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I specialize in teaching very young students, most beginning at age 4 and 5. I even have a child who started with me at 3-1/2 (being ready at that age is very rare, but this child was very bright), and now at age 5, she is playing Mozart Minuets and other short classical pieces. Her technique is amazing and her staff reading is wonderful. I probably have about 12 people on my waiting list who contacted me just from hearing this child play. She has been with me for almost 2 years now. It's amazing to think about what she will be playing at, say, 8 or 9 years old, if she is already playing these classical pieces at age 5!

In the past, I have posted about my young students on here, and received criticism for teaching "the unteachable." Many teachers think that young students just should not be taught, end of story. I think that people should not be so quick to count out young students. Of course, the instructor needs to have a LOT of patience in dealing with 4 and 5-year-olds! I think a lot of the criticism comes from those who just don't have the personality or patience to handle young children well.

But, speaking from experience, teaching 4 and 5-year-olds can be an incredibly rewarding experience! And you will have a few prodigies in that age group over the years! It's amazing when I watch a few of my very talented young students play...it makes me very proud.

Good luck with your young student, John! She reminds me a lot of the little Chinese girl I am referring to in my studio!

Thanks for the well wishes. Here's a brief update:

We've complete 7 lessons so far. She can now identify all fingers correctly, all the white keys by name; she can play 1-1-1-1-2-2-2-2-3-3-3-3-4-4-4-4-5-5-5-5 in each hand, maintaining a steady pulse; she can play a 1-2, 2-3, 3-4, 4-5 legato slur; she can read 3 notes on the staff, C, Bass F, and Treble G.

Next week, we'll be starting Solfege (her mom was out of town, and I didn't want to start with her dad, since he is quite unmusical, but hugely cooperative), and we are beginning clapping rhythm drills.

At the rate she is progressing, we will probably start with an easy score piece in three, possibly four weeks.

Oh, she turns four in two weeks!

One final item: she can remain focused, so our lessons are up to 25 minutes. I'm luv'n it!

I like to know how to teach very young students, tell us more!
Thank you!

Absolutely! 30 minutes is perfect for students ages 4-6...and even beyond that. It's important to remember that a child's attention span is their age plus 3 minutes. This means that if they're 4 years old you've "lost them" after 7 minutes of one activity. The trick is to change focus often to keep them engaged. Spend some time away from the piano for a change of pace (theory games, activities on the white board etc) and split your 30 mintue lesson into 4 different "sections" (which could look like 1)book work 2)theory games/white board manipulatives 3)ear training games 4)book review )

Parents will wonder why they are paying the same rate for less time, so I would charge less to justify this time difference. People assume that piano lessons are charged based on time.

Update on my young student (will be 4 next week Saturday!) who has now been with me exactly one month:

Knows the names and can find all the white keys on the keyboard.

Knows her finger numbers (better than some of my older students) and her right and left hands!!!!!

Can now maintain a steady four beat pulse.

Can play, either hand, 1, 1-2, 1-2-3, 2-3, 2-3-4, 3-4, 3-4-5, 4-5 with a nice touch and good wrist lift at end of each.

Can identify 5 notes on the grand staff.

Our start on Solfege has been delayed to mom's absence, but I plan to start her next week.

Lessons are now 30 minutes which she seems capable of handling with no difficulty.

We'll probably start on a "real" piece in 2 or 3 weeks.

I'm beginning to sense that her Dad is more into this than even the Mom!

The fact that you are loving it is marvelous indications that you're a hit with this little girl who is 4 tomorrow. Happy Birthday! You, she, Mom and Dad seem to be ready for this musical experience. Let us know how the solfege goes and how you taught it to her. I'm curious about your approach. Enjoy!

Just an update on my young student:

As you know, this is my first attempt with a very young student. We've been doing flash cards for a month now. We started with just 3 notes, G, C, & F and slowly filled in the in-between notes.

Today, she read from a score for the first time, and correctly named and played each note.

We've been doing counting and clapping exercises as well, so she can keep rhythm with 8th, 1/4, 1/2 and whole notes as well as recognize them on the staff.

