You’re excited about your child taking piano lessons in Atlanta, but they seem to be hesitant, even reluctant to start. Or perhaps your child has been taking piano lessons for several weeks now, and they’ve changed their attitude about the piano. How do you help your hesitant child to embrace piano lessons? Should you force them to stick with it? Here are a few ideas.
Talk to your child
Before you try any other tips or tricks, talk with your child. Ask them about what it is that makes them seem reluctant to practice or attend piano lessons. Hearing them share their ideas and reasons will help you pinpoint what’s at the root of their attitude about lessons. Your child may feel like they’re not interested in learning anymore or may not be able to tell you why exactly they feel the way they do. If your child doesn’t like his or her piano tutor because the person isn’t friendly or is boring, you should look into hiring a different Atlanta piano teacher for kids who is both professional and makes learning fun.
Talk to your child’s piano teacher
If the issue isn’t with your child’s piano tutor, you should have a conversation with your child’s piano teacher. Nine times out of ten, their tutor has picked up on your child’s reluctance to play or practice. If you find your child’s attitude about the instrument to be even slightly off-putting, imagine how their teacher is feeling. It’s not fun or easy to teach a child who doesn’t want to learn. However, there are a few things your child’s piano tutor can do to help your child learn to love have fun playing the piano again.
Make a connection
Between you and your child’s piano tutor, find out what interests your child the most and look to build a connection between whatever that is and learning the piano. If your child is into sports, you may want to find athletes who also play the piano or another instrument. If your child is into a particular subject in school, draw a connection between the subject and learning music. If your child is into movies or music, find out which of their favorite celebrities are also gifted musicians.
Practice modern songs
Sometimes children become bored learning the piano if they find the pieces they’re playing to be boring. It can also be hard for a child to get into the song they’re playing if they’ve never heard it before. Help your child find their favorite songs online with websites that offer chords or sheet music. This is something your child’s piano teacher can work on with them too. Your child is much more likely to be more involved in playing their favorite songs from their favorite artists.
Change the way they practice
This tip is more for the piano teacher. Sometimes, music students can get bored with the same old routine of learning an instrument or practicing a particular way. This leads them to feel reluctant to practice or continue with lessons. Try incorporating some of the following games or practice methods during your child’s next lesson:
- Composing
- Garageband
- Sight-reading drills
- Note name games
- Improvising
- Music theory games
Stay involved
This one is for you, parent! What does your current involvement look like? Sometimes it’s helpful for you to be present with your child as they practice with their instructor. Just observe, encourage your child, and let the teacher do their work. If you’re the kind of parent who enforces practice at home a little too much, consider letting your child take a break from practice. Consider your child’s personality and remember that everyone is different.
It’s worth the risk
There are many different ways you can encourage your child to enjoy playing the piano. Of course, an Atlanta piano teacher could also give you some ideas to encourage your child to play more. If you don’t have a piano teacher yet or need to hire someone different, consider hiring one of our tutors at Lessons In Your Home. All of our instructors are professional musicians and gifted instructors. You can be sure that our piano instructors will inspire your child to play the piano more. Our teachers will come right to your home for every lesson, plus we offer virtual music lessons, too. Our online music lessons are taught by local music teachers who plan their lessons to suit your child. Contact us today to learn more.