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I posted here a few weeks ago asking for tips for finding a teacher for my little boy. Well, I actually found a couple who were willing and able. There's apparently a book series called Alfred's, and he blazed through the whole first book in the 30 minute trial lesson with one of the teachers. Afterwards, she turned her head towards me (sitting down on a couch across the room) and said enthusiastically "I want to teach this kid." I decided to go with that teacher.

Congratulations! How long are lessons? Hope your son continues to enjoy it.

There are several Alfred series. And going through the whole book in 30 minutes would mean spending about 30-40 seconds on each page - barely enough time to play through it twice, much less do any kind of real work.

(I'm skeptical.)

I hope it goes well for your son! It sounds like you've found a good match for him.

What reason do I have to lie? Anyhow, I'm sure she was just trying to get a measure of his ability. I'm not expecting that she's going to have him go through a book per lesson.

No, it's not this easy. Going through a whole book is not possible in 30 minutes. The concepts are to be taught and learned and used not breezed through.

Do you know anything about the teachers background or have you seen their students in recitals.

I think you might have been impressed that this couple are interested in your son. It is very easy to pull off a scenario when interviewing a prospective student that makes them want to start piano - you appeal to the child's senses - and you let the child's parents know your impressed with him. It's that simple.

Look deeper as you go along. Three years old is a precious age and it's so wrong to foist adult demands on children who are just discovering themselves and who they will be. I don't agree that a 3 year old belongs at the piano keyboard at so young of an age.

Logic, spatial relationships, associations are things we rely on seeing in music as we progress and that doesn't happen until about 9 years of age in child development. His body and brain are just not ready for the connections made while playing the piano. He also does not yet have the vocabularly he needs, nor can he read and do the functioning that piano requires.

Tap out some songs, imitate, memorize - he can probably do. That is not what I consider playing the piano.

I'm sorry to differ with you but maybe this child needs an advocate in his behalf. I hope no harm is done to him in this pursuit. Time will tell since you are so eager for this early start. There are so many other safe and wonderful experiences in the arts that would help prepare him for the future. Being at the piano keyboard for piano lessons is not one of them in my opinion. People do it. Why?

thank you for your concern. he likes to play the piano. he enjoyed the free lesson. if he doesn't enjoy it in the future, I'll stop sending him. It's pretty easy to tell. Not all kids like the same things.

I didn't think she was actually teaching him but having him sight read to see what he was capable of. I don't see a problem with this for a "free lesson." However, if that is how her lessons are normally conducted, then it might be an issue.

How does a three year old sight read?

There are some 3 year olds that can read.

I'm not familiar with what type of books Alfred might publish for preschoolers. But some of the earliest piano books have rhythms, up and down the keyboard, pattern of the keyboard, etc. I suspect that the teacher paged through the book, checking to see how quickly the child caught on to concepts, and wasn't really trying to teach each page. And the mother, who is probably not a teacher (nor a pianist?) watched the teacher go through the book, and perhaps interpreted it a little differently than what happened. Just my guess.

I don't think I can make a judgement on whether this teacher is any good or not based on this. At the end of the lesson, the teacher seemed excited by what the child could do, and was eager to teach him. That leads me to believe she saw a spark, intelligence, or ability in this child she feels she can work with. Isn't this what every parent, student, and teacher hopes for?

And she's got a parent willing and eager to get involved. I could use a few students like that!

They're geniuses! There seems to be an endless supply of them lately.

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Yes, Vivin, you can stop taking him to lessons if it doesn't work out or if he stops enjoying it. But, how is he going to feel about that when piano lessons become negative to him? How will you keep an open door to return to the piano at some later date? Do you think he's going to be mature about it if he is withdrawn for one reason or another?

Liking it is a small part of piano lessons. What piano students really require is some determination when "tough" enters the picture. At some point frustrations enter and many children have trouble facing those times when the music is too challenging and they don't know the answers.

I think piano students do really well when the parent is supportive in other ways besides paying the fees and providing the transportation to lessons. How will you be supportive? Is your only strategy that you will remove him from lessons? How will you keep him in lessons and help him through the problems (little ones, but many little ones) he will encounter?

Will he say "My mom put me in piano lessons when I was 3! What was she thinking of?" Or, will he say, "Thanks to my mom's foresight, I got an early start on my favorite instrument"? Who knows? Do you feel that you are taking a risk at all by starting him now? I don't understand where that desire comes from when their is so much at risk for such a young beginner.

If he takes off and proves to be a prodigy, what then? Years and years of dedication and hopes for a very good outcome. Staying on the path is another thing to be concerned about. Equally problematic.

Everything we do in life has it's pro's and con's. Consequences will be part of the mix and there is no easy escaping. I think you are entering a very serious undertaking as it pertains to the success of your child's budding musicianship.

"What reason do I have to lie?"

I did not hear anyone suggest it, other than yourself. And I don't think anyone here is in a position to answer it.

Frankly, three is too young. Take a look at his little hand. He's been walking and talking for, what, two years--- and is still learning. I have heard three-year-olds talk; it is charming, but the brain has a long way to go. Children of this age have other tasks than piano lessons.

