-Play: While sitting at your piano, say the letter name out loud and then play it on the keyboard. If you are using flashcards, mix them up so that you can select a card at random and do the same activity. This is a very good memorization activity.
4) Play Them All: Now comes a fun way to test your knowledge. Say out loud the note then play all of those notes on the entire keyboard. For example, you have selected the note “A.” Play all the “A” keys on the entire keyboard.
The sooner one can memorize the names of the notes and recognize where they are found on the keyboard, the more enjoyment that can be found playing the keyboard. Just like you learned the ABC’s for reading you’ll be a great success at learning your ABCDEFG’s for the keyboard. Enjoy!
28 October 2009
As you use the Piano Patch Program to teach your little ones, whether it be your own children, or other students, you will quickly notice that your own skills will dramatically improve.
It is a well known fact that teaching increases knowledge and skill of the topic you are teaching. Along with gaining a more intimate knowledge of the very basics of learning piano, you will also gain another special skill that you can’t learn without actual hands on experience. This skill is unique and rare because the opportunity to develop is rare as well.
What is this special skill? It is the unique ability to work with young children and be in a constant position to learn how to simplify a complex concept so that even a child can comprehend it. It is the constant search for a new way to teach the same concept that grows your ability to teach as well as learn. This special skill can’t be learned in a book because every single child is different and each on responds to a different approach. The skills you will gain will be eye opening for yourself, as you begin to see things through the eyes of a true beginner.
Believe it or not, these same skills that you learn as you teach children, applies beautifully to teaching adults as well. ~smile~
So, enjoy the process and take every opportunity to teach, because in teaching, you are learning as well!
22 October 2009
After being online with the PianoPatch Program for several years, and mentoring many parents and teachers as they learn to interact with and teach piano to children as young as 4 years old, I decided it’s time to add a blog where I can start sharing stories, tips and advice on helping young children succeed at the piano.
