Getting excited about your first piano lesson? If you’ve opted for lessons in your home, there are certain ways you can prepare your space beforehand. Continue reading for the checklist from St. Augustine, FL teacher Heather L...
You’ve found the perfect piano teacher. You’ve found a great time slot for lessons that works for everybody. Your piano teacher is prepared to come to you. But how do you prepare for piano lessons in your home? Follow these simple steps, and piano lessons at home will weave their way into your family’s lifestyle seamlessly.
1. Pick a room.
If you have a piano, then you know how tough it is to move. The room that your piano is in will become your lesson room, unless you’re willing to hire piano movers or you’re training for the Iron Man competition! But if you have a keyboard, then you’re able to choose the room in which you’d like the lessons to take place. It’s best to choose a room that’s away from loud distractions and noises, but for parents, consider a room close enough that you’re readily accessible for your child or teacher.
2. Get your piano or keyboard ready.
If you have a keyboard in your home, then be sure that its cables, plugs, and outlets are working safely. Play each key to make sure all of the keys are functional. If you have a piano instead, call a local professional piano tuner for an annual or semi-annual tuning. He’ll also make sure that the sound board, dampers, and strings are in good shape.
3. Parents, talk with all of your kids.
Ideally, every parent would start a family discussion about the importance of respecting the space and time of the young pianist’s lessons. It can be difficult for kids not to jump up on the piano bench with their siblings and start banging the keys. For all they know, it’s just another day of play. Explain to everybody that it’s just like school, only it’s one student and one teacher.
4. Prepare to organize.
My most successful and un-stressed students are those who’ve designated notebooks, binders, and other supplies for piano lessons. Your teacher might have his or her own list of specific supplies to purchase. It prevents valuable lesson time from being wasted by looking through school stuff. For parents to provide a little extra motivation for your young pianist, it can be fun to decorate the lessons binder or notebook with music stickers or drawings.
5. Schedule practice time.
After your initial lessons, your piano teacher will most probably let you and your child know how often he or she’d like to see the student practice. To prepare for piano lessons, sit down and look at your or your child’s schedule and begin to block off time specifically for piano studies during the week. Setting this time aside beforehand is so much better than scrambling and stressing after piano assignments are handed out.
It’s easy to prepare for piano lessons in your home. Just by looking ahead and taking these simple steps, you’ll find that your family will be ready for all the fun and the challenges that come with learning the piano.
Heather L. teaches singing, piano, acting, and more in Saint Augustine, FL, as well as through online lessons. She is a graduate of the prestigious Westminster Choir College in Princeton, New Jersey, and has performed with the New York and Royal Philharmonics, the New Jersey and Virginia Symphonies, the American Boy Choir, and the internationally renowned opera star Andrea Bocelli. Learn more about Heather here!
Photo by amanda tipton
Suzy S.