Most people have no conscious connective memory before the age of about four, or even a bit later.

No one can prevent you. I am very doubtful, but I'll wish both of you the best of luck. I think that Betty's advice to have a fallback position is well-considered.

Not a teacher here, just a mother and an amateur pianist. I think right now he'd be better off with a toy piano he can "play" to his heart's content and yourself as an appreciative audience-it will be all the same to him - and an aural environment rich in musical stimulation. That's all the "headstart" he needs right now. Don't make him feel like a failure before he's even begun by starting him too young. So much of musicality is innate. Don't deprive him of the thrill him of discovering it for himself.

Why not start with a virtual piano and a few short tunes at home on your computer? There are tunes with RH 5 fingers alone, then there are many written at Middle C for both hands.

I just found a few of these and added them to the mix in my studio. I think they work great as a test of the child's interest and what he can do on his own with a few simple rules and marking on the music page for any reminders he needs.

Does Mom or Dad play, Vivin?

Vivin,

I'm really curious to know which Alfred series was used on your 3-year-old. Was it the Music for Little Mozarts?

My 4-year-old wants piano lessons just because she sees her sister getting piano lessons. She doesn't want to be musical, and I'm not particular about her starting music or piano lessons at this age. But she wants piano lessons just because her sister gets it. (She also wants to go to Grade 1 just like her sister, go to basketball lessons just like her sister, go to ballet lessons just like her sister, go to Sunday school just like her sister, etc.) Listening to music, dancing with it, singing along, tapping a beat is not good enough. She wants *piano lessons*. She's really intent on having a person sit beside her while she's on the piano, and probably doesn't care about the end-result.

So someone lent me their old Music for Little Mozarts book, and I went through pre-reading with her (she was 3.5 years old then), thinking that she would get tired of it in a few lessons. She did go through pre-reading very quickly, and then hit a brick wall when the grand staff was introduced.

So I was just wondering whether your 3-year-old was doing pre-reading, because I can see how a small child may be able to blaze through pre-reading.

By the way, I would still consider the advice of all the other posters on this forum. I'm far from being a music educator. From what I've read here, it sounds like everyone is saying that being able to read music is only one element of learning music and piano. Reading through this forum, I realize that I should probably stop giving my child lessons.

I am a teacher with 20 plus years of experience and I grew up in the biz with my mother as a piano teacher.

I am always trying to push the envelope in teaching children.

The earliest I have taken a student is at 5 years of age - that particular child went on to win several big piano competitions.

A child's ability to keep their attention focused on the lesson is THE element I use to judge if the child is ready for personalized piano instruction. If a child does not have an attention span then a parent is paying for baby sitting lessons. Yes, I have seen many unqualified teachers take on students who are too young. Eventually, the student quits because little progress is made. The teacher should have put off the student until he was ready for personal instruction.

The second element I use to judge is the parents - are they committed? With a good teacher and supportive parents success is guaranteed unless there is a divorce or other disruptive elements. Success is guaranteed with a good teacher. Progress is often 100 fold with good teachers. I have my students often for 6-10 years. The reason is that, as a good teacher, I deliver the goods. Students learn often complex musical ideas quickly and are motivated to continue simply because it is not such a struggle.

Lots of great work can be done with students at such a young age. Just saturating young children in great classical music has tremendous intelligence and musical enhancing effects.

I would be very interested in the progress your teacher makes with your child. I recommend that very young children go to Kindermusic and wait until at least 5 to start lessons with me.

But who knows... I always check. The student may be ready.

Keep us posted on how it goes. : )

Welcome to the forum, SF10. I'm guessing you have a Baldwin grand!

When you get a chance, update your profile so you can a little more about yourself with the rest of us.

Where do you teach?

As a teacher who has taken students as young as 4 years old (and even one 3.5-year-old who could read at a second-grade level already - wow!) and had great success with them, I might have a different perspective on this. I have about 4 kids in my studio right now who started with me right when they turned 4, and one when she was 3.5. Within one year, all of them are reading music WELL on the grand staff now, some in Middle C position and some in both Middle C and C Positions, and a few of them are already playing complex rhythms and chords on the staff with their hands together.

However, I am very particular about which youngsters I take. Whenever a parent contacts me about teaching their young child (and word has gotten around with my last few recitals), I do a phone evaluation first, asking targeted questions to see if the child might be ready. Only about 50% of my phone evaluations pass this "test" and are invited for an evaluation lesson - which is paid, not free. During this time, I evaluate the child's reasoning skills, ability to retain information, alphabet & number skills, pattern recognition, etc. If I get any inkling that lessons will not be right for the child at that time, that's exactly what I tell the parents. And I am very upfront about this when talking with them initially, that piano is not for every young child.

Every child is different, and should be treated as such, regardless of their age. I have noticed that boys in general tend to not be ready at a very young age....but that is just my experience. Evaluation lessons are so important, IMO. The important thing is that the teacher evaluates your child very carefully before starting him in lessons. It sounds like that is exactly what she did at the first lesson. You might ask her exactly what she was looking for and how your son did, to get more specific answers.

Good luck with your teacher - let us know how it goes!!