You have decided that it’s time to begin piano lessons. Why? Do you have a relative or friend who also plays music and wish to play together? Perhaps you’d like to learn a few carols for Christmas. Do you have a general goal of wanting to have fun? If you already have specific reasons for learning the piano, write them down, and post them close to your piano. After your teacher has been informed of your goals, you two can work together toward reaching them.
What are your short term goals? How or what do you want to be playing on the piano in one month? That’s only four lessons. Do you want to learn “Happy Birthday”? Maybe you just want to catch up on music theory. Write down a short term goal, one that will take you four weeks to accomplish. Once you’ve achieved this goal, write down another one!
What are your long term goals? What do you want to be playing in one year? That seems like a long time, especially since learning piano involves constant practice and precision. Write down your long term goals, but give yourself some wiggle room. What may take your neighbor a year to learn may take you two years.
To keep you goal-oriented at the piano, write down smaller goals. Think of them as dependent goals, one depending on the the previous one. For example, say you want to learn Beethoven’s “Für Elise,” a three-minute piece that requires technique and memorization. With a composition pattern of A-B-A-C-A, the famous first lines are repeated throughout the piece. (As a teacher, I like to keep section “A” unlearned until the end, like a carrot at the end of the stick. “B” and “C” are the most difficult to learn, so I teach them first.) The dependent goals are then sections “B” and “C,” which can even be divided up into smaller groups.
Some parents have signed their children up for piano lessons in hopes to strengthen children’s reading skills. Practicing the piano also enhances fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, which are great reasons to begin piano lessons. Skills and coordination will improve, but the children should have goals for themselves. Real, tangible goals such as learning this or that song, will keep children curious and involved with music.
Really get your arms around your “Why?” Find a specific motivator to keep you interested in learning the piano. Be patient, and be consistent.