We have expanded lessons to two 30 minutes a week, so she gets and hour with me every week. Parents are still enthused and working with her, about 25-30 min, twice a day now. This, of course, is the real secret. What parents are excited about, the child will be enthused about. And there's no such thing as too much praise!

One of the games we play are speed drills, how fast can she play all the (name of notes) from top to bottom on the piano, first with right hand, then with left hand. She can do the white keys pretty darn fast at this point. We'll be adding the black keys beginning Friday.

At the rate she's progressing, by July I think she'll be able to host a "piano party" for all her pre-school friends and play a recital for them. Perhaps 8 to 10 pieces, using both hands.

Perhaps you have found another "niche" for yourself....not easy to do but many many parents are keen to start their kids early. I think it's awesome that you are having success and even more awesome that you are sharing your experience. I have had ok success with very young students...after reading your postings, I am re-thinking my approach....I can probably now improve it greatly. Thank you!!!!

Not to bore you all, but it's now been three months, almost to the day, since my little one began piano lessons and she has finally "broken" the reading code - finally. She has been doing flash cards, rhythm exercises, etc., etc., etc., two-note, three-note and four-note legato slurs. Finally, today, she read from print music, rather fluently, actually. She recognizes and can read a 4 octave span. I've just introduced her to ottava signs and concepts, so in a week or so, she should be able to identify and play any note on the piano.

She can easily stay on one specific task for a full 20 minutes now, and our half hour lessons are stretching into 35 minutes and longer, and she is not anxious to leave.

Her mother is so thrilled at this point, that she's having her sisters come to lessons with her just to watch her "pride and joy" perform.

As PianoKitty noted, it is very rewarding. I hope you all get a chance to try it some day.

John, this thread is an inspiration! I have a son who is nearly three and one quarter, and I've been thinking long and hard about how to start working towards formal lessons. The way you have shared the learning/teaching journey you've been having with your gorgeous young student has been a wonderful catalyst for me thinking my way through my own opportunities at home!!!!

I love your detailed explanations, John. I don't teach any students this young, but have several students who don't "get it" yet, and have backed off and tried some of your simpler approaches. Hopefully something will stick.

Patience is a very necessary virtue. You need plenty of it. Then some more. And a very willing and helpful parent. Without the parent's daily work with the child, nothing is going to happen. You will need to make this really, really clear at the outset. Ask the parent point blank, "Are you willing to sit down twice a day with your child, for 15 to 20 minutes, and go through the drills we cover in the lesson? This can only work if you're totally committed to doing this."

Secondly, be prepared for brick walls. Back in early May, we were beginning to get the note reading, only to run into a major road block. After 5 weeks of seemingly zero progress, bingo. However, I was disparing, big time.

You simply have to keep doing other activities, making games out of flash card reading, racing the student up and down the keyboard, finding notes, etc.

I always complement the parents on the good work they are doing with the student, so they realize I know that they are following through at home, and appreciate what they are doing. Of course, it's for their child, but everyone is egocentric, so a complement here or there will never hurt!

Update and editorial.

For those of you who have dismissed the idea of starting very young students, I just want to encourage you to think about how you might go about it and what the rewards might be.

True story. The young lady, who is now 4 1/2 but had a 3 month hiatus due to a family emergency, is back at lessons and is progressing right on track. Today, she showed up at lessons and pulled out of her sack three of my books which she had purloined from the studio without my knowledge. One is Silly Sonatinas by John Robert Poe. This is a volume I use for remedial work with students having basic note reading problems. She set the book on the piano desk, opened to the first sonatina, and proceeded to play the entire sonatina, correctly!

What would be the point of holding this student back until 1st or 2nd grade? Why not learn how to work with these students and at the same time, enhance your reputation and increase your pool of potential students as other parents stop and consider, "Why not my child?"

BTW, she participated in her first recital Saturday; this was an open, community-wide recital with 60 students participating. As you might suspect, she stole the show! And ate it up, too.

Her concentration and focus has expanded and she can sit through a 50 min lesson with ease. This at 4 1/2 years old. You just get there a minute at a time.

