Even though my parents were not musical people (unless you count the Doobie Brothers Greatest Hits album that my dad subjected us to on a regular basis and I refuse to qualify that as music), they were always very supportive of my love for all things musical, and they started me off at a very early age taking weekly piano lessons. My piano teacher was a fantastic lady who did nothing but teach lessons – this was her passion, not a part time job, and she was really good at it. I took lessons from her for years, until eventually my passion turned to a different instrument (the flute) and I didn’t have time to balance both.
Taking lessons was so good for me. I developed great concentration skills (an enormous blessing to my parents and school teachers, I’m sure); it improved my coordination skills as I learned to maneuver through songs with my right and my left hands working together and yet independently of one another, creating melodies and rhythms and harmonies. Practicing daily became a ritual – something I looked forward to, believe it or not, as I progressed from beginner books with largely-drawn notes as big as quarters to advanced books filled with line after line of delicious melodies.
There are several studies out there that indicate that children benefit from piano lessons in a number of ways involving their memory, IQ levels, problem solving skills, and more. Your son or daughter won’t just be pounding out Mary Had a Little Lamb – they’ll be developing their brains. And just think of the alternatives – it’s WAY better than teaching them the trombone or the tuba.
If you’re considering putting your child into piano lessons but don’t know where to start, two good resources are the American College of Musicians/National Guild of Piano Teachers, and Pianoteachers.com.
Ahh… some of my fondest memories of making my mother crazy were during piano practing time.
I wish that I’d kept going longer and that I could play now. What a cool skill.