The Learning Experience

Beginners - setting musical foundations

Elementary - first years at the piano
Lessons for beginners are full of songs, games and activities, many of these taking place away from the piano. At the early stages of musical engagement it is important for concepts such as pulse, rhythm and pitch to be developed through holistic, bodily responses rather than the detailed and specific activities needed at the piano. For these reasons the piano is used as a tool rather than as the central experience.

As musical confidence grows the young learner discovers how to create music at the keyboard, and will be able to discover the joy and wonder of connecting with the sound of the piano. 

Introducing young pupils to notation is one of my specialities. I use my experience as a teacher and as a researcher to make sure that all pupils understand how notation works. Rhythm notation is introduced quite early on and we play lots of games with flashcards to encourage automatic responses to rhythmic patterns. For pitch notation initially I encourage pupil's to read graphic notation following the shapes and patterns. Notes on the staff are introduced using landmark notes and alphabet strings.

This Beginner's stage can take some time, depending on the pupil, but whether it takes 12 months or 24 months when s/he is ready to move on to the Elementary stage it will be in full confidence that all the essential elements are in place.
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Notation often remains a complete mystery for many beginners when they are taught in the traditional way that is adopted by many UK tutor books.
Unfortunately the 'middle C' approach has serious flaws although it continues to be used by many teachers because it provides both a familiar and seemingly structured approach to reading notation.
If you want to read more about tutor books click here.
Once the musical foundations are firmly established pupils are able to move all they have learnt onto the piano keyboard with some degree of confidence. At this stage of the learning process there are several priorities:
  • ensuring a sound technical facility with fingers, wrists and arms all connected to the body and working together
  • developing secure reading skills continues to be a priority at this stage. 
  • deepening the understanding of more complex musical concepts such as keys, time signatures and rhythm patterns (dotted crotchet and quaver for example)
  • early exploration of musical style and how to be expressive at the piano
  • developing musical confidence when playing by ear and improvising

Intermediate
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