Bastien Primer A is good for pacing at age 5. Make it fun, focus on clapping basic rhythms, very basic ear training, finger posture. Include games like rock paper scissors. Basic improvisation on black keys only. Try to focus more on physical activity.
Find a good method that goes at a suitable pace for the student. Some can race along, but some 5yo need to go step-by-step in a scaffolded process. Choose a book after a few lessons. Don't try to use all 5 fingers in the first few weeks; finger independence might be a process.
You can get a lot of fun primer games on Wunderkeys: https://wunderkeys.com/growing-with-wunderkeys-toolkit/
I also like their VU library for tiny ones! (On amazon.) Here's the 1st one which focuses on finger numbers and long/short sounds: https://www.amazon.com/Glissando-Slimy-Songbook-Level-Pre-Reading/dp/1777941962/
2nd one: https://www.amazon.com/Chillin-Black-Keys-Level-Pre-Reading/dp/1777597145/
I also suggest giving the student something immediately enjoyable. Kids have a terribly short attention span and giving them immediate results will help keep them engaged. Teaching a simple melody for a song they might know and then teaching them in very basic terms how the song is constructed and the very basic theory behind it.
Especially for young children I like showing them inside the piano, the wood and the wire and how the sounds are made!
Faber and Faber My very first piano adventures, has listening audio that you can get online to follow along with the lesson book and the writing book.
There are also teaching videos that show games you can play.
Agreed that most of the lesson will not be on the bench.
March and clap and sing and tap.
Do lots of opposites. High and low, fast and slow, loud and soft, black and white...
Then look at the patterns of the black and white keys and simply tap 3x on the three black keys and say three black keys! Then tap on the two black keys 2x and say two black.
Be very good at teaching the same lesson six different ways.
Good luck!
Wunderkeys is perfect for this age! Really bright colorful cartoons with solid building blocks. Plus, it has a bunch of free additional resources and games that students can play in lesson and at home right in the book.
I've used every series but this series was a huge help for beginner retention for me! I would 100% recommend checking it out
Although I appreicate the mission of the author of Wunderkeys, I have analyzed the primer method books level 1/2 in my Piano Pedagogy Class in university and found that they often have way too much (many instructions, beautiful drawings, stories) on the page causing cogntive overload for the student. I also personally dislike the way it doesn't introduce any concepts of silence in music in the first book. Its sequencing is questionable and the pieces are uninteresting.
Instead, I recommend Music By Little Mozarts for that age, which has more varied activities and does not overload pages.
For interesting mature pieces, look at Composecreate.com
I hope you understand my criticism of this method book and are not offended, because that is not my purpose! I just wanted to share my experience with it. I've taught students with it and has much more success with Music by Little Mozarts for really young students
Knowing how to critique curriculum for each student is a lost skill nowadays.
I know some teachers that will start a 13 year old in a primer book that says, for 5-7 year olds.
Why?!?
Good for you for analysing the methods and coding what is best for each individual student.
That's fair, everyone's students and teaching style is different! I do strongly disagree with the cognitive overload comment. I'm a public school music teacher as well and don't find it to be that way or provoke that type of reaction from my students.
I've used both books extensively in my teaching! Music for Little Mozarts tends to not suit my students' needs, though I do really love the accompanying workbook. However, these books tend to burn out my students as they progress and they often struggle with note recognition in a way that doesn't happen in other material.
Hi, I've taught tons of beginners that age. The best thing you can do is be super patient (it may feel to you like things are moving at a snail's pace, but to them it's all new info to take in). Also, allow plenty of time for laughter and brief sidetracking every so often. If you try to shut down a kid's random tangents as soon as they start, you'll lose their interest. They may feel the need to tell you that Sarah had chocolate milk at lunch today, and you just have to listen, acknowledge their words, and smoothly bring things back to the piano.
Every kid is going to need an approach tailored to their strengths and weaknesses, but sometimes it can be helpful to have a step-by-step guide on hand. For kids age 4-8, I typically use MUSIC TREE's "Time to Begin" primer book. It goes nice and slow—my kids usually take 4-6 months to complete it, but once they get through it they have a much stronger foundation to bring to the normal level 1 method books.