John, my youngest student just turned 5 and started lessons a year ago. He too was impressive playing a grand piano at the recital. He's small for his age anyway and played well. It really was impressive to those watching.

He used his music book, and he stood on the pedal extender and stretched up in order to reach the music rack. Put his own music up, and removed it when he finished.

Congratulations, Ann. It is very rewarding, and a great way to get students to achieve before their horizons expand and they lose interest.

Thanks John. It's rewarding to work with kids who are interested in learning to play piano. And this little fellow is very enthusiastic. It would be a different story if it were just an ambitious parent and if the child lacked interest.

I started two 5 year olds this year, and it's not easy work! One is in My First Piano Adventures, and the other is using Succeeding at the Piano. Maybe I'm just impatient, but these kids move SO slow. What I'd really like to do is to teach a general music class to about 4 beginners where they learn to sing, rhythm, notation, and had some fun with the piano, but not formal lessons one on one. Perhaps in a year they'll be ready to apply what they know to the piano.

John, how are you getting the parents to practice with the kids 2x a day? Are you charging the same for them as you are your older students? Is it hard to get them to commit to lessons 2x a week?

My teaching experience is only five years. Since 2008 I start to accept very young students in my private 30 minutes lesson. My youngest student was three and half years old girl when she started. Since then, I found my niche in my area. A lot of parents bring their three years to five years to me. I interview them and of course reject to teach some of them because they are not ready for piano lesson. Among those that I rejected, there is one girl Esther was three years old on the first interview, I told the mother that she is too young and ask her to come back in six months. Six months later, she came back for second interview and I think she is ready for piano lesson, and she is progressing very good! We are recently in our tenth lesson and she already can play with CD with steady rhythm, curve fingers, regconize middle C, D and E, whole note quarter note etc.

I especially like this group of students because they are in preschool and they can fill up my morning time easily. Currently I have 17 students who started piano lesson younger than five.

I totally agree with John that why should I hold back this girl until first or second grade when she is progressing better than my other first and second grade?

However, parents has to help at home, a lot. Interview for readiness is the key too.

Please excuse my miss spell, if I have any

John, I am amazed. I can't imagine a child of 4 1/2 achieving what your student has. 6 feels quite young to me. What an inspiring story to read, thank you for the big smile I have. And congratulations to Ann and smallpiano who have also had success.

Well I'll keep an open mind. Mostly I need to get better at harnessing parent-power. I've only recently captured my first Helpful Parent - makes a difference to progress doesn't it!

As Smallpiano and others have mentioned, parental involvement is paramount. During your initial interview, teachers must stress that although students have unbelievable learning capabilities, at this age, they lack the ability to focus, stay on task, and discipline themselves sufficiently to learn to play the piano. I ask the parents point blank, "Will you commit to two or three 10 - 15 minute play sessions with your child each and every day, where you go over the material we've covered in lessons?" If there is any hesitation at all, then success is not possible, and you need to gently ask that they wait until the child is older. I also give them a practice binder and print out a daily practice sheet each week, which we put into the binder. The parent has to tick off each daily practice session, and when they come to lessons with missing entries, I take them, the parents, to task, not the child. With any student who has not entered 1st grade, there is really no viable excuse a parent can offer for not doing multiple practice sessions each day. They don't have to be long, they don't have to be grueling. They just have to be done!

For most young children, the experience has to be almost game like. Especially when doing drills. And BTW, drills are paramount at this age. M is learning fourths now, and we drill keyboard speed. She starts at the top of the key board, say D-G, and plays them a blocked pair a time, going down the key board, and then up the keyboard, changing hands. At her lessons, we race. I allow her a two octave head start, then I begin, and try to catch her. She is literally screaming with delight as she races down the keyboard, with me hot on her trail.

As I mentioned very early on in this particular topic, I was giving M two lessons a week. We started out at 15 min each, then within a month, it expanded to 20 min, then 25 min, and finally 30 + min. After 4 months, we went to one lesson a week, which is now running roughly 50 min or so. Because this was my first real try at this, I offered lessons deeply discounted, but to new students, no.