Thinking of enrolling your child for piano lessons after hearing about the perks of playing the piano? Well, DON'T DO THAT!!!
Just kidding! Well, now that I got your attention, the truth is that there are more factors to consider that might actually outweigh the fact that playing the piano may come together with major benefits. In this article, I will be discussing the factors that may or may not affect your decision to enrol your child for piano lessons.
1. Is your child old enough?
The first thing you need to consider is the age of your child. It is psychologically proven that children who have yet to reach 5 years of age generally have a very short attention span and are easily distracted. Although it is true that playing the piano can train the discipline and concentration of an individual, especially when you start young, it is basically mission-impossible to discipline a child below 5 years old to concentrate as their brains are simply not developed to do so yet! If your child is below 5 years of age, it will not be a wise decision to spend your hard earned money on a 10 minutes piano lesson as your child will probably start running around 10 minutes into the lesson. Instead, consider getting them a mini keyboard to get them familiarised with the concept of piano and start building their interest.
2. How is the coordination skill of your child?
In the event that your child is old enough, the next thing you will need to consider is the coordination skill of your child. This is an important factor to take note of because it determines the learning speed of your child during piano lessons. By understanding the coordination skill level of your child, you will be able to seek advice from the piano teachers and execute a proper lesson plan that is customised to the needs and capability of your child. Simple exercises can be conducted to find out about your child's coordination skills. For example, to test your child's hand-leg coordination, you can teach him or her how to do jumping jacks and you will be able to examine the level of coordination your child possesses.
3. Fast or slow learner?
Is your child a fast or slow learner? Determining how fast your child can pick up and learn new things plays an important role in your decision to enrol your child for piano lessons. If your child is a fast learner, enrol him or her up for piano lessons in music schools IMMEDIATELY as the professionalism of the teachers and the competitive environment will allow your child’s potential to grow fully. On the other hand, if your child is not a fast learner, you should consider getting him or her a home-based private piano teacher so that there is someone who will be guiding your child through the entire learning process.
4. Does your child even like the piano?
Your child may have fulfilled all of the 3 requirements mentioned above, but if he or she has ZERO interest in piano, you probably should not enrol them to piano lessons. After all, although piano is well rounded and comes with a lot of benefits, if your child doesn’t like it, he or she will probably only put in the minimal effort needed to please you and they won’t be able to progress in terms of piano skills and values like discipline. If you find out that your child is not interested, you should probably have a good talk with him or her to find out the reasons for the lack of interest. Maybe you might even discover another talent they have that would have been wasted if you enrolled them for piano lessons instead. However, if it is because your child is relatively laidback and have no interest in anything, you should consider enrolling them for piano classes to help them build an interest. It is very important that your child engages in activities that can help to stimulate their curiosity and ability to learn and seek improvement.
With the face-paced environment in Singapore, it has become a norm for parents to prepare their child early by enrolling them to enrichment classes and activities. Learning the piano may be one of the best ways to develop your child, but make sure to not miss out any details. If you are still interested to enrol your child for piano lessons after reading this, click here to start looking for tuition teachers and broaden your choice. Follow us on Facebook for our weekly articles regarding pianos.
Wen Feng is a passionate music aficionado. He is constantly on the search for new music to listen to, with a particular interest in classical music. Piano pieces have always been a great companion and kept him calm throughout his school and work life.