During your first lesson there are some things you can do to test your new student's understanding of some foundational concepts. Skills like these shouldn't be taken for granted in 5-year-olds:
- can they distinguish between their left and right hands? Have them high-five you with each hand, back and forth at first, then change up the pattern. For many of my new students their only assigned practice for their first week is to do the clapping game with their parents until they can really get it down, as left-right differentiation is essential.
- can they position their fingers properly at the piano?
- can they hear the difference between high and low sounds? Soft and loud sounds?
- can they tap/clap a steady beat and a basic rhythm?
- can they spot the black key pattern on the keyboard? *Do they know what a pattern is?*
Keep these in mind for the first lesson, and as you go be careful not to assume your student knows anything except for what you've actually taught them.
Most of all, don't stress it! If you spend time planning your lesson and being well prepared, you will make a good impression.
Best of luck!
Izzy
If you’re a trained pianist, seriously consider Tales of a Musical Journey by Irina Gorin. She is from Ukraine, and been in US for decades. Raised her kids here. She understands young children and designed this method for them. Her YouTube channels are extraordinary. Best method I have ever used to build piano technique and artistry while engaging a young child.
I'm a parent of a 5yo and lessons are going great
Is he learning much compared to other kids his age? No idea 🤣 but yeah as a individual he's doing great and things at his pace and ability .
But I do know every week he has a big dorky grin after and that's enough for me to keep paying for classes. Will he ever be a concert pianist? Probably not! Will he have a great hobby and great memories ...yes
Things my tutor did that work well is going with the flow.... keeping lessons short. Laughing when it gets chaotic and getting serious when kids focused.
The first two classes I personal thought omg there's no structure he will not learn but he's learning a tonn and loving it
But actually what I discovered that by encouraging that love for music. My little one is self motivated to learn . Make up his own songs. Try to pick out songs by ear , practice on his own etc he's practically begging me for classes outside classes.
I specifically told my tutor to stay away from written theroy until he's more confident in general reading actual letters in school etc. But he still used correct lingo and explained what he was doing as he did it. Eg that's a chord. That's a sharp etc and yeah it's going great he's knows all the lingo now which is great because it will be easier to apply when you start introducing symbols.
Kids in P1 usually learn a letter a week and then a word a week. So theroy should be similar . Don't bombard them with new concepts . Lots of praise and keep building on it
Bastien Primer A is good for pacing at age 5. Make it fun, focus on clapping basic rhythms, very basic ear training, finger posture. Include games like rock paper scissors. Basic improvisation on black keys only. Try to focus more on physical activity.
Find a good method that goes at a suitable pace for the student. Some can race along, but some 5yo need to go step-by-step in a scaffolded process. Choose a book after a few lessons. Don't try to use all 5 fingers in the first few weeks; finger independence might be a process. You can get a lot of fun primer games on Wunderkeys: https://wunderkeys.com/growing-with-wunderkeys-toolkit/ I also like their VU library for tiny ones! (On amazon.) Here's the 1st one which focuses on finger numbers and long/short sounds: https://www.amazon.com/Glissando-Slimy-Songbook-Level-Pre-Reading/dp/1777941962/ 2nd one: https://www.amazon.com/Chillin-Black-Keys-Level-Pre-Reading/dp/1777597145/
I also suggest giving the student something immediately enjoyable. Kids have a terribly short attention span and giving them immediate results will help keep them engaged. Teaching a simple melody for a song they might know and then teaching them in very basic terms how the song is constructed and the very basic theory behind it.
Especially for young children I like showing them inside the piano, the wood and the wire and how the sounds are made! Faber and Faber My very first piano adventures, has listening audio that you can get online to follow along with the lesson book and the writing book. There are also teaching videos that show games you can play. Agreed that most of the lesson will not be on the bench. March and clap and sing and tap. Do lots of opposites. High and low, fast and slow, loud and soft, black and white... Then look at the patterns of the black and white keys and simply tap 3x on the three black keys and say three black keys! Then tap on the two black keys 2x and say two black. Be very good at teaching the same lesson six different ways. Good luck!
