How Kindermusik Prepares Kids for Piano Lessons

Kindermusik prepares kids for music lessons

What’s the best preparation for piano lessons?  Any piano teacher who’s ever taught a Kindermusik graduate will tell you without hesitation that piano students who have had Kindermusik progress more quickly, have a solid grasp of music fundamentals, and stick with their lessons longer.  Many will even go so far as to say that a former Kindermusik student is a dream piano student.

I make those bold claims after 20+ years of watching Kindermusik kids graduate and not only do well, but absolutely flourish and thrive in our music program.  As director of a large music school, Kindermusik educator, and former piano teacher, I’ve seen, heard, and celebrated success after success that could only be attributed to Kindermusik.  In fact, I’ve conducted my own non-scientific “research” several times throughout the year when I’ve waited to tell my piano teacher that her new student was a Kindermusik grad.  And the experiment never fails to produce the expected result.  Within just a few weeks of working with that student, I always get a text or a phone call from the piano teacher, “Has this child been in Kindermusik?!”

In celebration of September being “National Piano Month,” I’d like to celebrate just some of the ways that Kindermusik prepares kids for piano lessons.

Kindermusik kids learn musical terms and concepts in the most perfectly beautiful and natural of ways.  These concepts are happily experienced and curiously explored in the kind of rich, multi-sensory environment that supports optimal learning and connection.

Kindermusik kids have an ear for all types of music.  This is because the Kindermusik library is so vast and varied, introducing these young musicians to music from all different cultures, different centuries, different genres, and different traditions.

Kindermusik kids develop an ingrained sense of steady beat.  From bouncing to rocking to dancing to marching, a sense of rhythm has been instilled from the time they were infants.  First in mama or daddy’s arms, and then on their own two feet.  They can feel it in their whole bodies.  And nothing is more central to music than steady beat.

Kindermusik kids know how to make music together, in groups both big and small.  They first learn to interact with mom and dad.  Then with others, in side-by-side play and exploration.  Their ensemble skills come into full bloom as the children successfully play their instrumental part with the rest of the class, on cue and in rhythm.

Kindermusik kids learn to read, write, and compose music at a young age, between 4.5 and 7 years.  What they grew to love in their hearts as babies, toddlers, and preschoolers becomes what they delight in understanding and creating as big kids.  The Kindermusik formula stays the same – singing, moving, exploring, listening, playing – all gently leading a child to a level of understanding that could only be the product of such a joyful, process-based approach.

Kindermusik kids are confident musicians.  From their very first classes, they’ve been encouraged to explore, to try new things, to think outside the box, and to use their imaginations – not because they were trying to find the one right way, but because there are oh-so-many ways to participate in Kindermusik class where process is always emphasized over performance.  This process-based approach develops a unique kind of self-confidence, not just at the piano, but also in the classroom and later, in the workplace.

Kindermusik kids love music, from the top of their heads to the tips of their toes.  This is the deepest kind of love that grows the strongest as it is lovingly nurtured and encouraged from an early age.  It’s the kind of love that opens the door to reaching the fullest potential in musical study.

Many Kindermusik kids have come through our doors over the years.  They have all left with a song in their heart that will stay there forever.  Many also left with another incredible gift – the ability to play the piano and enjoy making music the rest of their lives.

Do you want to prepare your child for piano lessons? Find a local Kindermusik class and see for yourself how Kindermusik prepares kids for formal music lessons later on.

Shared by Theresa Case who has been the Director of Piano Central Studios in Greenville, South Carolina for over 20 years now.

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