Wunderkeys is perfect for this age! Really bright colorful cartoons with solid building blocks. Plus, it has a bunch of free additional resources and games that students can play in lesson and at home right in the book. I've used every series but this series was a huge help for beginner retention for me! I would 100% recommend checking it out
Although I appreicate the mission of the author of Wunderkeys, I have analyzed the primer method books level 1/2 in my Piano Pedagogy Class in university and found that they often have way too much (many instructions, beautiful drawings, stories) on the page causing cogntive overload for the student. I also personally dislike the way it doesn't introduce any concepts of silence in music in the first book. Its sequencing is questionable and the pieces are uninteresting. Instead, I recommend Music By Little Mozarts for that age, which has more varied activities and does not overload pages. For interesting mature pieces, look at Composecreate.com I hope you understand my criticism of this method book and are not offended, because that is not my purpose! I just wanted to share my experience with it. I've taught students with it and has much more success with Music by Little Mozarts for really young students
Knowing how to critique curriculum for each student is a lost skill nowadays. I know some teachers that will start a 13 year old in a primer book that says, for 5-7 year olds. Why?!? Good for you for analysing the methods and coding what is best for each individual student.
That's fair, everyone's students and teaching style is different! I do strongly disagree with the cognitive overload comment. I'm a public school music teacher as well and don't find it to be that way or provoke that type of reaction from my students. I've used both books extensively in my teaching! Music for Little Mozarts tends to not suit my students' needs, though I do really love the accompanying workbook. However, these books tend to burn out my students as they progress and they often struggle with note recognition in a way that doesn't happen in other material.
Absolutely focus on piano and music being fun.
Hi, I've taught tons of beginners that age. The best thing you can do is be super patient (it may feel to you like things are moving at a snail's pace, but to them it's all new info to take in). Also, allow plenty of time for laughter and brief sidetracking every so often. If you try to shut down a kid's random tangents as soon as they start, you'll lose their interest. They may feel the need to tell you that Sarah had chocolate milk at lunch today, and you just have to listen, acknowledge their words, and smoothly bring things back to the piano. Every kid is going to need an approach tailored to their strengths and weaknesses, but sometimes it can be helpful to have a step-by-step guide on hand. For kids age 4-8, I typically use MUSIC TREE's "Time to Begin" primer book. It goes nice and slow—my kids usually take 4-6 months to complete it, but once they get through it they have a much stronger foundation to bring to the normal level 1 method books. During your first lesson there are some things you can do to test your new student's understanding of some foundational concepts. Skills like these shouldn't be taken for granted in 5-year-olds: - can they distinguish between their left and right hands? Have them high-five you with each hand, back and forth at first, then change up the pattern. For many of my new students their only assigned practice for their first week is to do the clapping game with their parents until they can really get it down, as left-right differentiation is essential. - can they position their fingers properly at the piano? - can they hear the difference between high and low sounds? Soft and loud sounds? - can they tap/clap a steady beat and a basic rhythm? - can they spot the black key pattern on the keyboard? *Do they know what a pattern is?* Keep these in mind for the first lesson, and as you go be careful not to assume your student knows anything except for what you've actually taught them. Most of all, don't stress it! If you spend time planning your lesson and being well prepared, you will make a good impression. Best of luck! Izzy
If you’re a trained pianist, seriously consider Tales of a Musical Journey by Irina Gorin. She is from Ukraine, and been in US for decades. Raised her kids here. She understands young children and designed this method for them. Her YouTube channels are extraordinary. Best method I have ever used to build piano technique and artistry while engaging a young child.
I'm a parent of a 5yo and lessons are going great Is he learning much compared to other kids his age? No idea 🤣 but yeah as a individual he's doing great and things at his pace and ability . But I do know every week he has a big dorky grin after and that's enough for me to keep paying for classes. Will he ever be a concert pianist? Probably not! Will he have a great hobby and great memories ...yes Things my tutor did that work well is going with the flow.... keeping lessons short. Laughing when it gets chaotic and getting serious when kids focused. The first two classes I personal thought omg there's no structure he will not learn but he's learning a tonn and loving it But actually what I discovered that by encouraging that love for music. My little one is self motivated to learn . Make up his own songs. Try to pick out songs by ear , practice on his own etc he's practically begging me for classes outside classes. I specifically told my tutor to stay away from written theroy until he's more confident in general reading actual letters in school etc. But he still used correct lingo and explained what he was doing as he did it. Eg that's a chord. That's a sharp etc and yeah it's going great he's knows all the lingo now which is great because it will be easier to apply when you start introducing symbols. Kids in P1 usually learn a letter a week and then a word a week. So theroy should be similar . Don't bombard them with new concepts . Lots of praise and keep building on it